Date:10/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/10/stories/2008071053690400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Spreading Vemana’s wisdom

P. Samuel Jonathan

S. Mahesh, a tailor, has rendered 300 poems of Vemana into delightful tunes and brought out seven audio CDs

S. Mahesh

NARSARAOPET (GUNTUR Dt.): With his hands moving at a furious pace on the sewing machine, one may pass off S. Mahesh as a busy tailor struggling to meet deadlines.

But as one steps into the S.R.M. Tailors shop in the Town Centre, there is an unconventional balladeer conjuring up delightful tunes in his mind.

Though unlettered, Mahesh has memorised 600 poems compiled by Vemana, the 17th century ascetic and rendered 300 of them into delightful tunes brought out in seven audio CDs.

“I was rendering the poems at literary events in the early 90s, when an elderly woman suggested me to compile them into cassettes so that the message could be spread far and wide,” Mr. Mahesh said.

In spite of financial constraints, he made seven CDs – ‘Vemana Vani,’ ‘Vemana Padya Ratnamalu,’ ‘Vemana Sandesam,’ ‘Vemana Neethi-Loka Reethi,’, ‘Vemana Vignana Bodha,’ ‘Vemana Vedam,’ -- all of them winning critical acclaim from the likes of N. Gopi, former Vice Chancellor of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, literary critics P.V. Ramana Reddy and C. Narayana Reddy.

“I thank my guide, S.V. Shankar, music composer S. Anji, M. Jagannadham, and N.V. Subba Rao for extending all the help,” Mr. Mahesh said.

He said he was inspired by the legendary historian C.P. Brown, who first translated the works of Vemana and compiled them into a book called ‘Verses of Vemana’ published in 1829.

Captivated

“I was captivated by the simple, colloquial style and lyrical beauty of the poems and was drawn deep into their moral, satirical and mystic themes.

Enduring great difficulty and with little financial support, I have compiled audio CDs to spread the message ingrained in Vemana’s poetry,” Mr. Mahesh told The Hindu.

He said that the poems compiled in the ‘ataveladi’ metre, consisting of four lines; with the fourth line being a mere refrain or chorus of the words - Viswadabhirama Vinura Vema - have an enduring appeal for the past, present and future generations.