Iran: A Nation that Became Critical in the Geopolitical Scenario of India

The increasing uncertainties in the geopolitical scenario, such as: President Trump’s continuing with his rhetoric that is causing anxiety among friends, allies and adversaries of the US; the apparent change in the US’s China policy of ‘confrontation and cooperation’ practiced by the previous regimes, towards more of a confrontation stance; despite the known resistance from within the country, Trump’s increasing interest to reset the US relations with Russia so as to wean it away from China; countering terrorism, which in the opinion of Trump is Islamic terrorism, through focused attention by US administration; China’s ambitious plans to create connectivity infrastructure in South Asia, China, Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); importantly, with Trump at the helm of the US administration, the fear that its global footprint along with that of the West in general is likely to diminish affording space for other major powers to play a bigger role; relations of India with China looking tired and worn as is reflected in its obduracy on India’s bid for membership of NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) and its refusal to join India and the rest of the world in the listing of Masood Azhar, a known terrorist-progenitor from Pakistan under the UN Security Council’s 1267 Committee, and the recent standoff at Doklam plateau; improved relations of Russia with Pakistan in terms of its recently entering into military-hardware relationship with Pakistan, etc., are all pointing towards a complex and tension-riddled atmosphere that India has to design a constructive way forward.

Indeed, India has to strategize long-term. And obviously, any action in this direction, perhaps, shall first address itself to eliminate the apprehensions that our recent active engagement with the US has created in the minds of Russians. Similarly, we must also make Russia understand our discomfort at its increased closeness to China by enhancing our engagement with it rather than limiting ourselves to reacting to it.

In the same vein, we also need to pay attention to our friendship with Central Asian Republics that have been all along supporting India in its pursuits such as for a seat in the UN Security Council, its energy needs, etc., to counter the strategic moves that China has initiated to encircle India. As the CARs that are rich in mineral sources have become “incredibly vital” in “India’s geostrategic and geo-economic calculations”, there is an urgent need for India to reconnect itself with these countries more meaningfully. Indeed, India has long historical bonds, both culturally and economically with these countries and all that is required to be done now is to simply leverage on this history to make a better future. It is in this context that Iran assumes criticality, for it can become the viable bridge between India and CARs through its Chabahar seaport and INSTC.

Of course, India is already on this path: joined various connectivity projects such as Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline (TAPI), Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), etc. Notable among them is of course the agreement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed with Iran to develop the Chabahar seaport with an investment of $500 mn. Though Prime Minister Modi described the agreement as an alliance against terrorism, it is essentially driven by India’s larger geostrategic calculations such as: one, to cut Pakistan out of the route between India and Pakistan; two, to gain access to the Middle East and Central Asia for Indian goods;three, to counter the Pakistan-China deal to develop Gwadar port; and four, to check the Wahabi influence that had taken roots in the area ever since the erstwhile Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan in 1979.

Besides the geopolitical and strategic stakes, the development of the Chabahar port is also likely to bestow significant economic benefits on India: it plays a crucial role in facilitating access for Indian goods to Afghanistan and those from Afghan to Indian Ocean sea-lines, besides giving an edge to India’s trade with Iran. It is also sure to rationalize transport costs and importantly will reduce freight time for the movement of Indian goods to Central Asia through the proposed North-South transport corridor. Similarly, it also facilitates easy and safe movement of oil and gas from the Central Asian Republics to India. Iran has thus emerged critical in the geopolitical and economic interests of India. 

Incidentally, Iran has strategically become a centre of Beijing’s plans to increase its global footprint. China is an important market for Iranian oil—its significance getting heightened when the west imposes unilateral sanctions against Iran. China is investing heavily in Iran’s infrastructure development activity. It has become a popular destination for Chinese entrepreneurs even. 

In the light of these developments, our fostering a sustainable relationship with Iran that has become so very critical finally rests on our obvious “constructive and cordial diplomacy.” 

June 2017 Monetary Policy: what it points to…..

The June monetary policy announcement of the RBI makes interesting reading for reasons galore. One, it announced that members of the Monetary Policy Committee had refused an invitation from the Ministry of Finance for a private meeting. This is good to happen, for the monetary policy committee is supposed to be independent in its policy formulation, of course, taking into account the views of all the stakeholders including that of the government. That said, it also becomes essential to know as to what it is that the government wanted to discuss with MPC members before they decided upon its policy pronouncements. One answer could be: the government is perhaps interested in sharing their understanding of the macroeconomic data to obviously get them round to their point of view. If that is so, it is all the more disturbing, for it raises a fundamental question: Why not government place their interpretation of economic data in public domain?

