
Poems of Aduri Satyavathi Devi
Poem-22
This is it!
Telugu Original: Aduri Satyavathi Devi
English Translation: Shyamala Kallury
I feel I have known you
Before I decide to ask
The contexts you have created change.
While wondering to myself as to how to know you,
Ask you, you drift away moving in circles
I keep looking at you, wondering at you!
I compare your gait to a flowing river
But… it is only a world between two banks
I compare you to the sky and feel happy
But… it stays motionless rooted to one spot
Leaning on the horizons
Then I compare you to an ocean
It fits and I think of settling for it
But then it is an aggressive beauty with boundaries.
Time, Immeasurable, Incomparable
Moving magic.
A speed that cannot be controlled by any force
You are tireless, no curtains of rest for you
You run, run without looking at me even from
The edge of your eye
Time, when I confront you all the way
You hug me with thousand hands
How many colourful ragas have you drenched me in
I follow you; you surround me… this is our game
*****
Telugu Original :‘Ide Kadaa’

Aduri Satyavathi Devi was born in Guntur in the year 1948 and settled in Visakhapatnam after marriage in 1969. She began her literary career as a lyricist at the age of 13. She wrote a variety of lyrics numbering about 300 — light, classical, devotional, patriotic, children’s and others. More than 50 songs of Satyavati Devi were broadcast over All India Radio. Eventually she made forays into various other literary genres like Poetry, Short story, Essay, Radio Play, Musical Feature, Books, Film reviews, Forewords etc..She created a substantial corpus of poetry with more than 180 poems included in 4 anthologies of poetry. She received accolades from readers, scholars, critics and litterateurs for her sensitive rendering of poems. She participated in many Poetry Meets, Festivals conducted by All India Radio, Doordarshan and the Sahitya Akademi. She was widely translated into English and Hindi. Some of the translations appeared in renowned journals like Indian Literature (English), and Samakaaleen Bharateeya Saahitya (Hindi).
She published her first volume of lyrics Vennello Venugaanam in 1988. Her first volume of poetry Rekkamudavani Raagam was published in 1992 followed by Jalapaata Geetam in 1997 and Veyirangula Velugu Raagam in 2006. Hindi translation of Rekkamudavani Raagam came out in 2008 as “Pankh an Modnevaalaa Raag” and a miscellany of various facets of her literary endeavour Vennela Paarijaataalu was published posthumously in Dec 2008. She received many prizes and awards for her literary pursuits and accomplishments like STVD Kalasamithi Award for Rekkamudavani Raagam in 1993, and Telugu University’s “Pratibha Puraskaram” as “Best Poet” in 1994, “Krishna Sastry Award” from Andhra Lalita Kala Samithi (Secunderabad) in 1998, UNESCO Literary Award in 2000, and “Ramavruksha Benipuri Janma Sataabdi Sammaan” from Jaimuni Academy (Panipat) in 2002. An English translation of her poem, “Veyirekkala Pavuram” (Myriad Winged Bird) has been included in the syllabus of English texts in the poetry section of Degree year students by the Common Core syllabus Committee in AP from 2008.
