LYRICS IN HIS BLOOD
CNR had proved his mettle in poetic, film, academic, literary fields
Dr C. Narayana Reddy, one of the most renowned poet-writer of his generation who died early on Monday, loved rivers and penned a Geya Kavyam, “Nagarjuna Sagaram”, on the world’s largest masonary dam built across the river Krishna. He named his four daughters after rivers—Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathi and Krishnaveni.
In one of his famous ghazals, Cinare wrote, “Dhana sampattiki lotee raadu, Jala vidyuthuku koratee raadu, avasaraaniki meeta nokkitee velagani bulubu
denikani (there is no dearth of funds, there is abundant hydel energy, but there is still no power when you switch on the light).
He was one of the disciples of Kavi Samrat Viswanadha Satyanarayana, himself a recipient of the Jnanpith award.
Cinare instituted an award named after his wife Susheela and used to present the award to a women writer every year. He was chairman of the AP Official Language Commission, ViceChancellor of the Andhra Pradesh Open University, Vice-Chancellor of the Telugu University. adviser to the AP government on culture and language and chairman, Andhra Pradesh State Cultural Council.
At the time of his passing, Cinare was president, Andhra Saraswatha Parishath, a prestigious literary organisation established in 1943.
Interestingly, Cinera’s middle school education was entirely in Urdu medium due to lack of Telugu medium schools during the Nizam rule. He studied Telugu in private schools and colleges later on. From the Urdu language he picked up the literary form of ghazal, that has rhyming couplets.
Starting his poetic career with a slender volume of lyrics, Navvani
Puvvu (The Bashful Flower) in 1953, the poet in Narayana Reddy soon blossomed into the tender smiles of the middle class with Madhyataragati Mandahasam (1968) witnessing on one hand the cycle of seasons in his
Ritu Chakram (1964) and the wild laughter of the leaping flames surrounding man in his Mantalu
Manavudu (1970) on the other and finally emerged with a universal vision of man in his epic poem
Viswambhara (1980). His work was noted for its fine blend of lyrical romanticism, optimistic humanism, progressive idealism and healthy realism.
While working in Osmania University as a lecturer, Dr Narayana Reddy caught the attention of N.T. Rama Rao, who was already famous. Cinare was invited to Madras in the later part of 1961 and offered the chance to write songs for the NTR production Gulebakavali Katha.
Dr Narayana Reddy laid down the condition that he would write all the songs — called a ‘single card entry’ in trade parlance, meaning that only his name would appear as song writer in the film’s credits.
NTR agreed, and Dr Narayana Reddy entered Telugu films with the movie which became a blockbuster hit in 1962. His first song, ‘Nannu Dochukunduvate Vannela Dorasani’, is popular even now.
Though he used to maintain cordial relations with all political and film personalities, he had a special relationship with NTR. When asked by NTR, Cinare used to make a special effort to write songs with long phrases that were with full of adjectives in Sanskrit in movies like Srikrishna Pandaveeyam
and Dana Veera Soora Karna.
Dr Narayana Reddy caught the attention of N.T. Rama Rao, who was already famous. Cinare was invited to Madras in the latter part of 1961 and offered the chance to write songs for the NTR production Gulebakavali Katha.