Incidentally, this episode of MPC members declining ministry’s invitation for a dialog has also brought another important creeping malady of the nation into light: weakening communication policy of the government about its economic policies. Although it is essential for every player in the economy to know about the economic policies of the public institutions and the government at large so as to take informed decisions that help them in maximizing stakeholders’ value, there appears to be a general fall in the quality of economic research being carried out by the national institutions and the communication about its policy implications. Even the Economic Survey presented of late by the Ministry of Finance has lost its sheen in the sense that it has turned out to be more of a theoretical exposition rather than the government’s understanding of the data and its implications for the future of the nation. Even the RBI’s publications appear to have lost their analytical rigor. As our economy is passing through transition, the need for such governmental communication about economic policies to ensure confidence among the market players in the policy regime hardly needs to be stressed.

The other highlight of this announcement is that for the first time there was a dissent in the MPC meeting. That the MPC has not changed the policy rate is not a big surprise, but what is more surprising is: the underlying interpretation of the economic fundamentals that even leads to controversy and dissent. The Committee that moved from an ‘accommodative’ to a ‘neutral’ stance in February while holding the policy rate unchanged on the grounds that it needs “to assess how the transitory effects of demonetization on inflation and the output gap play out” had in April observed that “underlying inflation pressures persist”, and it also foresaw an increase in aggregate demand pressure while, of course, the effects of demonetization are “distinctly on the wane and should fade away by the quarter 4 of 2016-17” and hence retained the policy rate unchanged. And now in its June 7th statement, MPC stating that “transitory effects of demonetization have lingered on in price formations …entangled with excess supply conditions…; the current state of the economy underscores the need to revive private investment, restore banking sector health and remove infrastructural bottlenecks… for monetary policy to be effective”, retained policy rate unchanged.

It is against this inconsistency in the macroeconomic view of the RBI that the dissent of Ravindra Dholakia—who rather eloquently and logically arguing that:  

• given the change in the outlook and assessment of the inflation and output over time, any theoretical rule-based policy for flexible inflation targeting would not only justify but also necessitate at least 50 basis point cut in the policy rate; 
• with the monsoon forecasts creating optimism for the second consecutive good year for agricultural production, the momentum in agricultural inflation during the next 12 months is substantially less probable with obvious favorable impact on the headline CPI inflation; 
• the impact of 7th CPC recommendations on the headline CPI inflation of about 150 basis points estimated by the RBI is highly overstated because it assumes simultaneous and instantaneous implementation of the recommended HRA by the 7th CPC in the Centre and in all states almost immediately, though implementation by centre and all states in one go is more unlikely;  
• similarly, the concern about the recent farm loan waivers announced by a couple of states leading to fiscal profligacy is quite unlikely, for the states are bound by their own Fiscal Responsibility Legislations (FRLs) and even if all the states implement loan waver, its impact on inflation would only occur with a considerable time-lag, and hence it need not be a concern for the MPC, asserted that there is a justification for a 50 bp cut in policy rate—

assumes significance. Prof Dholakia even warned that “becoming cautious and not acting amounts to ignoring all costs associated with not supporting growth ... [and] is against the principle of prudence.”

Looking at all these developments, one is tempted to wonder: if there is a need for MPC to muster gumption for making economic decisions under uncertainty.

·         

…time acts rather as a solvent?

Be it in literature or in music, rain and love ....  like salt and pepper, like whiskey and soda are often found intricately woven together. 

Decked up with such images as rows of dark clouds, thunder, lightning, dancing peacocks,  a lone Chakora bird precariously perching on a branch looking up expectantly for the first drop of rains, Sanskrit poets have cantillated ethereal romance.

These images are so ingrained in our culture …in our everything right from music to dance to painting, sculpture…including our films even … nothing had been spared from their invasion….

Monsoon rains are used by our poets of yore as a symbolic frame for expressing emotions: emotions of Sringara (the science of love), Rasa (poetic moods) musical modes (Raagas) so freely and frequently. Indeed, they “add[ed] colour to my [everyone’s] sunset sky”. How true! Rains flashed colour on our imaginations …imaginations of bards as well as brawns alike … made them look bright….

