If the Centre were to go by the linguistic experts' recommendations, Telugu and Kannada will soon be given the classical status. While I am in no position to comment on Kannada apart from it being a crisp, simple, powdery language, easy on ears (I will stop here before the Karnads and Karanths get me!), Telugu has been a way of life for me. Some of the most poetic, pathetic, pristine, and poignant stuff gets expressed through this language. I have been forever proud of being a Telugu, and moreso a Hyderabadi Telugu at that. That is important. Twenty three years of existence in Hyderabad hasn't diluted my respect for Telugu, nor has my Telugu gotten corrupted. I bet I would leave no hints to a place I could belong to going by my Telugu.
The language grew on me, and I have to immensely thank Ramoji Rao's Eenadu for that. My initial exposure to Eenadu gave me such a base that I do not once regret having been sent to a CBSE school. The articles, the style are read to be believed and this held true for a long time. Thanks to Sridhar's Idhi Sangathi, and Gudipudi Srihari for that. Then the parochial attitude the paper smacked of started surfacing. I will not go there for I have to be grateful to Eenadu for all that base I talk of. I am no jingoistic, "culture" shouting language fanatic, yet I have somewhere felt good being a Telugu. You like the language for all the flexibility it offers despite being the ocean that it is. You like the fact that you could think on a global level yet be proud of your roots without experiencing any amount of adjustment issues. I could safely say not many languages do that. I have immensely enjoyed the itsy bitsy knowledge of business Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam (it really gets itsy bitsy itsy bitsy there), and of course Hindi. Ah my liking for Hindi merits a different post altogether. In experiencing, enjoying all these languages I have, like I said, felt absolute joy in the fact I actually belong somewhere.
Let me not get into specifics of language, but I bet for the sheer fact that no other language in the world (apart from Kannada may be) can boast of that godly linguistic exercise called Avadhanam, Telugu wins. Then there is the legendary sweetness on ears, the gentleness, the rhythm, the tempo, the style.
All this love is for the language, and not the Telugu culture at all. All the pride I enjoy in the association with the language gets nullified by the fact I do not, I repeat I do not, belong here at all. It makes me cringe when I even think about it. When you have submitted the language and the culture to those demons called Caste & Telugu cinema, one can't help but squirm. Trust me when I say that! You feel bad that there is no representation on a global level at all. Do not even try point at those ATA, TANA and all that fucking pigshit tandana. For all the resources that this language possesses, any other culture would have been so aggressive in nurturing it, imbibing it, and doing what not. Forget global, there has been no national identity on us. If ever Andhra Pradesh is spoken of it is Hyderabad and its material achievements in recent years that get talked about. Funnily we so lack in an identity that we don't even get mimicked! There are scores of performances where a Gujarati, a Bengali, a Tamilian, a Malayali, a Punjabi gets mimicked, and you get the caricatures in all forms and styles. There has been absolutely no cultural, linguistic identity of ours something that the current generations could identify with, and relate to. Apart from our penchant for high academic degrees, technical jobs that become our identity and our parents could boast of, Telugus don't seem to be doing anything pathbreaking. Bloody we are so conscious of not being the laughing stock by trying something unheard of, and tread in an uncharted territory that all we end up being is a cynical, narrow-minded society. With all this, our so called presence across continents doesn't count at all. How does it matter that there are swarms and hordes of us when we have not done the right thing? It is as if settling in NewJersey, Florida, Virginia, Houston, Dallas, Washington, and California is the be all and end all of all Telugus.
I hate to say this but let not Avakaya, Tollywood Cinema, Pattu Langa, Parikini, Meesam, Rosham, faux pseudo machoism, Caste-false-pride be our calling cards. Blame it on the Puri Jagannadhs and the Ravi Tejas.
It is sad.
