tapana: A mini review

I can make the following claim: I read the book in question. So, I don't have to depend on hearsay.

First thing though, from my limited Reading of Chaitanaya Sravanti(CS), if this book is written in CS, it is not SC (Stream of Consciousness). It is a bit of thought processes, a bunch of lucid thought, with age old Telugu melodrama all thown in for good measure.

As always, I am dismayed by the criticisms. It is almost akin to criticising Churchill by saying that he does not wear clean socks. True? May be. Germane? Hardly. Now my turn to come to the genuine problems:

The English + Telugu mixture did not work well. At best it is cute, yet worst it is an annoyance. It is not in the category of "soonnaNa" of muLLapooDi. It appears to graft on SC onto this CS.

The topic is interesting, alienation in a marriage. I wish it wasn't disposed so cavalierly. (Compare Independence day by Ford). Novels do not need to have answers. They don't need to end with a QED. This novel seems to supply one, almost like a Telugu movie.

I do not have the copy with me, otherwise I could speak specifics. Of course, the typesetting was a problem too. I am not entirely sure how to pronounce some things. Say, how do you pronounce #ta ... pa ... na ...# vs #ta .... pa .... na ....#?

All in all, I am delighted that this selection has caused some discussion. Saddened that people are criticizing without even attempting to read, and try to second guess the judges. To date, I have not seen anybody asking Jampala a simple and direct question. Every question comes from a position of unimitigated hostility disguised in polite sarcasms. Yes, I mean (from) Dokka.

There is a simple way to influence these decisions. Participate in the decision making process. As simple as that. Then you will know the burden of unpaid volunteerism.

You certainly can ask Jampala all the questions you may want to, you can criticize the novel all you want to, you can even ask what "V." in his name stands for, but ask in such a manner you can convince him that that are indeed seeking an answer. Otherwise, it is no big surprise that you won't get an answer.

Now, my question to Jampala: Did you read other participants? If you did, is there any other novels that you liked better?

Do you think it would be better to select a bunch (say three) novels for this prizes? (Like say Vishnubhotla foundation does)? [This q is for all of us].

--
Ramarao Kanneganti
Sep 13, 1999
Original message here.