And this is what indeed happened as we stepped out into the front yard of our office for a brief escape from the monotony of paper and pencil of the day. Starting as a fuhar …fine spray of tiny droplets … suddenly turned into rain…. nudging us to dodge from one dripping tree to another down the lane … and Lo! the giggling and running rekindled memories of youthful-monsoons past…for their colours remained untarnished with time…

Walking from gallery to the Horticulture Dept or from Pathology lab to Chemistry lab under the cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds that are about to burst again … along the overhanging avenue trees in the college campus… pulling a twig of the overhead branch … sudden splash of water droplets… yelling of friends who were caught unaware … gushing away from them …all those playful days are now a mere sweet memory…

There was a  certain uniqueness for rains of those days… from nowhere a bunch of clouds will assemble overhead all of a sudden and burst down and in no time drop dead …like a swirling spasmodic abdominal pain  that suddenly wrenches you down with unbearable pain and vanishes within 10 minutes… and then the sky comes out merrily as though nothing had happened…

Getting drenched in those intermittent splashdowns was so common in those days and indeed it was quite amusing too… for there was always something happening on the roads to marvel at… if only the misty eyes could catch … …  

And press the monsoon button in the mind and their memories inevitably appear… with colours intact …. That sprig of Chamanti  chrysanthemum flower dropped from the braid of that walking beauty  into that fast forming puddle in the middle of the college lane …  …

Evenings of Sravan  month …  flocks of girls in kanchi silks on the road …  fragrance of yellow Chamantis infused with davanam (Artemisia pallens) leaves of  aromatic herb …   walking in droves… giggling and chirping … silent glances in the creeping-in darkness… a beginning of romance… that never went anywhere ….

Now the big question is: how true are these memories to what actually happened? do my roommate and others remember those lazy-walkings under the drenched trees… in the campus avenues …  those pranks ... that dripping water…? As the time passed, does that leaning beauty ever think of the Chamanti that dropped into the puddle from her braid? 

Well! Time doesn’t always act as a fixative, rather acts as a solvent, isn’t it?  

Ha! this reminds me of a half-forgotten thought over which me and my roommate often used to quibble a lot while walking on the railway track in the dusk:  … “it’s not time that is passing but you and me, right?" …. It’s of course, a different matter that whenever I make such statements, my roommate used to immediately put me down: “arye yaar  tumbi na… don’t talk about your borrowed ideas…”

But then ... I was so influenced by that shocking scene from the film, ‘The Cranes Are Flying’, that I saw back home in Venus picture palace: … after the air ride, Veronica, going back to her apartment from the bomb-shelter to look for her parents… climbing that beautiful staircase— on which her boyfriend, Boris used to chase her …. perhaps to catch his happiness—discovers that her parents have simply disappeared.. … and all that remaining there in that rubble … in that deadly silence …. is only a loudly ticking clock on the wall …. perhaps, to say: “Hey! life goes on… … no matter your parents are … …!”

And yeah, surprisingly this time round, that old thought— 'it’s not time that is passing but U and me' — doesn’t sound glib as it did in those days … and must be the same today with even my roommate, perhaps!

Oh!  we have had enough… let me wrap up this walk down the monsoon-lanes by recalling what that fiery Faize in whose poetry romance and politics, sensuous lyricism and passion … all flow together as a finely blended malt… said:  “Chand nikley kisi janib teri zebai ka / rung badle kisi surat shab-e-tanhai ka” (let the moon of your beauty rise from some quarter / and change the mood somehow of this lonely evening) … rainy-day?

 ….                          

                                                                                                             

Dr C Narayana Reddy : The Poet Steeped in Optimistic Humanism

Narayana Reddy, an eminent poet in Telugu, a scholar, critic and an equally successful lyricist, orator, educationalist, administrator and a Bharatiya Jnanpith award winner died on 12th June, aged 85.

C Narayana Reddy, popularly known as CINARE, which has become “a byword in every Telugu home for lyrical excellence and verbal-melody in poetry and song”, was born in Hanmajipet village in Karimnagar district of Telangana state in July 1931. He came from a family of agriculturists and his parents were Malla Reddy and Buchchamma.

