TRIVENI, India’s
Literary and Cultural Quarterly; deserves encomiums for its rich literary
values and varied cultural interests. It attracts wide readership especially
that of intellectuals across the
world. Its kaleidoscopic concepts: culture and literature; arts and fine arts;
history and heritage; tradition and civilization; values and virtues; justice
and orderliness; science and technology; games and sports; education and
enlightenment; scriptures and sculptures; faith and religion; etc present the
confluence of diverse cultures with their snapshot details to represent the
affluence of Indian renaissance. Dr. V.K. Gokak appreciates TRIVENI for its merits, “… it was
indeed a step in the direction of federation of cultures, arts and literatures
through identification of their similarities and a cross-fertilization of
ideas.” (Jan-Mar, 2003) All literary pieces enshrined in the journal mark all literary
values. ‘The Triple Stream’ excels the others with its lucidity for
comprehensibility and variety for avidity and welcomes its voracious readers at
its threshold to leave them enlightened for a great awakening.
The Chief Editor, Prof.
I.V.Chalapati Rao has to his credit ‘the triple streams’ in TRIVENI to reflect his multisided
genius and multi-dimensional learning like Francis Bacon. His triple streams
aim at establishing cultural, moral and human values, building and rebuilding
India to renew and revive her past glory and splendor; name and fame;
recognition and reputation; crowning her the ideal and the model nation to
other nations. He cannot think of the degeneration or decadence of values in
India, “It looks as though the country has run out of intellectuals, men and
women of true heroic stature and simple living”(Oct-Dec, 2012). His ‘triple
streams’, essays are real ‘attempts’ to preserve human values and moralistic
standards in the world in general and in India in particular. They reflect his deep anguish for the downfall
of human values as he is human in relation, humanistic in approach and
humanitarian in feeling. His philosophy is humanity and his essays are the
lessons in humanism. For him a good essay must have a lesson in human values for
the revival and renewal of the past glory and splendor in India. He
teaches humanity from the heart of his heart as he respects human and moral
values. His readers are not for just knowledge but for enlightenment and
awakening to human values. By virtue of such merits, his essays have gained
universal appeal. It is an undeniable fact and an open truth in the literary
spectrum through the journalistic medium.
Prof. Rao’s essays are
characterized by lucidity for avidity. They are free from obscurity and difficulty
of Bacon’s Essays. The reader finds in his essays the felicity of expressions
due to his lightness and ease. His sentences are crispy in style, weighty in
thoughts, moralistic in teaching and humanistic in spirit. They are
conveniently short unlike those of Bacon. His essays, therefore, mark terseness
of expression and beauty in brevity. His grammatical compactness suits his
terseness of expressions. Finally his aphoristic style is remarkable for we
find in it quotable sentences and knowledgeable maxims. For example, ‘Life is
not a celluloid world of make believe’, ‘Teachers should lead by example’ (Oct-Dec,
2011), ‘Happiness is not a gift of accident’, ‘It is not chance but a choice’ (April-June,
2003), etc are at once crisp and aphoristic.
Apart from these values, his
essays are within the reach of a common man in all respects. The titles of his
essays are lengthy unlike those of Bacon but they are as effective as Walt
Whitman’s titles. The reader is enabled to learn the gist of the essay by the
title. He ironically passes comments on man with his questions and exclamations:
‘Is not happiness within us?’(Oct-Dec, 2002), ‘There will be second spring in
old age!’(Jan-Mar, 2002), ‘Wise men are happy even with small things but
nothing pleases the fool!’(April-June, 2003), etc and finds the readers at ease
and comfort. He aptly quotes Tolstoy’s story, ‘How much land does man need?’ to
comment on the selfish and avarice attitude of man. His light humor presents the reader a pleasant
mood to know life-truths and ground-realities. By all literary merits, he
fulfills the objective of Bacon: “A good essay must have a grain of salt within
it.”
Bacon uses long sentences with
parentheses and foreign expressions some times unlike Prof. Rao for his use of
small and crisp sentences. Both the essayists display their wide learning for
different goals. He teaches humanism whereas Bacon teaches utilitarianism “the
philosophy of fruits”. Bacon gives importance to the subject with truths and
facts related to domestic relations whereas Prof. Rao involves himself by
virtue of his humanistic concern for man. Both of them are moralists with
different outlooks. Bacon’s essays with his great learning are mere recreations
for utilitarianism whereas the triple streams are sheer lessons on humanism
with open truths and accepted facts.
