Continued from part 6

Part 7

sunni pinDini nalichi
chinnaari gaa malichi
santasaana murisindi santulaeni paarvati
sutuDanna maaTa marichi
Soolaana tega nariki
peddarikam nilupukone nippukanTi penimiTi

The classic confrontation, the eternal struggle, the never-ending tug-of-war between the devotion to the husband and the draw to the child, in the words of a tragic mother. The situation where Anataraama Sarma's envy tries to boil over into Gangaadharam's talent and disrupt the peace and harmony of the family, transported to the mythological context and applied to Lord Siva's tussle with his son, is vintage Seetarama Sastry. Grasp the entire subject of the movie, distill it into the purest form and package the message applying the tools of metaphors, similes, comparisons and applications, forms the basic model of Sirivennela, especially in Viswanath's movies. This is where one can observe the marked difference between Veturi's and Sirivennela's style as far as approaching the material is concerned. While Veturi relegated himself to be a distant observer of the proceeding, Sirivennela tries to get in closer to the subject, and make the struggles and conflicts of the character a more personal one. While Veturi covers the exterior and periphery of the material, Sirivennela digs into the interior chiseling his way to the core. The subjects remaining the same, it would be really interesting to observe the take of each of these distinguished poets, on Viswanath's characters which are the embodiments of the same empathy, sensibility, and tenderness.

jhaNana jhaNana naadamlO
jhaLipinchina paadam lO
jagamu jaladaristundi
pedavi palakaristundi
gajja ghallu manTunTae
gunDe jhallu manTundi
gunDe jhallu manTunTae
kavita velluvaitundi

writes Veturi

ghallu ghallu ghallu manTu
merupallae tuLLu
jhallu jhallu jhalluna
uppongu ningi voLLu
nalla mabbu challani
challani chirujallu
velluvocchi saagani
tolakari allarloo
pallavinchanee naelaku
pacchani paravaLLu

writes Sirivennela

Take the above subject which is not fettered by context nor bound by the situation that talks about the feel of "andelu" (anklets) inwardly, to one's self, and the effect it generates outwardly to the world, as such. Veturi's take is of vibrancy, when the whole world reverborates with the rhythimic nature of the feet outwardly, and the steps resonating in the soul bringing the self into ecstasy inwardly. Sirivennela's observation is more mellowed and observational, when the whole word beckons to the lightening speed and the thunderous sound of the anklets, letting itself to surge, shower, and finally flow into the lotus feet of the art, the source and cause of it all. The third person perspective that Veturi embodied served Viswanath's movies to an extent that most of the songs in those movies were distant and independent, in that, the songs could survive on their own without the aid of the characters nor the context. When the torch has been passed down to Sirivennela, (and with exception to the movie "Sirivennela"), he took the cause of the characters as a personal mission and reflected the true identity of the characters in the words that they mouthed, and thus remained closer to their identities than Veturi ever did. Even when Sirivennela stayed close to the characters, remaining non-judgmental all the while, he never loses the focus of the character and more importantly, nor the objectivity.

Swarna kamalam remains one of the hallmark pieces of Sirivennela's poetry, where he plays a fair judge balancing two points of view - one of independence and the other of structure, and comes out being perfectly impartial, treating each point of view on its own merit, enumerating the ups and downs with each side, and still remaining sympathetic to both the causes. Never once does he assume the role of a preacher taking the moral high ground against any one side, while merely remaining an impassionate observer when one side realizes the joy in the other and makes the switch, all on its own, sans the pushing and prodding, sans the lecturing, sans the brow-beating. How can a poet see two sides of the coin with the same dispassionate view being attached and detached at the same time? This is where the important distinction between these two poets come in. Stand outside the conflict and observe it from a distance, the choice become quite an obvious one and making a judgment about which side has more merit becomes more easy - Meenakshi is wrong, Chandram is right. Get close to the characters and observe the reasons behind the choices from close quarters, in the process BECOMING the characters, one would feel equally sympathetic to both the causes and does not start evaluating their decisions in terms of right or wrong, but instead finds the reason that led them to the decisions. So a "layakae nilayamai nee paadam saagaali, malayaanila gati suma baala oogali" sits with the listener just as well as "valalO odugunaa viharinchae chiru gaali? selayaeTiki naTanam naerpinchae guruvaeDi ?". Indeed!

Ever since Sirivennela, Seetarama Sastry went along with Viswanath embarking on the same journey that the characters signed up for, discovering the marvels of life, wondering about the vagaries of the same, learning new lessons all the while and imbibing the new-found truths and age-old virtues.

churuku manToo poDichi laepae
soorya kiraNam ee vaeLa
kaluva virisae chaluva kurisae
kalalu choopindae
veDi gaalai venTa tarimae
yenDa kaalam ee vaeLa
aeDu rangula indradhanusai
yeduTa nilichindae

The new age dawns upon the fresh mind that sees the world around in a different light. The eye-piercing brightness of the sun light becomes the guiding brilliance that teaches discerning and distinction. The horrid heat of the torrid temparature turns itself into a bearable breeze of a soothing waft. New realization opens up new doors welcoming into new frontiers. Enlightenment and evolution are constant themes in Sirivennela's poetry, which are displayed in ample measure when the character hits upon that troubling block and with the aid of sensibility finds itself venturing into the new vistas that since before has been hidden in view. The constant urge of getting better of one's senses, getting better of oneself and moving to the next level in the natural progression of a thinking mind, remaining along with the character all the time, makes Sirivennala's observation much more personal and much more evolutionary. A child prodigy who finds his mentor in the elements of nature drawing inspiration from the natural beauty of the world that is pervading all around thusly

ee poola raagaala pulakinta gamakaalu
gaaraabu kavanaala gaali sangathulu
nee charaNa kiraNaalu palukarinchina chaalu
pallavinchunu prabhoo pavaLinchu bhuvaanaalu

turns more and more introspective and drawn inwards, as he comes into grips with his prowess, growing humility and turning more sensitive thusly

aalOchanaamrutamu saahityamu
sahita hitasatyamu Saaradaa sthanyamu
saaraSwataakshra saaradhyamu
gnyaana saamraajyamu janma saaphalyamu

Step in step, right with the character!

Sirivennala's lament about having to share the best song award and reward with Viswanath for giving enough operating room for the poets to toil and flourish is more a lavish praise on the director, who realizes the power of the word and gives it its due respect, lyrically.

(Cont'd in the next part, Viswanath-music)

(Contd)

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