Intriguingly, he had his education up to graduation in urdu medium and it is only in MA and PhD that he studied Telugu literature. He then started his academic career as lecturer teaching Telugu at the Secunderabad Arts and Science College and then became a professor at Osmania University. Later he held many notable posts such as Vice-Chancellor of Open University in 1985 and Potti Sriramulu Telugu University in 1989, chairman, State Official Language Commission (1981-85) and Adviser to state government on cultural affairs during 1997-2004.

This academician, who, out of his sheer intense love for language had not only read the ancient and medieval classics of Telugu literature along with the contemporary poetry on his own but also imbibed its nuances thoroughly, had finally made his debut as a writer with the publication of a slender volume of musical-lyrical ballad, Navvani Puvvu (the Bashful Flower) in 1953. Later he emerged as a full-pledged poet with the publication of his Ritu Chakram (Cycle of Seasons) in 1964, Madhyataragati Mandahasam (Tender Smiles of Middle Class) in 1968, Mantalu Manavudu (The Flames and the Man) in 1970 and finally, his magnum opus, Viswambhara in 1980.

His canvas is expansive. He had been consistently bringing out a volume of poems on his every birthday. He had penned over 80 literary works that included poems, lyrical-plays, prose-plays, translations, ghazals and so on. True to his very age, his early poetry is instinctually romantic. But over his long poetic career of over five decades, he traversed varied and complex poetic paths: classical, progressive, revolutionary, and humanistic without, of course, ever confining himself to any narrow ideological school. His poems are known for his subtlety of thought, depth of feeling and lucidity of expression. His diction is musical. His poetic output is quite impressive in volume and variety. Being a fine blend of popular appeal and artistic virtuosity—a fusion of lyrical romanticism, optimistic humanism, progressive idealism, and healthy realism—his poetry that ever expanded into newer frontiers of themes and schemes caught the attention of pundits and commoners alike.

His early anthologies such as Navvani Puvvu are full of beauty in its various manifestations that created a fascinating world of magic. In Karpura Vasanatarayalu, a lyrical-play, while portraying the infatuation of Vasantha Rayalu for Lakuma, he creates such ethereal images as:

You are the

Full resplendent Moon;

I am the

Darling lily flower;

The fragrant staircase

Links us up

Eternally.[1]

Prof Chekuri Ramarao observes that “for sheer elegance of lyrical expression, mellifluous language, arresting image, haunting melody and tilting rhythm, Vasanata Rayalu that was written by him at a very young age has few equals in contemporary Telugu poetry”.

In a poem called ‘Neetipaata’, perceiving water as an allegory to beauty, he describes the flowing water airing a soulful raag:

“muvvalaa

muralilaa

mohana Radhikalaaa

—–like an anklet-bell / like a flute / like enchanting Radhika”, which aptly depicts his mastery over language and imagery as also his love for nature. It is this innate love of him for splendorous nature that well reflects in his Ritu Chakram, in which he proclaims:

I visualise the universe entire

As one composite whole;

Inside it glows the Divine

Lamp

Of sweet fraternity and

Friendship¹

Along with his growing age as he turned away from romanticism to humanism, he expresses his amazing awareness about man’s eternal search for joy amidst perpetual strife in a finely chiselled image in his Mantaluu - Manavudu:

Agniparvatam anchu meeda

Anandam etukutunnadu

On the top of the volcanic mountain

Seeking bliss¹

Empathizing with the middle-class people and their struggle against the stifling environment of rich craving for more wealth and power sans scruples, Reddy garu portrays them in his poem, Madhya Taragati Mandhaasam as collectors of: “The flowerpots of worries / The crackers of little tiffs” for Deepavali. At the same time, being a staunch optimist steeped in humanism and hope, and being confident of man’s ability to conquer the predicaments with the aid of science and technology, he describes man’s struggle for bringing in change thus in Mantalu- Maanavudu:

Endowed with imagination, Man,

Radiant like the Sun,

Restless like Mass upsurge

Hasn’t cooled off.¹ 

Narayana Reddy garu had a supreme command over the language and the craft of poesy. His ‘poetic competence’ infuses Sabdaalankara—a fine rhyme—in his poetry in which we witness not only the rhyme of sound but also the meaning of the words so well projecting a fine imagery that leaves the reader in an exquisite joy as is experienced while reciting the following lines:

“Aakula miida

reekula miida

goolla miida

goodala miida

kattula orala miida

kaagitam porala miida

cheeti karrala miida

tambura burrala miida

rekkaletti egisindi

Dekkaletti nadichindi

padagaletti nartinchindi

goduguletti wartinchindi.”

