KANNADA
Narrative poems
V. GOPALAKRISHNA
CHARITRIKA JANAPADA KATHANA KAVYAGALU: Edited by D. Lingaiah, Karnataka Janapada Parishat, No.1, Karnataka Govt. Employees Residential Layout, New BEL Road, Bangalore 560 054, Rs.150
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE poems that are available in Kannada folklore occupy an important place in the reconstruction of history because they, as sources of information, are more reliable and authentic than those cited by the western scholars, on whose writings most of the present historians generally rely. This book is an outstanding contribution in this direction. In this compilation are nine narrative poems — a literary form that combines poetry and prose — and they are on varied themes: human sacrifice, inter-caste marriage, devotion to deities, and so on.
Many of them speak, in some cases giving a free run to imagination, about battles fought against the British or the chieftains. They bring to light many lesser known details of the sacrifices made by the common folk, and the unhealthy relationships between the master and the servant, the rulers and the people, and the rich and the poor.
The stories of Magadi Kempegowda, Lingaraja and Lingarajamma of Kodagu, Lakkanna and Eranna, Sarjappa Nayaka, Basavaraya, Haralayya, Chennigarama and Sindhura Lakshmana are notable for the variety of themes portrayed.
Some of the narratives reflect the creative and radical thinking of the common folk. The word index and the few short poems given as an appendix add value to the publication.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Book Review
