Gunturu Seshendra Sarma: an extraordinary poet-scholar

HYDERABAD: An era of scholastic excellence and poetic grandeur has come to an end in the passing away of Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, one of the foremost poets and critics in Telugu literature.
His mastery over western literature and Indian `Alankara Sastra' gave his works a stunning imagery, unparalleled in modern Indian works. One of the ironies in literature is that he came to be known more as a critic than a poet. The Central Sahitya Akademi award was conferred on him for his work `Kaala Rekhalu' and not for his poetic excellence.
The genius in him made him explore `Kundalini Yoga' in his treatise on Ramayana in `Shodasi' convincingly. His intellectual quest further made him probe `Naishadha Kaavya' in the backdrop of `Lalita Sahasra Naamavali', `Soundarya Lahari' and `Kama Kala Vilasam' in `Swarna Hamsa', Dr. Suprasannacharya once recalled.
Seshendra saw the entire universe as a storehouse of images and signs to which imagination was to make value-addition. Like Stephene Mallarme who was considered a prophet of symbolism in French literature, Seshendra Sarma too believed that art alone would survive in the universe along with poetry. He believed that the main vocation of human beings was to be artists and poets.
His `Kavisena Manifesto' gave a new direction to modern criticism making it a landmark work in poetics. Telugus would rue the intellectual impoverishment they suffered in maintaining a `distance' from him. Seshendra could have given us more, but we did not deserve it! The denial of the Jnanpeeth Award to him proves it.
The Hindu
India’s National News Paper
June, 01, 2007

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The literary world is aware that my father Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, eminent poet, litterateur and scholar-critic, died on 30th may 2007. Ever since he expired, there has been no mention of his parents, family members and other personal details in the news and in the articles about him. Not only this, fictional lies are being spread and using money power one shady lady is being propagated as his wife and so on. This has been causing me, as his son, a great mental agony. That is why, through this article, I am revealing certain fundamental truths to the literary field of this country and the civilized society. I appeal to your conscience to uphold truth, justice and values of our composite culture.
Seshendra Sharma’s family members are: Parents: Subrahmanyam Sharma, Ammaayamma; Wife: Janaki Daughters: Vasundhara, Revathi,Sons: Vanamali, Saatyaki. Only these two are legal heirs of Seshendra Sharma, socially and morally too.
STREET PLAY AND CIRCUS
In 1972, away from the civilized society, without the knowledge of parents and near and dear, in a far flung village called Halebeed in Karnataka a circus, a street play was staged. Let me make it clear that even after this street play my father did not divorce my mother Mrs. G.Janaki legally. He never had even a faint intention of committing such as uncivilized act. On the contrary, in all crucial Government documents he nominated my mother as his legal heir from time to time. During his long career as Municipal Commissioner with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, he retired 3 times. His first retirement came in 1975 by way of compulsory retirement for his anti estrablishment writings during Mrs. Gandhi’s emergency. His second retirement came in 1983 when the then new chief minister N.R. Rama Rao’s government reduced the age of service from 58 to 55 years. The third and final retirement in the year 1985 on attaining 58 years of age. On all these occasions, in all the government documents, my father Seshendra Sharma
Nominated my mother Mrs. Janaki as his legal heir. This is precisely why the self contradictory ‘second marriage’ is a circus enacted away from the society and Laws does not recognize this type of street plays as marriage.
LAKSHMI PARVATHI IN LITERATURE
N.R. Rama Rao, actor turned politicial married Ms. Lakshmi Parvathi in 1994 and subsequently in January 1995 he came to power for the second time. She used to act as an extra constitutional power and run the matters of government and the party. She developed her own coterie of cohorts and started dominating the party. After NTR was toppled by his own son-in-law, most of them parted ways with her. And the remaining touts left her for good the day NTR breathed his last. Ms. Indira Dhanrajgir has been playing the same role in Telugu literature over a period of more than 3 decades. In the guise of literature she developed her own coterie of lumpens with extra literary and money mongering elements – Tangirala Subba Rao, Velichala Kondala Rao (Editor, Jayanthi) Cheekolu Sundarayya (A.G.s Office, Hyderabad et al).
There are a couple of dissimilarities between these two instances. Afther the demise of NTR, L.P’s coterie of cohorts disappeared once and for all. Whereas, in Indira Dhanrajgir’s case new lumpens are entering the