“On leaves, on plates

on walls and on finger-nails

on the scabbards and on rolls of paper

on walking sticks and on the chambers of tanpuras

it flapped its pinions

it pranced with its hoofs;

it danced with out-spread hoods

it spread its tinted parasol.”[2]
                                        (Viswambhara)

The poet’s robust optimism and his faith in the immense strength of man in even transcending the constraints of time and accomplishing eternity reflects so well in these lines:

A cloud sobbed aloud:

The days of roaming are but few,

A flower signed alone:

The time of blossom is but a day,

A dewdrop smiled away:

The time of thrill is but a moment…

The stout heart

That knows no retreat,

With clenched fists, shouted:

The span of the kinetics

Of the soul Force

Is Eternal.

The significant feature of his poetry is the deep humanism—“Poetry is my mother tongue / The theme pervasive is humanness”—and this credo radiates all through his epic, Viswambhara, for which he was bestowed Jnanpith award in 1988. As he declared himself,  Viswambhara’s protagonist is man, “the apex of the rhythmic throb of nature / …the image of revolving universe.” Its backdrop is the vast universe. It delineates man’s history without of course getting bogged down with dates and names. And in it man appears in his varied emotional states as powered by the prowess of his mind. It chronicles the progress of the man from the beginning to till the date of writing. Mapping man’s endeavor under three heads: cultural, scientific and spiritual along with the setbacks that he encountered, the poet asserts that though wounded, man has not vanquished. It is portraying his images of the cosmos on these lines, the poet signs off his epic in an optimistic note: “Manasuku todugu manishi / Manishiki udupu jagati / edee viswambharaatatvam / Ananta jeevita satyam—–Man is the rob of the mind / and the universe is the mantle of Man. / This is the earth’s perennial nature,— / this is life’s eternal feature.”

In between, tracing the divergent faculties of mind and glorifying its prowess, the poet, who is a keen observer of man, sarcastically presents its weaknesses too:

Himagirula pai egasee manasee

iruku loyallo chorabadutundhi

arunodayanalunu prathistinechee manasee

piriki chikatloo digabdutundhi”

The mind hovers over Himalayan summits

disdains not to enter dark crooked lanes

the mind ushers glorious dawns

gets entangled in gloom’s quagmire.

Realizing the futility of arrogance and war and scared by their consequences, the poet, in his desire for universal love, quips:

Vinaashanam jarigite kadu

Vivekam perigithe gelupu

Samaram ragilinchedi bheethi

Sahanam varshincheedi Preethi

Anuraagam chese saasanamee

Asalina raajaneethi       

Not in destruction but in expanding illumination

True victory is scored

War kindles fear, compassion showers love

The sway of love is mightier than slaughter

That is the essence of rule

He, narrating how circumstances make ordinary mortals into extraordinary paving the way for progress of the mankind, asserts:

 “Ee rampam koota leekunte

elaa puduthundi wenuwu?

Ee uli debbaa padakun te

eelaa palukuthundi staanuwu?”

“Without the gnawing saw

the reed cannot be fashioned as a flute,

without the stroke of chisel

the stone cannot be carved as an articulating idol.”

Connecting the past accomplishments of mankind with the present, he observes:

“The hand that worked the wheel

the hand that framed the law

the brain that fashioned the poems

the mind that nurtured science

shared the same reward

shared the same regard”

As though echoing John Milton, Reddy garu muses over the mind in Viswambhara thus:

“Between the sage and the brute

between refinement and defilement

between impulsion and compulsion

between compassion and carnage

the mind holds the balance delicate

the mind saws the sad primordial.”

As the poet and critic of eminence, Shiv K Kumar observed in his foreword written for Amarendra’s English translation, Viswambhara, a new form of epic in free verse that expounds “such fundamental problems as free will, evil and redemption” of man, merits comparison with Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dante’s La Divine Commedia.

