My voice
With this New Year the mail id of kritya is changed, this change
is not big, it is like shifting from a rented house to one’s own
home. Only the street number has changed, but the identity of
the owner is the same. From now onwards kritya has a new id—www.kritya.in
At the end of the month “Muse India” celebrated its first year.
A fruitful discussion, poetry reading, story telling, essays and
even a drama were conducted on this occasion. With limited
resources Muse India’s team not only could maintain the standard
of the journal but also arrange a rewarding meeting of
literature-lovers. Kritya’s editor participated in the
discussion on ‘Culture, Technology and Creativity’. My views
presented there are very much related to kritya’s culture and
creation, I want to share them with my readers also.
“Although there are no standard definitions of ‘Culture,
Technology and Creativity’ which we shall accept totally: we try
to define them in a informal way.
We can say that the Culture is a system of shared beliefs,
values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of
society use to cope with their world and with one another, and
that are transmitted from generation to generation through
learning this can be taken as a controlled artificial
environment as culture takes away a whole set of society from
nature or natural behaviour. Now we talk about Technology, it is
human innovation in action that involves the generation of
knowledge and processes to develop systems that solve problems
and extend human capabilities; or in other words it is
innovation, change, or modification of the natural environment
to satisfy perceived human needs and wants. When we talk about
creativity -The experience of thinking, reacting, and working in
an imaginative and idiosyncratic way which is characterized by a
high degree of innovation and originality, divergent thinking,
and risk taking, cab be called creativity.
When we look carefully at all definitions, all these three terms
are related to each other. In a way culture technology and
creativity are all the steps, which take humanity a few steps
forward. They are going towards artificiality, but in favour of
humanity. Even though culture is a social system it needs to
grow with technology and creativity. No society can go forward
without technology and creativity. Let me explain that the use
of technology started at a very early stage with the wheel or I
must say rolling pin or tong used in cooking. In the case of
technology a new event can always take the place of an old one,
In a way mostly technology does not repeat itself, it always
goes towards new experience. But in case of creativity there is
no term like old and new. An old creation could be more relevant
compared to a present one. Culture always tries to make a
balance between old and new. But an interesting point is that
most of the time old technology takes care of old creativity
whether it is the printing press or computerization; a number of
old creative things are available because of technology.
Let us think of these terms in the present situation. In modern
times technology is improving day by day. Net service,
computerization, new methods of communications and a number of
technological events are there to be used not only in the field
of scientific growth but also in the field of culture and
creativity. In my experience, there are a number of good things
regarding technology with which we are experienced in the field
of creativity. But society, especially Indian society could
accept it as a source of knowledge, which is related to life,
culture and art forms. Here I will like to talk about my
experience as an editor of a web journal in two languages.
The cause of starting a web journal was very different for me as
I always wanted to bring out a printed journal of poetry,
(printing is also technology). The web journal was not in my
mind, in starting. But while accessing web and going through a
few webs available in the name of journals, I found an entirely
different situation. The worid of technology was not able to
cope with the world of literature. In fact with technology
literature had taken a few steps backwards.( I am talking about
Hindi literature) What I have been seeing on web that there were
a few web journals and most of them were coming from out side of
India. Especially web journals in Hindi were product of IT
youngsters who had to leave their country and live in alien
place. Literature is the medium for them to connect with their
own memory and place. But the problem was that there knowledge
of literature was limited. Literature was a way for healthy
entertainment for them. So these youngsters were still enjoying
poetry and literature in form of love poems or satires, there
creation was also limited to that. Compare to web journals print
journals in our country are very active and contemporary. The
cause is clear, print technology is now very much in literature
and creativity. So it is generally presenting contemporary trend
of literature. The literature in print technology is very much
different than literature in net technology. There was a huge
difference between both ideology, the outsiders wanted to
remember only good and soft picture of past but and down to
earth writers in own country were bringing out pain and sorrow
including original feelings in the literature and arts. Another
difference was that where most of the Hindi writers in India are
less comfortable with technology. There is still feeling among
Hindi writers that reading can be done only by keeping a book in
hand. Gradually the writers in country develop a wrong image
regarding web journals. In fact most of them thought that
technology is cause of degrading literature. Other hand the new
generation which was quite close to net world of literature ( in
hindi) started leaving touch with real literature. They started
creating a literature which can exist with time as it is so
shallow. A common feeling took place in mind of different lovers
of literature that net or technology is not in favour of
literature. My main aim of kritya was to make a bridge between
both. As I was comfortable with both of the medium, I felt that
Indian literature can not reach to younger generation without
most modern technology. As I am in India, I could take care of
standard and contemporary trend of literature, and make
available to young and bright generation which is more
comfortable with net technology. So they can start there journey
form present. More over my aim was to make available the Indian
literature of different languages to readers of other world
also. And I found that the technology which was not accepted by
traditional Indian writer was helpful to the younger generation
and moreover it was a way to build a bridge between full time
writers and so-called part-time ( or time past-writers) writers.
