BOOK REVIEWS
ENGLISH
TWO BOOKS IN ONE VOLUME
(Concise Dictionary of Current English and Better your written and Spoken
English)
Editor: Mudunuri Venkateswara Rao; Associate Editor: Dr. R. Janardana
Rao; Rs. 150/-; Santhinilayam, Vidyanagar - Nuzvid
It is a concise Dictionary of current English
providing simple meanings to words in English and Telugu. Instead of dealing
with all the 616500 words which comprehensive dictionaries contain, this book
offers a selection of words which are in current use. The bilingual approach
adopted by the editors facilitates easy and effortless learning. Short phrases
prominently shown in the boxes will be of particular help to the user. The
different grammatical forms of words are included.
Book II deals with ‘Better your written
English’. The value and immense usefulness of this section can be gauged in the
context of the New Education Policy Document in which we find a significant
comment that today a preponderant percentage of students who leave the portals
of universities and colleges are deficient in productive skills of ‘Writing’
and ‘speaking’.
Some additional features of the book which
are of great use to the learners are - Synonyms and Antonyms,
Words commonly misspelt, prepositions, Words often confused, Abbreviations,
Computer Code, Popular Proverbs and Translation - Telugu to English. There are
many more interesting things which will make this book indispensable to the
students of Andhra Pradesh, particularly those who appear for competitive examinations conducted by the A.P.P.S.C. and
other agencies. I am hopeful that it will find its place on the shelves of
school, college and public libraries.
- Y. Satya Sree
THE WHITE GALLOPING HORSE by Dr. Sarbeswar Samal; The Book world, Cuttack, Orissa;
Rs.70/-(India); 4£(U.K.), 5$(U.S.); pp. 53
The book contains 44 poems penned by Dr. S.
Samal, a poet whose works are widely published in India and abroad.
The title ‘The White Galloping Horse’ is a
prophetic symbol found in revelation. In Hindu mythology, ‘Kalki’, the last
incarnation of Lord Vishnu rides a white horse to wipe out the evils and
wickedness from the earth. Indra also rides a white horse called ‘Uchaisrava’,
a symbol of purity, which takes birth during ‘Ksheerasagaramadhana’. The
poet says “The white horse is symbolic of man’s upward thirst and thrust of
spirit”. The poet rightly declares, “In my poems, poetry is an attempt to
understand life and reality in earnest a sensitive sympathising, cry and
bleeding to share others’ joy and anguish, otherwise my poetry is vague wish”.
In the poem ‘Roses again’ the roses
whisper to humans: ‘Let us smile and resume life again’. In ‘Waiting’ he
says “wait for fulfilment in some other birth or life”. In ‘The Magician
Reader’, the poet expresses that ‘everything awaits the magician reader, to tap the hidden source, lift
the veil and stir the secret with the magic wand of his/her empathy and
imagination”.
In refusing to be History, the poet says “I
don’t want to be a part or annal of history, a prologue or epilogue to it” - It shows the humility and loftiness of the poet’s thinking that it is
an Artist’s business to illumine others’ paths. In ‘If desire is bad’ - “Life
unfolds in desire and efflorescence not in withdrawal or negation”.
In the poem ‘Metaphysics of Language’ the
poet opines ‘Though words communicate meaning much depends upon feeling -
The choice of words depends on meaning
for meaning is the master, the sole monitor and arbiter.
There are many interesting and philosophical
pieces in the book which is very interesting, giving glimpses of the deep
insight of the poet into Nature, philosophy, metaphysics and the world of
reality.
It is recommended for
the readers with an appetite for stimulating yet soothing poetry.
-Y. Satya Sree
THE ULTIMATE SATORI by
Sri Kanhai Joshi
The Ultimate Satari, the English rendering of Sant Jnaneswar’s
Amruthanubhav by Shri. Kanhai Joshi is indeed a beautiful and rare offering to
all those thirsting for the realisation
of the TRUTH, the Truth which is the origin of the whole creation. This poem,
though it is mostly the essence of the Vedas already brought to light through
the Upanishads and well explained by the Bhagavadgita etc., its specialty
consists in the way it is presented.
