Errata: Part one of this article contained a blunder about how the song "aaku caaTu pinde taDise" was from aDavi raamuDu. As was pointed out by numerous readers, rather vocally and vociferously, it was from "vaeTagaaDu". The author would like to profusely apologize for this absent-minded slip and would assure that such painfully obvious mistakes would not be repeated in future.

(Continued from Part 1)

Part - II

Robert Frost, in one of his famous poems "The Road less traveled" quipped - "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both......I took the road less traveled by, And that has made all the difference". Nothing could come close to a better description of Veturi's ascension to unheralded peaks better than the above. In the world of light and shadows, where typecasting is an innate behavior, and forte is usually misunderstood for mould, Veturi cart-wheeled into different genres crushing the literary complexity gripping the telugu lyrical expression. During the 80s, when Veturi's artistic expressive ability was peaking during his association with K.Viswanth, Jandhyaala and Vamsi and notably with media baron Ramoji Rao, he found a middle-ground to satisfy the commercial quench by associating with K.Raghavendra Rao, A.Kondanda Rami Reddy and the like. Needless to say, his sailing on both the boats, and successfully at that, defied adages, proverbs and logic.

Contrast these two styles that evoke the same feeling about an idea, one painted with an artistic brush and one that has a slight commerciality touch

1.

vaesavi lO agni patraalu raasi
virahini niTToorpula teega saagi
jalada ninaadaala paluka mRudangaala
vaaSuka jala geeTilO taeli aaDi
sayyalalO kotta vayyaramolikae
saradrutu kaavaerilaa konta saagi
cali rutuvae sari gamalau naada sudhaa madhuvaniki

2.

agni patraalu vraasi greeshmamae saagi pOyae
merupu laekahallu raasi meghamae moogapOyae
mancu dhaanyaalu kolici poushyamae veLLipOyae
magha daahaalu lOnaa andamae attaraaye
ee samayam rasOdayamai maa praNayam phalisTunaTae

(The first stanza is an excerpt from "caitramu kusumaanjali" from Ananda bhairavi (Dir. Jandhyaala, Music. Ramesh Naidu) and the second from "nirantaramU vasantamulae" from praemincu peLLaaDu (Dir. Vamsi. Music. Illayaraja). Though both the stanzas convey the same thought (contexts and themes aside), the usage of the language - thoroughly literary in the former and slightly colloquial, the step down and tone down approach for the same base idea, and the approachability of each to the intended audience, is just the tip of what Veturi achieved in the later years.

"SrIvAriki praemalekha" is as important a milestone in Veturi's career as siri siri muvva, as the perspective of the songs shifted from the regular male protagonist or abstractive milieus like nature's beauty or life's glory. The point of view in most of the songs of " SrIvAriki" is strictly feminine and subsequently the choice of the words is tender, simple and caring.

1.

ataniki naenu naccano laedO
aa subha ghaDiya vaccaenO raadO
tondara paDitae alusae manasaa, telusaa? (||manasaa
tuLLipaDakae||)

2.

aruNam aruNam oka ceeraa
ambara neelam oka ceeraa
andaalannii andiyalai SRungaaramlO nee layalai
alamukunna poodaavilaa alavikaani pulakintalaa
hindhOLa raaga gandhaalu neeku aandhOLikaa sEvagaa
(||sari gama padanee swaradhaara||)

3.

ae talli kumaarulO teliyadu kaani
entaTi sukumaarulO telusu naaku
entaTi magadheerulO teliyalaedu kaani
naa manasu docukunna cOrulu meeru
valaci vaccina vanitanu culakana caeyaka
tappulunTe manninci oppulugaa bhaavinci
cappuna baduleeyanDi, ippuDae baduliyyanDi (||toli
saari mimmalni||)

Vamsi's sitaara provided another opportunity for Veturi to introduce bhaava laalityamu into his sabda laalityamu. The anguish of an exiled heart, the inability to find solace amid the materialistic cheers of Sitara brought out quite so eloquently in the lyric "vennellO gOdaari andam", the initial apprehension, the mistaken identity, the troubled past and the uncertain future brought out in "jilibili palukula cilipigaa" (aDaganulae cirunaama, cirunavvae puTTillu, vinuveedhi veeNallO ragamlaa, harivillu rangullO andamlaa. Attention needs to be paid to this last usage "harivillu rangullO andam" - a harivillu that appears only after an (emotional) outpour, a harivillu that appears only in front of reflectors (the sun), a harivillu that is reflective of sitara's short lived fame). Much more than the overall theme of the song, it is this choice of words that convey the depth of Veturi's thought and expression. The maverick combination of Vamsi and Illayaraja brought out the playful best out of Veturi. Re-arranging rich words and reaching thoughts to a pre-composed complex tune like keeravaani cilakla kolikiro paDavaemae alarulu kuriyaga taDisina madhurasa vaaNi (anveshaNa) and still making it a beautiful lyric that can stand on its own, or beautifying a simple tune like gopemma caetilO gOrumudda (praemincu peLLaaDu - muddu baera maaDa kunDaa muddaayalle unDavaa, raagaalaina raadha gOlalu, raadhaa baadhituNDi lae) with subtle lyrics, are some of the experimentations that Veturi imbibed in his style keeping in step with the Vamsi-Illayaraja variety factor.

