A Letter from Somebody I “Loved” (For Yandamuri Fans)
***** Nothing new here. Just resurfacing an old podcast for more exposure *****
A coherent arrangement of words for abstract, but cogent thoughts is what touches us. It doesn’t matter if the central idea is about life and love; or death and sorrow – the language can still touch our hearts. That is the power of language – possibly any language. The language for romance and love, some say, is Urudu. For me, it is Telugu. The beauty of Telugu language can be seen, heard and felt in written and spoken words and verses.
How does it feel like to be in love? For that matter what is love? Is love a tangible thing or an abstract idea? Is love merely a self reinforcing feeling where liking and/or attraction become strong and turned into something inexplicable, and therefore you love? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know this for sure: love is beyond simple physical attraction. Whatever may be its final manifestation, love germinates from an inexplicable liking to an idea, a thought about the person it is targeted at. It doesn’t matter if that person is real or simply fictional (raakumaari leka raakumaarudu).
When I was about 18, I loved somebody. That somebody is a work of fiction. To be more precise, she is a dead character in a novel. I am sure it is not just me. The words the author used to describe her thoughts made many teenage boys of my generation to fall in love with an “idea” called Ramya.
If your husband is in his 40s, and if he is (or was) in the habit of reading Telugu fiction, ask him if he read Yandamuri’s vennello aadapilla when he was a teenager. If he did, ask him how he liked Ramya’s character. Most men probably won’t be able to express or won’t admit it, but I can speak for many of them: they loved (the idea and mind of) Ramya.
This podcast is my rendering of Ramya’s last letter. Listen to the podcast and rediscover your love for Telugu language. And then get back into the habit of reading more in Telugu.
Broadcast date: 2007-10-05
Audio Language: Telugu
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.5MB) | Embed
chakkaga vaatha petti criticism kaadu ante ellagandi Sudha garu. Gurivinda chandam laaga vundi meeru anedi. Like you said, take it easy. 🙂
It is not a criticism, take it easy.. When I hear Mohana Murali Gana Lahari, the listeners responded very quickly, when Mohan Muralidhar said I like Yandamuri that too his novel “Vennello Adapilla”, (Daba daba badesi keyboard meeda yandamuri novels quick ga telusukoni, leni vallu matram Vennello adapilla ani cheppesara ani) intaki veellandaru mohana murali abhimanula.. ? Yandamuri abhimanula ?
Anyhow This is good everybody have knowledge of Telugu Novels that too Yandamuri.
🙂
If you heard my interview, you will realize that he got a bit defensive for no reason. Also, I was surprised to see that he himself mentioned Jyothi case, which I was not planning on bringing up in the interview.
gundelu pindesaaru mastaru!
Mohan garu, you are dusting off the old stuff. Though I am getting close to the age you mentioned , I did read the novel. All I remember is bits and pieces , strange thing the age is. I remember the story, but the details are lost. I remember Revant name being ridiculed. I remember it means “Gurralanu neellu taginchevadu”. The one thing I did not forget is the letter. Its a true classic and does hurt in the end.