Those were the days: Restoring a few pearls to necklace of Telugu literature

The first book banned in Madras for its vulgarity had its literary reverence redeemed in 1947. Lifting the ban on Radhika Santawanam, the Chief Minister of Madras Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prakasam, boasted, “I am restoring a few pearls to the necklace of Telugu literature.” 

People wondered was this one of his very many quixotic ideas? Time magazine had recently lampooned him. “Old Tanguturi Prakasam, the head of the southern province of Madras, has some strange ideas. He would, for example, like to scrap Madras’ big textile industry in favour of Mohandas Gandhi’s cottage spinners…..” And now Prakasam unpredictably had set at liberty, a book of highly erotic poems. 

Sadly Radhika Santawanam, when published in 1910, was disregarded as pure dirt and was the first non-political book to be banned in Madras state. (The very first case under the Indian Penal Code for the prescription of a work on grounds of obscenity).

But the fact was, it had been around for 200 years having been written by the poetess Muddupalani (1730-1790), a courtesan and a lover of the Tanjore king. The hero Krishna was a popular God of the Hindu pantheon but the 17th-century contents were far from godly. In Muddu’s poem, the pivotal theme was lovemaking. Based on three characters, Krishna, an ageing Radha finding a youthful stand —to sate her lover and the substitute herself — Ila. However, when the young lovers consummate their union, Radha is left despondent. And the rest of the poem is about how Krishna soothes her angst. 

For 150 years, the poem lay forgotten. After the discovery of the original texts, the first version duly edited was published in 1887 after it had omitted important couplets (for obvious reasons). In a brazen accolade to herself, Muddupalani had revealed her endeavours in dance, music and literature and added a dash of divinity to her work claiming that Krishna had appeared in a dream and asked her to tell the story. Muddupalani’s autobiographical prologue which informed the readers about her accomplishments in the royal court was overlooked too. 

It was in 1910 that Nagaratnamma, a learned devadasi and a regular at caucuses of literati, read at least two versions of Radhika Santawanam she had managed to trace and the gaps in the text and a missing prologue irked her in the sanitised versions. 

After an extensive research, she finally succeeded in tracing the original palm leaf manuscript and decided to publish her own complete edition. In her preface, she highlighted the fact that this epic brimming with rasa was not only written by a woman, but by one born in her clan. And more importantly, she questioned if an erotic work became shameless only if written by a woman. 

The book caught the eye of the government’s Telugu translator and all hell broke loose. The critics started skimming the document with raised eyebrows and labelled its author as a fallen woman. One Madras-based Telugu magazine even mocked that ‘a prostitute had composed the book and another prostitute had edited it.’ 

The critics with their newly acquired Victorian sensibilities prevailed upon the colonial Government to ban this book in 1911. It was in vain that Nagaratnamma and several Telugu scholars protested. Some even called on the Governor, Arthur Lawley to lobby against the sanction (even asking if the Government would in the same light consider banning ageold English works such as Shakespeare’s.) But the inspection board gave its conclusion — Radhika Santawanam was to be proscribed and the Government passed a directive to that effect. Copies of the book were sequestered from the publishers. (Albeit without great success, for the black market was flooded with copies).

The ban on Radhika Santawanam was rescinded in 1947, but then tastes had changed and it did not help the circulation of the text. A half-century later the English translation, though not managing to convey the true essence of the triangular love still managed to spread the word of the forgotten Devadasi from the Tanjore court. 

Nagaratnamma who managed to see the injunction lifted (dying in 1952) is however known only for her other accomplishment — selling her assets to build and maintain the samadhi of the most important of the musical trinity — Thyagaraja of Thiruvaiyaru.