Social themes, which are a topic of great endearment to poets, presented a natural conduit to Veturi's simplistic style in the mid 80s. For the lyric "saagara sangamamae" ("Seetakoka chiluka" Dir. Bharati Raja Music. Illayaraja), he tackled the shackles of fanaticisms - caste and religion, in an unusual style, in that a song of appeal to the heroine merges into an appeal to the populace to crossover the boundaries of caste and creed and merge like the great seas for a truly holy mellifluous confluence (saamskRitika saagaraala samaagama sangamam).

kanyaa kumari nee padamula naenae
kaDali keraTamai kaDigina vaeLa
suma sukumaari ne coopulakae
taDabaDi varamulu aDigina vaeLa
bhaarata bhaarati pada sannidhilO
kula mata saagara sangama sRutilO
naa rati neevani valapula haarati
hRudayamu pramidaga veligina vaeLa.

1986 saw the release of a movie that was as hard-hitting, as poignant, as powerful as ever before. The lyric "ee duryOdhana duSSaasana durvineeta lOkam lO" that Veturi wrote for "pratighaTana" wrongfully denied him of the national award that year, but rightfully remained as one of best lyrics ever written in telugu on a social theme. Coincidentally, the point of view is feminine again. The years of relegation of women to hind quarters of the society, the continual, meticulous and historical subjugation of the female kind, the disadvantage of physical, financial and social strengths that deprived them of the rights and privileges, find their way into this great lyric.

puDutoonae paala kaeDci
puTTi jampaala kaeDci
perigi pedda vaaraitae
muddU muripaala kaeDci
tanuvantaa dOcukunna tanayulu meeru

Whereas all the above-mentioned lyrics deserve a mention, the words that Veturi breathed life into specifically for K.Viswanath's movies in the 80s (subhOdayam, saptapadi, sagara sangamam, jananee janma bhoomi and the like) vouch for his poet beyond par status.

madhuraa nagirilO yamunaa laharilO aa raadha
aaraadhanaa geeti palikinci
kaaLindi maDuguna kaaLeeyuni paDagana aabaalagOpaala
maa baala gOpaaluni (||vrepaLLiya yeda jhalluna||)

tyaagaraaja keertanalle unnaadee bomma ragamaedO
teesinaTTundammaa
raasa leela saaginaaka raadha neevaenamma raatiraeLa
kanta nidara raadamma (||kanci ki pOtaava kRshnamma||)

panca bhootamulu mukha pancakamai aaru rutuvulu
aahaaryamulai
gajamukha shanmukha pramaadhaadulu nee sankalpaaniki
rutvijavarulai (||Om nama sivaaya||)

mannu tinna cinnavaaDae minnu kanna vaNNekaaDae
kanna tODu laeni vaaDae, kanne tOdu vunna vaaDae
mohanaala vaeNuvoodae mohanaanguDitaDae lae (||vaeyi
vaela gopemmala||)

The style used in "vaeyi vaela" (and his many other songs) is unique to Veturi, wherein the usage (words) that he starts a paadam with, is rehashed and slightly modified, to given an entirely different meaning and perspective - aa raadha aaraadhana, aabaalagOpaala maa baala gOpaala, kanna tODu kanne tODu, coosina kanTanu cooDakane guri coosina kanTanu cooDakane (kiraataarjuneeyam - bhakta kannappa), maa raeDu neevani aeraeri taenaa, maaraeDu daLamulu nee poojaku (Siva Siva Sankara - bhakta kannappa). A parallel (or homage) to this style is evident in Sirivennelas auraa ammaku cellaa (aapadhbaandhavuDu aala manda kaapiri aalu manda kaapari, vaelitO konDanu yettae konDanta vaelupaTae)

Which brings us to our next question - What is Veturi's "baaNee"?

(Click here for Part -3)

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