Paryavarana Kavitodyamam (English: Environment Poetry Movement) is a 21st-century Telugu-language environmental literary movement. There are many literary movements in Andhra Pradesh during pre independence period. These movements were mainly on Indian independence and freedom struggle. After independence, it has turned to social issues and disparities time to time. Feminism and Dalit rights were the issues in late 20th century. Now 21st century is the period for Environment Poetry Movement in Telugu literature. This is called Paryavarana Kavitodyamam and it is the need of the hour. This paper explains how Paryavarana Kavitodyamam is bringing new trends in Telugu literature during 2008–2009 with the brief history of earlier literary movements.
Literary Movements in Pre & Post Independence Period
Telugu poetry has such history of more than a millennium. Many numbers of classical poets have enriched the poetry and the literature with their works. The modern poetry has influenced the Telugu poetry up to 1950s. Urbanization, Industrialization, strained relations with the nature and in family, lack of love and unity between human beings etc., have created a fear psychosis and loneliness in the modern man which was unknown to him earlier. Modern poets have reacted to this pathetic condition of man and expressed their feelings in poetry.
Encounters with British rule have generated all kinds of responses – from downright self-deprecation to rabid self-righteousness. Telugu poetry in the twentieth century hinges more or less on these two extreme responses. On the one hand, there are poets who still swear by old classical virtues of artistic finesse, refined idiom and sacred sentiments; on the other, there are poets who sing in coarse colloquial language with overtly irreverent tones.
Twentieth century Telugu poetry one finds a clear divide, almost a running feud, among twentieth century Telugu poets over the issue of what constitutes the right stuff for poetry. The impact of English education and various social reform movements is clearly visible in these lines.
Poetry of Feeling
Later a new school called Bhavakavitvam (poetry of feeling), spearheaded by Rayaprolu Subbarao and Devulapalli Krishna Sastri, held sway for quite a while. With their accent on non-sexual love, the poets of this school tried to parody the erotic and sensuous poetry of their Sanskrit and Telugu predecessors. But very soon this school, for its lack of social and political consciousness, came under fierce attack from the Marxists. The soft imagery of moonlight, jasmine flowers, cool breeze, etc., was soon replaced by the stark and jarring images of violence, excreta and anarchy. Pathabi Rama Reddy, a poet of this raw new sensibility, writes: "Sorry moon. What can I say?/ No one even mistakes you for a lost rupee coin/ Really you are not wanted here."
Progressive & Revolutionary Poetry
From the 1950s onward, it was the progressive poets who ruled the Telugu poetry. The Abhyudaya Rachayitala Sangham (Progressive Writers’ Association) followed by another association, the Virasam (Revolutionary Writers' Movement), along with many local Naxalite and Maoist associations, have dominated the Telugu literary scene. The poet who emerged almost as an icon was Sri Sri who, much like Paash in Panjabi, created a powerful anti-establishment, anti-colonial and anti-capitalist sentiment among the public at the grassroots level. In a poem entitled Myth of Myself, the poet imagines himself to be a Naxalite who transforms himself into a pumpkin after being killed by the police in a false encounter. When the pumpkin is swallowed by a cow, even resting in the intestines of a cow is a luxury: "Aha! Moving about in the belly of the cow/ is like staying in a five-star hotel." The poet as rebel wants to "return through cow's excrement" so that he is ready for another round of armed combat with the power-structures. Sri Sri wants to lend "his voice" to "the roar of the world," offer his "tear" to "the rain of the world."
Revolutionary poets of Andhra Pradesh who continuously feed the Naxalite movement in Andhra Pradesh through their soul-stirring songs. These songs may not have an artistic tone, but written in dialects used by low castes, these songs go well with the masses in the countryside. Most of the songs border on plain political rhetoric and even sloganeering, but perhaps this is what the political and social reality of Andhra-region. Similarly English writings also published in newspapers by the poets and journalists to support the movement.