Reddy garu, the poet, had also written many lilting lyrics to numerous Telugu films, whose qualitative endeavor had enriched film songs. Capitalizing on the break given by NTR as lyricist for the film, Gulebakavali Katha, for which he penned an evergreen song, “Nannu dochukunduvate vannela dorasani …” in 1962, he carved a space for himself among the then well-entrenched doyens like Atreya, Samudrala, Devalapalli Krishnasastri, Arudra, and established himself as a successful lyricist in Telugu film-world penning over 3,000 songs spanning over five decades. His songs of 60s echo romanticism at its best. For instance, in the song that he wrote for his very first film, Nannu dochukonduvate, he uses a rare expression in the last charanam that sways the listener into an ethereal lull:

Enaatido mana bandham erugarani anubhandam

(Ageless is our bonding, unfathomable is our alliance)

                        enni yugaalaina idi igiriponi gandham….

(For ages to come, its fragrance shall remain afresh).  

My refrain of this song is: ‘igiriponi gandham’—never-degenerating fragrance.

There are two more songs that he penned for the film, Poojaphalam (1964) that mesmerizes me even today. The first melody is: Pagale vennela jagame ooyala (moonlit day, swinging universe). This song had engaged our utmost attention during the summer holidays of 1964 for, walking along the Bose Road in the mornings, how continually we—me, YSR, Sridhar et al.—discussed about the wild imaginations steeped in contradictions—–

Pagale Vennela Jagame Uuayala

(Moonlit day, swinging universe)/

Ningiloni Chandamama Tongi Chuse, Neetilona Kaluva Bhaama Pongi Puche

(Moon peeped out through the sky, lotus in the pond bloomed in ecstasy);

Kadali Piluva Kanne Vagu Parugu Teese, Murali Paata Vinna Naagu Sirasunupe

(at the call of sea, the virgin stream rolled down, listening to flute the snake swayed its hood );

Neeli Mabbu Needa Lechi Nemali Aade, Pula Rutuvu Saiga Chusi Pikamu Paade

(Peacock danced under the shade of blue sky, at the guesture of spring cuckoo cooed);

Manase Veenagaa Jhana Jhana Mroyagaa, Bratuke Punnamigaa Virisipodaa

(As the mind rings Ghana Ghana as Veena, won’t life glow like the fullmoon?)

—aired in the song. And no one was prepared to listen to my pleadings that all this absurdity could turn real, could bloom in reality if only those free flowing imaginations—kadilee Uhalake Kannulunte—had eyes of their own. The second song from this film that I relish most is: “Ninna leni andameedo nidura leche nenduko—How come, sensuousness that was not there yesterday, woke up?” My refrain from this song is: 

Pasidi anchu paita jaara… aa…aa…oo…ooo

(As the gold-rimmed paita (woman's mantle across chest) slipped)

payaninche megha baala

(Sailing cloud-lass)

aruna kanthi sokagaane paravasinchneee

(At the very kiss of Sun’s glow goes into ecstasies)….

One of the finest lyrical imagination steeped in romanticism ever penned for a film!

Lastly, I cannot refrain myself from quoting his another gem of lyrics from the film, Amara Silpi Jakkana (1963) that remains immortal:

“Ee nallani rallalo, ye kannulu dageno

(In these dark rocks whose eyes remained hidden)

 ee bandala maatuna ye gundelu mroogenoo …”

(In these heartless boulders whose tender spirits rang-out….)

which portrays the sublime beauty of the dark-boulders’ feelings:

“Paapaalaku thapaalaku bahu dooramulonunnavi

(Stays far away from evils and anger);

kadalalevu medalalevu pedavi vippi palukalevu

(Can’t move or rove, can’t mouth a word even);

Vuli alikidi vinnanthane gala galamani pongi poralu

(Listening to the sound of chisel, giggle with ecstasy);

Paina katinamanipinch lona venna kanipinchunu

(Outwardly look hard but inside soft like butter)

—‘personification’ at its figurative best, listening which, that too, in the celestial voice of Ghantasala, one gets transported to distant worlds…   

This multi-faceted personality’s “signature [name] scribbled/On the sand”, as the poet himself once said might vanish “in a moment”, but his poetry, “sculpted/On the forehead of Time” that delves “deep into the mysteries of life, displaying a rare sense of balance” is sure to “Def[y]… the transience of time” and is certain to treat the readers of future generations with dear delight.

---

Portrait -  by Sri Sankara Narayana Sathiraju. I thank him profusely for permitting me to use his drawing. 

[1] Translated by Prof SS Prabhakar Rao, Former Prof of English, JNTU, Hyderabad.

[2]  Verses quoted from Viswambhara : A  Modern Epic, English rendering by Dr. Amarendra (1986), Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.