His first song, “Union of Shiva and Shakti”
repeatedly in an easy and enchanting style extolls the truth that purusha and
prakriti are never different as viewed to be by the ignorant. Though this is
not a new realisation, but is already known, the way in which it is repeated in
each verse entices the hearts of the readers and makes them experience a little
bit of the ecstatic bliss as the poet might have done when he got at the truth.
According to him, the Guru is greater than
God. In truth, Guru is no other than God, and unless there is Guru’s grace, all
spifitual sadbhavanas are of no use and this Truth is stressed in the
book.
Each of the poems sings the glory of the
Truth and brings out the great values of devotion and surrender. Surrender to
the Guru (God) is the easiest way for the sadhaka to attain immortality.
The translation of Shri Joshi reflects the
beauty of the original in all regards. His style is so easy, beautiful and
interesting as to make the readers grasp the essence of the Truth. This
translation is a mirror to the original. This, I am sure, will adorn the
various Libraries.
- B. Indirakumari, Anantapur
RASASRUVU (Poetry)
by Prof. V.L.S. Bhimasankaram, Rtd. Professor of Geophysics
This is an admirable poetic creation of Prof.
V.L.S. Bhimasankaram the pioneer in Explorative Geophysics in the Osmania
University who made a mark in his field, even after his retirement as an
Emeritus Professor. He also makes an equally valid claim for his place along
with other great names with his RASASRUVU, which has been rightly compared with
the works of Sri Krishnadevaraya’s Amuktamalyada and Viswanadha Satyanarayana
as a proudha kavya. The author employs a much varied and rarely used
poetic forms while most other poets since Nannaya very rarely used more than 15
or 16 forms. His style very aptly ranges from the most simple to the highly
scholastic, depending on the narration. He also indulged in literary gymnastics
such as garbha kavitva. He employs a very wide spectrum of the different
forms of prosody and one is awestruck with the richness and the profound
command the author has over the language and its usage.
As admitted by him there have been instances
where the poet takes liberties with the rules of prosody and grammar, but these
are overwhelmed by the force of his poetic thought and masterly grasp over the
language, and sweep of narration.
RASASRUVU has unveiled the giant of a poet in
Prof. Bhimasankaram. Some of the verses can easily fit into beautiful lyrical
songs, as has been demonstrated by Sri Kanna Rao. Dr. Nanduri Ramakrishnamacharya
has aptly put his talents as a poet in the form of an equation, as scientists
generally do. Prof. Bhimasankaram =
(Sri Krishnadevaraya +
Viswanadha) /2.
The printing and production has been lavishly
done, on a scale comparable to any in the West and the title has been
artistically devised and is instantly appealing.
Prof. Bhimasankaram has lifted this sketch of
his ancestral lineage into a masterly piece of poetry, comparable to any of the
prabandhas, old or new. He richly deserves the congratulations for this
remarkable and outstanding achievement.
–Vemaraju Narasimha Rao
KALINDILO LO VENNELA (Short
Stories) by Gidugu Rajeswara Rao; Snehalata Publications, 6-102, Pochamma bagh,
Saroomagar, Hyderabad-35; pp. 144; Rs.35/-
A good writer is not only one who entertains
but also makes his readers think, as does a good painter on the
canvas. A short story does not cover the whole gamut of life, but certainly
focuses on the lives and incidents of individuals. Though the style does help
to hold the reader in the grip, there are any number of stories without
embellishments of style that can grip the reader from the beginning to the end.
Sri Rajeswara Rao’s narration in this
compilation of short stories is one such. He is a good story teller. His style is simple and devoid of gymmics. But the narration is
smooth like a clear stream flowing gracefully over the plains and ends like a
rain without thunder and lightning.
The book has 22 short stories, in which one
empathises with the characters, which appear refreshingly to have come from
real life, and exhibit intricate personal relationships and affection and come
out alive with natural glow. Very few able writers have the capacity to do this
and certainly Sri Rajeswara Rao is one such. And, he deserves praise for this.
This book makes an interesting reading and
will certainly adorn any good library.
- Dr. Vasa Prabhavathi