Prof. Rao composes various types
of essays for his social documents, character portraits, biographical sketches,
treaties on humanity, etc apart from his works: Indian Renaissance, Ancient Wisdom Modern Insights, Culture, Art of
Living, Living through Changing Times, etc. For him, morals and ethics are
very essential in all walks of life as they lead man to honesty,
responsibility, humanity, orderliness, fairness, frankness, justice, etc. When
one is committed to them, one will be away from the lures, temptations and
provocations of vices: corruption, deception and exploitation. Today’s news
papers are filled with the news of rapes, murders, moss-killings, thefts,
robbery, ragging and kidnaps which are a few against their infinitude. Who and
what are responsible for these inhuman acts? Cinemas, TV channels, etc are the
root-causes and “weapons of mind pollution, mass distraction, rampant
consumerism, casual sex and commodification of women” (Jan-Mar, 2010). Selfish
people think in terms of earning money, forgetting morals in any business or
customer transaction. He rightly says,
“Many people think that ethics and business are antithetical and mutually
exclusive” (Jul-Sep, 2011). Business
today is not free from deception and the falsity of advertisements. Now
corruption is another evil which is much talked of and debated without arriving
at a solution for it. He vehemently
criticizes the clashes between the people of different religions, regions,
castes, classes, sects or others in the realm of society. He rightly says, “Great
men make small men painfully aware of their smallness. Puny persons are not at
ease in the company of great men” (Jan-Mar, 2006). For him, man-to-man relation
should be healthy and harmonious for mutual encouragement and enlightenment.
Gentle pat, charming smile, hearty hug, kind advice, etc., should motivate
fellow citizens to do right things to come up with flying colors in life since
“it is human relations job”(Jan-Mar, 2012). He feels that the teaching of morals
and ethics is the most essential ingredient of his essays to promote humanity.
Man’s thinking in the right way brings about right actions and righteous deeds “for
individual and social evolution.”(Apr-Jun, 2008)
Whether mother is great or the
motherland is great is the question on the option of a citizen for integration.
According to Prof. Rao, the worthy citizens say that Mother India is greater
than Mother. He is a worthy citizen for his patriotic fervor and nationalistic
zeal to the core. He quotes not only lessons from scriptures, sermons in stones
and teachings of saints but also from the lives of great people and the
Constitution of India to sow the seeds of patriotism and transcend “religious,
linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices
derogatory the dignity of women; and to value and preserve the rich heritage of
our composite culture” (Oct-Dec, 2011). He always reflects his woes and throes
of Mother India for corruption, bribery and indiscipline today.
According to Prof. Rao, man is
the part of society and he plays the most vital and pivotal role in the welfare
of the society he lives in. The orderliness of society depends on man in the
way the quality of a tree depends on the quality of a seed. Man-to-man relation
should be pure and sure to promote the welfare of human society and ensure man’s
well-being but it is otherwise in the age of science and technology. Man’s
intelligence is deliberately used in the fulfillment of coveted goals and
vested interests. Prof. Rao opines, “Artificial intelligence will replace human
intelligence.”(Apr-June, 2005) and feels sorry for the most unwelcome change.
He welcomes scientific advance and technological progress for constructive
purposes in the promotion of human values. The progress of science and
technology goes meaningless and senseless “when the poor are denied their
meager meal and aqua!”(Jan- Jun, 2002). Man’s welfare is the key one to fulfill
the prime objective of man in society.
Mr Rao applauds science for its
advances and inventions by looking at its positive side but criticizes its negative
side reflecting on its destruction. All scientists start their invention with ‘doubt’
rather than ‘faith’. He reiterates, “It is plagued with several short-comings: indeterminism,
irreversibility, uncertainty, non-linearities, etc”. He supports the view of
Prof. Planck: “Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature…” He further adds that it “is being used by the
vested interests to exploit and further impoverish the poor.” He too looks at the destructive side of
science, “It has become the hireling of politics and is destroying life and
property by producing nuclear bombs and other of mass destruction.’(April-June,
2005)
Prof. Rao is an out-and-out
humanist as well as a lover of nature: flora and fauna to reflect his human
touch. He emphasizes the need for ecological balance, environmental care and nature
proliferation for human welfare. He ascribes the colossal losses of Mother Earth:
deforestation, pollution, etc to man for he is the one “who commits matricide”.
