An Autobiography with depth and sensibility

Recently, Sri Konakanchi Srinivas Rao garu gave me a book written in Telugu by Rambhatla Krishna Murthy. Although the author has passed away, he is well-known among readers of newspapers. 

He was a significant figure behind the Eenadu Telugu daily and played a key role in training numerous prominent journalists through the journalism school affiliated with the Eenadu group in Hyderabad.

 Many have claimed to be his students, and the diction and standard of language used in the daily were established by him.

The book "Sontha Katha" (My Story) is an autobiography. Typically, autobiographies offer a broad view of the author's life, revealing various aspects of social conditions.

 They often include anecdotes that highlight historical facts that may be overlooked or forgotten. This book exemplifies that rare quality. 

Krishna Murthy depicted his experiences during his time, detailing the education system in the British era and the social dynamics based on caste, which remain relevant in today's context.

 During that period, Coastal Andhra was separate from the Nizam area, and he experienced life in both regions from a young age.

Due to unavoidable circumstances, I have only read 60 pages and have many more pages to get through. I plan to complete it, as the book is an engaging read. 

I learned a new fact from the book: Meezan magazine was published in three languages—Telugu, Urdu, and English. Additionally, the well-known novelist Adivi Bapi Raju served as the editor for a time.

 While many people refer to Meezan, this particular fact seems to have been overlooked. He noted that Urdu has its roots in Hindi. Urdu uses the Persian script, while Hindi employs Devanagari. 

Although Sanskrit can be written in Devanagari, it is challenging to write it in Urdu. During the Nizam era, the military language was Urdu, but it was written in English script.

There are many interesting facts on this topic. The writer, who is proficient in Telugu, Sanskrit, English, and Urdu, presents the matters of various languages clearly.

 He explains why most Telugu Brahmins prefer Yajurveda over Rigveda, a perspective that few have articulated in such depth. Additionally, he has a keen interest in Mantra Shastram and has written extensively about its variations in Bengal and Kerala.

 I will return with a more detailed article once I complete my reading.

--- Murthy Kvvs