Seshendra

Infobox Writer
name = Gunturu Seshendra Sarma


caption =
birthdate = October 20, 1927
birthplace = Nagarajupadu, Nellore District
deathdate = May 30, 2007
deathplace = Hyderabad

Dr. Gunturu Seshendra Sharma ( _te. గుంటూరు శేషేంద్ర శర్మ)(October 20, 1927 -May 30, 2007), popularly known as Yuga Kavi was a well known Telugu poet, critic and litterateur. He is well known for his works Naa Desham , Naa Prajalu( _te. నా దేశం, నా ప్రజలు )and ( _te. కళా రేఖ )

Biography

Parents: Mr.Subrahmanyam Sharma and Mrs.AmmaayammaLegal Heirs: Mrs.G.Janaki(Wife) Mrs.Vasundhara,Mrs.Revathi(dauthgers)Vanamaali,Saatyaki(sons)Dr.Gunturu Seshendra Sharma was born on 20th October 1927, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. He has graduated from the Andhra University, obtained his Law degree from the Madras University.He joined Andhra Pradesh State Government in 1949 and became a Municipal Commissioner.

He is also married to the famous telugu poetess Rajkumari Indira Dhanrajgir, daughter of Raja Dhanrajgirj the erst while Nobels from Hyderabad, who during the Nizam era were richest merchant princes of hyderabad.

Works

Yuga Kavi'Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, 'a collossus and immortal of literature, who is a trendsetter both in poetry and criticism and occupies a place of crucial importance in the development and evolution of Modern Indian literature, is from Nellore. His books have been translated into English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Kannada, and Greek'.He is the only person to have been nominated for Nobel prize for his contribution to literary field from India.West Bengal government conferred him with "'Rashtrendu"(Moon of the Nation).Telugu University conferred Honorary D.Litt on him in 1994.He received "Kalidas Samman" award from Madhya Pradhesh government.He won Central Sahitya Akademi fellowship in 1999.The other important awards Seshendra received are ‘Subrahmanya Bharati Ekta Award’ from the Hindi Academy, Rashtriya Sanskriti Puraskar’, ‘Ugadi Puraskar’, ‘Tilak Award’ and ‘Sahitya Ratna 2001’ from Sri Ram Sahitya Mandal, Himachal Pradesh. He has been nominated as a member to the ‘Kendriya Hindi Samithi’ by Prime Minister of India. He was selected for Hamsa Award, in 2004-05, by the Govt. of AP.

Seshendra’s deep scholarship in Vedas, Upanishads and Kavyas has placed him in a unique position among the scholarly stallwarts of the country.His Magnum Opus ‘Naa Desham, Naa Prajalu’ (‘My Country, My People’ in English, ‘Meri Dharti, Mere Log’in Hindi and Urdu ) brought Seshendra prominence as one of the outstanding poets of India.Epics like ADHUNIK MAHABHARATHAM, JANAVAMSAM Signalled his arrival on the Indian literary scene clearly establishing him as a major voice of India. Added to this are his books of criticism "SHODASI"(A TANTRIC COMMENTARY OF VALMIKI’S RAMAYAN) SWARNA HAMSA (A TANTRIC COMMENTARY OF HARSHA Bhatta"s naishadhiya charitam) and KAVI SENA MANIFESTO (ADHINIK KAVYA SASTRA) .

Seshendra's first work in print appeared in 1952.It is the translation of Matthew Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, which is based upon Persian Epic Shahnama.Initially he focused on poetry and occasionally worked on literary criticism. Seshendra's first collection of prose-poems Sesha Jyotsna. He composed it strictly conforming to Telugu prosody which was published in 1972 in Telugu and English. Its translations into Hindi and Urdu appeared separately.

However his magnum opus Naa Desham, Naa Prajalu (My Country, My People in English, Meri Dharti,Mere Log in Hindi and Urdu ) brought Seshendra attention and fame.

Shodasi(tantric commentaries on the Ramayana) and Swarna Hamsa(the study of Harsha Naishadhiya Charita) are monumental works of literary criticism. Kaala Rekha, Seshendras Sahitya Akademi Award (1994) winning book, is a collection of 25 essays on various subjects like Ancient Sanskrit drama and Ancient Greek drama, Comparative Literature, Classical Poetry and Aurobindo's Savitri.

The collection of poems Neerai Paaripoyindi (Melted and floated away --literally in English) brought out in 1976 in bilingual editions.

References