Gurram Jashuva Birth Anniversary: Remembering Navayuga Kavi Chakravarty

Navayuga Kavi Chakravarti Gurram Jashuva who hailed from Vinukonda in Guntur district was one of the great Telugu poets of this century. His several literary works reflect the ugly face of casteism and how it tried to overshadow literary art which knew no caste religion or race.

Childhood

Gurram Jashuva was born on 28 September 1895 in Vinukonda of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh to Virayya and Lingamma. His parents are from different castes by which Jashuva has been plagued by superstition since childhood in a society full of superstitions. After joining the school to study, Jashuva began to have faced difficulties and was subjected to many insults from teachers and fellow children due to his caste. At times, when children of the upper castes made fun of the name of the caste, Jashuva would turn around and beat them.

Career

Jashuva who got married to Mary in 1910 got a job at a missionary school with a salary of Rs. 3 per month. After losing that job, he went to Rajahmundry and worked as a film reader there in 1915-16. The task is to read the story and dialogues in the background in line with the story happening on the screen in those days when there were no talkie movies. He later worked as a teacher for ten years at a teacher training centre run by the Lutheran Church in Guntur. Later he worked as a Telugu scholar in a high school in Guntur from 1928 to 1942.

He also served as a war propagandist during World War II. Between 1957-59 he worked as a program producer on the Madras Radio Station. Joshua has had creativity since childhood such as Drawing dolls, singing songs. He learnt Jupudi Megha Sandesham, Raghuvansham, and Kumara Sambhavam at Hanumachastri and wrote 36 books and many poems.

Works as a poet

The best of his works as a poet is Gabbilam, which he wrote in 1941. The story is about a man from a downtrodden caste who sends a message to Kasi Viswanath about his difficulties as he cannot enter the temple. The way the story of the protagonist was described touches the hearts.

In another major work of Jashuva, Piradousi's story is about the poet Firdousi, in the court of the Persian king Mohammed Ghazni. The king promises the poet, a gold mohur for every word in a work he commissions the poet to write. After the poet spends ten years of his life, toiling day and night to create a masterpiece, the king, coming under the influence of jealous courtiers, reneges on his promise and offers only silver coins. The poet heartbroken at this breach of trust commits suicide. Jashuva's depiction of the anguish of the poet is superb and moves the readers to tears.

Prominent among the works...

He had written Baapoojee in 1948 in memory of Mahatma Gandhi after hearing the news of his death. Rukmini Kalyanam, Chidananda Prabhatham, Kushalopakhyanam, Kokila, Krishnanadi, Samsara Sagaram, Shivaji Prabandham, Veerabai, Krishnadevarayalu, Vemana Yogindrudu, Bharatmata, Bharat Veerudu, Swapnakatha has written in 1932, Mumtaz Mahal, Sindooram, History of Christ in 1958, 1968 were among his prominent works.

Gurram Jashuva received the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award, Kalaprapurna, and Padma Bhushan awards.