2nd Amerika Telugu Sahiti Sadassu - a brief summary By Nasy Sankagiri After really brief welcome remarks from Veluri, things got underway. Prof. Velceru could not attend due to health reasons, so that was a disappointment. However, the opening panel proved fascinating enough, featuring Prof. Malayavasini (Andhra U), Prof. Jyothi (Kakatiya U) and Smt. Sivalakshmi (DD, Hyd). Malayavasini gaaru spoke on "Neglected heroines in our classics", concentrating especially on Urmila's story. Her lecture, punctuated by melodious singing, traced how telugu women tried to undo the injustice meted out to Sita in their folk songs. I have tried to retell this story in English - please check http://www.sulekha.com/philosophy/messages/9249.html Jyothi gaaru spoke on "telamgana women's folk songs from a feminist perspective". Though she did not sing, she also quoted a lot of songs to underline her points. Using well constructed arguments, she showed the systemically oppressive treatment of childless women, mothers of girl children et al. One example "biDDala ganna talli neella kaMTa bOte amavAsa ceekaTlu A bAvi lOna, koDukula ganna talli neella kaMTa bOte punnami vennela kAyu A bAvi lOna". She also contrasted the songs of typically middle class background with those of the working class. Very informative and enlightening lecture. Sivalakshmi gaaru talked about SriSri's play "1+1=1". She made some excellent points about SriSri's views on war, peace, technology, and his hope for the future of humanity. In the second session, Sree Visvanatha Acyutadeva Rayalu gaaru spoke on "Sahitee svaroopam". He took the alaMkAra principle "svasthAna vEsha bhAshAnumatayA rasaha" and explained the nuances of how rasa is produced by the capable poet with three well chosen examples from rAmAyaNa kalpavRkshaM, manucaritra and Amukta mAlyada. Sreemati Bhamidi Kamala Devi gaaru from Tanuku spoke on Bhadracala Ramadas and his saMkeertanalu. Her melodious rendering of several keertanalu were very enjoyable. However, I guess in the heat of the moment, she wrongly attributed the kRti "brocEvArevarurA" to tyAgarAju - that claim rightfully belongs to Mysore Vasudevacari. Anyway, that is nitpicking. After a fairly decent lunch, Sreemati Damaraju Lakshmi gaaru started the session with a paper on "telugulO EkAMkika". She gave some hilarious examples of cilakamarti vAri prahasanAlu. She was introducing Viswanatha Kaviraju who apparently defined the Telugu EkAMkika, but she ran out of time. Sree Vinnakota Ravisankar, a poet well-known in Andhra as well as to racchabadna readers presented an interestng paper on "kavitveekaraNa". He cited some of the tools modern poets use to sculpt impressive poetry from the various subjects with multiple examples from tilak, ismayil, kRshNaSAstri, SivAreDDi, jayaprabha, et al. Having been a little afraid of poetry all my life, I found this piece immensely useful in my beginner's attempts to enjoy poetry. The next two sessions of the day were dedicated to American Telugu writers reading from their works. Heard poems and stories read by both veterans and budding writers. It is aunique pleasure to hear the writers recite their works. In general, story writers suffered because of the ten minute time limitation. Most of them had no idea how long it would take to read their story. There were many entertaining and interesting works and one has to wait for the symposium proceedings to appear to get them in full form, I guess. Hint, hint Veluri gaaru, are you listening? :-) I'd like to comment about a few performances - it was a pelasure to hear Suprabha gaaru read her poems. In the early days, I was one of the vocal critics of her style of writing poems. However, listening to her recite them, one gets a sense of her sincerity and commitment to her craft. Suprabha gaaru, it was good to see you and hear you. A young voice I liked very much belongs to Padma Latha gaaru from Atlanta. I learnt that she is a lurker on telusa and I take this opportunity invite her to come out and start posting. Last but definitely not the least, Ravi Sankar read two poems, written about his then infant daughter, which he posted here on telusa a while ago. I also enjoyed the poem by Sree GVRK Sarma gaaru and the condensed stories of Cittenraju gaaru and Palana gaaru. I too presented a poem and a short story which were well-received. Thanks to the hospitality of Sreemati Santi Veluri, most of the attendees gathered at the Veluris' home that evening and enjoyed succulent dinner and excellent conversation. Veluri gaaru had to drive us out with a stick at midnight:-) Next day started off with a very thought provoking and inspiring speech from Prof. Pemmaraju Venugopala Ravu gaaru. It was a wake-up call to all the expatriate Telugu writers, especially those in America. He outlined very methodically the duties and the challenges ahead and how we need to go about addressing them. Machiraju Savithri gaaru presented another thought provoking analysis on "the treatment of non-Indian characters in telugu fiction". She started with Baristar Parvateesam and traced some examples up to current American Telugu writing. She pointed out that these characterizations seem to come from little or no understanding of the characters or the background culture. This essay is a must for every telugu story writer trying to write about life in America. I just want to say here that all the presentations in the sessions were thought provoking - too much provoking thoughts going on that morning, if you ask me.:-) Palana gaaru talked about "bhAsha - caitanyaM - bhavishyat". He used well placed arguments to articulate the immediate needs in University level research and the steps need to be taken for the preservation and healthy being of Telugu language. Jampala Chowdary gaaru followed with a critical review of the Telugu short story in the US. He honestly pointed out the limitations facing the editors of magazines and gave useful suggestions about improving the quality of the stories. Chi. Srinivas Paranamdi spoke about " Telugu - perspective of the youth ". He raised some pointed questions to the elders as well as to his own generation and concluded by saying that the generations have to come together and work together if Telugu is to continue in this country. Srinivas was followed by Sreemati Sreekala Vinnakota who spoke about the technics useful in teaching second languages. She drew on her experience as English teacher in Andhra and suggested that some of those technics can be used to teach telugu to children here. Veluri gaaru followed with closing remarks. The official meeting ended here. However, an informal discussion followed on topics such as Telugu Chair, Teaching Telugu, future of this sadassu, etc. Some people dispersed after lunch, but about half of us remained for more informal discussions. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. When I left, my feelings were like one who had eaten a very delicious dinner and wants to eat more! I guess it could have been better, things could have been communicated better, times could have been adjusted better, etc. etc. At the end of the day, what remains is the fact that it was a successful event. Kudos to Veluri gaaru, S.V. Rama rao gaaru and Sonty Saradapurna gaaru. There were many Chicagoans who helped with the organization and thanks to them too. I wish to thank a group of very special people - the audience. They were a minority, they were not presenting works, releasing books or receiving prizes! Still, they came, from near and far, just for the love the language, just to enjoy. To you all, a big thank you! Regards, Nasy