Poems of Aduri Satyavathi Devi
Poem-13
Curses or Gifts
Telugu Original: Aduri Satyavathi Devi
English Translation: CLL Jayaprada
True!
That men seek change
True that flowing stream of time
Courses into million channels
Inviting ever newer shapes
And astonishes us again and again
Also, true
From the earth to the sky
And the sky to the earth
Ties of give and take,
Are not the making of this day
Knowledge grew by leaps
Science branched on and on
Not merely for human life
But to so many creatures
Speeding century
Gave great gifts
A marvel won by man
But
Stalking like shadows the winds of pollution
Poking holes continually in the sky
Chlorofluorocarbons and methylbromides
Tearing the ozone layer
In grotesque figures
To gnaw and swallow the children of all lands
Frightening like the emissaries of Kamsa
About to devour the garlands of water lilies.1
Scorching the resources and topes on the earth
Choking the outer orbits with dust filled smoke
Reducing the security of human life to zero degrees
Shattering is the spread of science.
For whose sweat dreams?
For which splendid childhoods?
In each layer hoarding treasures
Stretching arms with guileless love
Handing over infinite wealth and beauty
Nature
If we become her tormentors
And subject variegated nature to trial
Doesn’t the curse of time destroy us?
Won’t the Kurukshetra be at hand?
What a sorry future!
The shadow of a Cobra
On tiny cradles?
And the cream of poison gas
For tender baby skins?
*****
Telugu Original : ‘Saapaalaa..Bahumaanaalaa’
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.