From: rama@cimbria.cs.rice.edu (Ramarao Kanneganti)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian.telugu
Subject: Re: Caste Discussions on SCIT
Date: 29 Sep 92 17:42:46 GMT
Organization: Rice University, Houston

In article <Sep.29.12.15.41.1992.3123@blaze.rutgers.edu> kumarv@blaze.rutgers.edu (kumar vadaparty) writes:
>In article <3552@creatures.cs.vt.edu>, juvvadi@csgrad.cs.vt.edu (Ramana R. Juvvadi) writes:
>> In article <1047@emoryu1.cc.emory.edu> chemsn@emory.edu (Sreehari Nimmala) writes:
>
>Precisely! And, let me venture (at the expense of being flamed
>excoriated, flailed and what not) to say that Indians AS A COLLECTIVE
>GROUP do not have it (i.e., judgement, articulation, etc.), and
>Andhras as a group never exhibited it.  I ask you to put forward
>half-a-dozen writers in Telugu or English (the only languages I read
>literature in) who expressed in good detail, but balanced detail, any
>sensitive issue.  Koku and Gurajada and Kandukuri apart, I can not
>recall any. Even gurajada and kandukuri were not explicit. Gurajada
>was subtle and sarcastic, kandukuri was more preaching. RKnarayanan
>comes close, but he hardly criticizes; he makes fun of.

The names of the people who wrote sensitively about issues in Telugu
in no particular order.

1) The author's names escapes me -- Musalamma MaraNam.
2) Gurajada  -- Putthadi bomaa poorNamma.
3) Chalam -- Women's issues [At times blunt and bitter! He probably
tips to one side to restore the balance.]
4) Unnava Lakshmi Narayana -- Malapalli [ Greatest work if you are
looking for sensitivity and sensibility!]
5) Arudra -- Tvamewaaham [About Rajakars movement]
6) Dasaradhi Rangaachaaraya -- Books and novels on Telangaana pOraaTam
7) Buchi Babu -- Chivaraki MigilEdi
8) Rachakonda -- Vennela [This is a short story that redeems the
Telugu literature of this century! With the sensitivity of Steinbeck
and language of Nabakov and the imegery of Chengiz Ithmatov, this is
the best that Telugu literature has to offer!]
9) Ravoori Bhradwaja -- PakuDu Raallu and Kadmbari
10) Koku -- needless to say!
11) Kaleepatnam Ramarao -- his stories.
12) Arnad -- CheekatOllu [About Vizag and its slums]
13) Kesava Reddy -- RamuDunDadu, RajjemunDaadi. [An unsurpassed
work about emigration to the cities from villages]
14) Malladi Ramakrishna Sastry -- Nativity!! What a riot!
15) Uppala Lakshmana Rao -- Atadu, Ame. [About marriage, men and women.]
16) Tapee DharmA rao -- His literary efforts are too numerous.

[I will stop here, not for lack of names, but lack of time.]

Some of the above authors are prescriptivists and some are simply
discriptivists. But what they have in common is honesty and
sensitivity. One may not agree with their opinions to agree that are
eminently sensitive. And, they are detailed works. Some are balanced
and some are deliberately tipped to oneside, so that in the social
context they were read, they could provide the balance. 

[Yes I read them and No, I don't have them with me but most of
them are available in AP libraries.]


>Nevermind castesystem; just regionalism: ......
>could not care less. But it is this supiriority complex combined with
>the total ignorance of history that pisses me off! I witnessed such
>discrimination by my friends on people from Telangana -- that their
>telugu is not pure. I am sure JVR witnessed it too! But why? Because,
>the whole attitude is "In order to prove that I am better than you, I
>need to insult you, and what better way than appealing to your
>origins, linguistic or geographic or casteistic" This sucks. plain and
>simple. Unless we get rid of this, and try to recognize the relative
>merits of each other, we can hardly participate in a productive
>discussion on sensitive issues.
>
>So, Ramana, if you want to talk about Casteism, you are risking both
>low SNR ratio and enormous mudslinging. I know I am coping out; but
>this seems more pleasant option than draining your emotions.
>
>kumar.
>-- 

According to you, the only way to discuss certain sensitive issues is
to get rid of "superiority complex combined with total ignorance of
history". According to me, the only way to accomplish, however painful
it is, is to discuss the issues so that they will gain the knowledge
of the history and get rid of superiority complexes. After all this is
the cheap way, we cannot afford to send 6 crores [ minus x < 6] of
Telugu's who never exhibited "judgment and articulation" to psychiatric
counseling.

-- rama

PS: There is a wonderful story "Guntur" in one of the Rachakonda
collections you might empathise with. It is about Vizag and Guntur ....

PPS: From what I remember, the original Q was not even about caste, it
was about surnames and it could be answered with out preaching or
coming down on it. Pls see my other posting on that.