It is very essential on the part of man to conserve nature by all means. He
opines in ‘Nature Endangered’ that trees are to be grown as a remedy for
pollution and other problems, ‘the cure for the present ills is the study of
scriptures of the past to learn lessons’ (Oct-Dec, 2012). Man should forget his
suicidal war against nature with him as its integral part to prove his
insightful wisdom in the preservation of humanity and bio-diversity.
India is famous for its traditional
and cultural varieties. It has a pluralistic society for its rich variety of
social, ethical and religious values. Though it has diversity, it has unity in
tact to achieve harmony. The essayist is happy that some British scholars too
appreciated India
for the treasure of her literatures, cultures, customers, traditions, arts,
games, laws, archaeology, wisdom, etc in spite of their hatred. In the age of
globalization or the world becoming “a true global village-a mini
multi-cultural world”, it witnesses all unwelcome changes in the name of modern
fashions and cultures: “proliferation of
vulgarity, unabashed luxury and commodification of women” (Jan-Mar, 2010). All
cultural values have become topsy-turvy due to various reasons without any ways
for solution by means of good thinking..
For the solution of ills, evils,
entangles and riddles in today’s society, the preaching of scriptures helps the
man today as they serve as a beacon light for the flight of life. Prof. Rao
exhorts man to approach the scriptures for the solution of the cruel
deforestation and ecological imbalance and for the salvation of mankind sans
miseries. ‘Unity in diversity’ is the message of the Vedas. In the same way,
sculptures in holy places are sermons and lessons in humanism. They shape the minds and the personalities of
on-lookers. Our culture and heritage, embedded in scriptures and sculptures,
serve to be reservoirs of wisdom for the education of the people today. Prof.
Rao feels that apart from scriptures and sculptures, the teachings of great men
and women retold in their biographical sketches stand as the compass for the
voyage of life. He is influenced by the lives of Swami Viveknnda, Rabindranath
Tagore, etc. Vivekananda influences him by the spiritual concept of The Gita: “Nishkama karma”. He admits Tagore’s view of “the slavish system of
education which encourages parrot-like repetition of lessons from the
text-book.” For the student, the text serves as a pretext and the teacher is to
quote many things from his wide knowledge and rich experience in the
observation of the society around, “True education comes even from the
companionship of trees and the presence of Naure” (April-June, 2012). His essay,
‘New Winds Blowing in the Corridors of Higher Education’ presents an exhaustive
list of Commissions and their obligations to improve the quality of education. His
extensive reading and comprehensive understanding of the scriptures and the
lives help him conceive triple streams for the readers to receive the fruits
for assimilation.
Like Bacon’s essays, the triple
streams reflect the multisided interests of Prof. Rao. He touches all subjects
with equal dexterity. Arts and fine arts like music are to bestow on man
indefinable experience and pleasant feeling. Prof. Rao says, “The queenliest of
the fine arts”, “music soothes the frayed nerves and reduces the level of
metabolism”(April-June, 2002). He talks of many Indian musicians and music
lovers giving music spiritual status as it presents bliss and cures diseases as
well. He refers to the art of letter-writing too for it is very much missing
with its warmth and gaiety in the modern scenario. He expresses his anguish
over the vanishing of the art, “We lament the loss of many good things and
positive features of the by-gone times.” The art of playing meant for health
and happiness is in the dire need of encouragement. Games and Sports are
instrumental in the promotion of international understanding and mutual
development. Now match-fixing and misunderstanding replace the values already established
for games and sports. In a positive vein, he heartily encourages games and
sports, giving room in his triple streams.
In the concomitant and convenient
genre of compositions, Prof. I.V.Chalapati Rao, as a humanist and true patriot has
had vision and mission; objective and perspective of his own for the revival of
the past glory of India
in all resects to see it at the crest of the list of well-cultured countries.
He does not mind much though it does not advance in respect of science and
technology but, in his triple streams of TRIVENI
and other writings, he minds much for
its status as a nation of humanity. The
concept of humanity dealt with fine dexterity has won universal appeal.
Published in TRIVENI, Jan-Mar
2014, Vol: 83. No: 1
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