My Words on Viswanatha : Part 2 (In English)

Viswanatha - My Article 

Part two

Rare are the geniuses.  Rare are persons with such versatility. He was unique. He was special. Whatever format that he touched turned into gold. His poetry is known widely. How many know that he acted in the stage performance of the famous play ‘Kanyashulkam’ many times? Talking about his own novels He mentions at one place about one of the characters in Terachiraju. He mentions the name of Sri Munjuluri Krishna Rao of Bandaru town and says He learnt stage acting from him! He reveals that the description of acting all over that novel is after all from this great actor. Of the novel and the character, we could read His own words, thanks to a source that translated him.

He talks of the role that intensity of nature plays in the creation of an art.

” People of shallow intensity can only produce some commonplace creations, if they ever try to create. Their creations are only pleasing to the senses at the most. If the artist is a musician, he cannot create new music and his talent would be limited to singing melodiously. If he is a sculptor, the technique of creating his sculptures would be perfect, though the subjects he chooses do not depict anything fantastic. But the creations of an artist with a powerful, intense mind transcend all earthly boundaries. The passion he puts into his art is discerned by the audience’s inner conscience though they cannot comprehend why it makes them happy. An ordinary artist would be well acclaimed, but an intense artist will be worshipped by them in their hearts.”

The imaginative mind of such an artist never sleeps. It makes him restless, drives him to meander upon untrodden lands. For his mind, the state closest to rest is languor, as it is incapable of true rest. Petty pastimes and physical strain help him tame the ever surging waves of imagination. Saradhi goes on walks along the sea shore and tends his garden when he is supposed to rest. He spends days, nights and twilights on the shore, seeking repose in its monotony. There is a whole chapter on his all night walk along the shore. It should be read in an utterly calm room. You can hear the sea roaring at midnight though you stay miles away from it. The novel has an immensely nocturnal feel to it, as several key scenes take place at night. Viswanatha writes the most lustrously original descriptions of nights in this novel. The hours of night are bewitched by Gods to house illusions. Night isn’t all darkness. It is an amalgamation of light and darkness, each trying to overpower the other. A fistful of both is present in an artist’s psyche. They constantly injure Saradhi in their perpetual wars.

His novels numbering more than sixty are masterpieces in each. The world speaks about always about His magnum opus ‘Veyipadagalu’.  But, smaller novels like ‘Pralayanayudu’, ‘Pululasatyagraham’ are equally interesting to a discerning reader. His series of Purana Vairagarandhamala, Nepala raja Charitra and Kashmira Raja Charitra are reinterpretation of Indian history. They deserve to be studied by historians and perhaps throw light on the history of the country! The writer himself says that our history is very clear about the past. He says Kalhana mistook some facts about the beginning of the Kali era. Put together these 24 novels bring forth the history with clear information on periods and dynasties. He says all wouldn’t take trouble like he did. People now a days, He says do not worry about the pride of belonging to a race! He says some people even find fault with such feelings. Ultimately He says that literature must be national in nature. It must not be outlandish. The bird after flying on the sea all the day would come back to the nest. He says that is nationality and that is the tradition!

Whether it is poetry, prose or whatever format, the flow that He commanded is unparalleled. People who worked as scribes and took dictation narrate about his memory power and clarity of expression with awe! Once, people from a village came visiting and requested Him to go with them to be honoured the next day in a temple festival. He asked them to stay over for the night saying they could travel early next morning. He composed a set of poems that night about the village and the God there and said now he is ready to be honoured!

The flow sometimes results in peculiar situations. He would digress from the main theme and perhaps describes making brinjal curry. He conceives of telling something, and says ‘There is one thing here’. Immediately He realizes that there are two things to be expounded, and says ‘One means two’.  He boldly accepts the digression and leads the reader back into the story! Only He could get away with such expressions. Nobody dared question Him.