So this is a good example of the modification of technology.
But on the other hand creativity is not realty; it is the
recreation of the supreme creation. It is a way to give more
meaning to what already exists. It is also a way to guide the
society towards its own good. Every human creation should have a
particular aim that is also related to society. In a way
creativity is a way to show our gratitude to society for what it
has given us, and a mirror to show what it could not give to the
common man. It is very much related to life that is also life
down to earth. No literature or art is only for pleasure. Only
love or beauty is not of aim creativity. That may be one means.
In the same way one cannot imagine that only by technology
creativity can get its ultimate aim, creation needs a human
touch. A brush in hand is more powerful than a brush in a
computer. We can see a good example of this in film music. Early
songs have more melody as there was less technology and more
human effort. So we can say that technology can help creativity,
but it cannot take the place of creativity. Wrong use of
technology may destroy creativity, as it mostly follows
creativity.
There is no doubt that technology affects culture too; it leads
a particular society to development but again if handled
carefully. Technology helps us in two ways, we know our original
culture and 000find out the good and bad regarding it. It is
always easy to go forward on roots. On the other hand it helps
us to understand our own stand inside our so called society.
Moreover technology is creating a new culture, which has its bad
and good things tied together. These days we talk about its bad
effect loudly, forgetting the good one. A creative personality
has the duty to make a balance between culture and art.
Based on my own experience I accept that it is the duty of every
creative person to go forward with his/her time along with
technology.”
“The focus of this issue is on
Telugu poetry. As Sitakanta Mahapatra opines “The poetry-lover
in India is disadvantaged by the absence of access to poetry
being written in major Indian language..Modern Indian poets and
their works remain confined to their language area until they
are translated into the other languages, primarily into Hindi
and English.” Precisely this is what prompted kritya.in to focus
on Telugu poetry. Telugu language and literature have a rich
heritage, dating back to more than a thousand years. Poetry in
Telugu has always succeeded in educating, edifying and
entertaining the discerning.
This issue highlights some of the eminent poets of the past and
present. The emphasis is not only on the erudition of the poets
concerned, but also on their lasting values and appeal. Globally
it is accepted that whoever is recited even by the unlettered
and the enthusiastic keeps the tradition alive. So the choice of
‘our masters’ as well as the poets chosen for this issue is in
tune with this line of thought. While no boast is made to be
comprehensive in our endeavour, care is bestowed on
representative areas and exponents.
Modern Telugu poetry in indebted to Gurajada Appa Rao as well as
to Sri Sri. While Gurajada Appa Rao endeavoured to awaken the
sluggish conscience of the tradition- bound Telugu people, Sri
Sri remarkably recharged it with a vitality and vigour unheard
of till then.
A poet well versed in traditional prosody Sri Sri, influenced by
movements literary and otherwise globally, has taken upon
himself the mantle of an epoch maker. His ideological fervour to
project the concerns of the underdog and the tribulations of
striving masses bore fruition beyond compare and created new
avenues of understanding and accommodating them. A translator
par excellence Sri Sri dictated terms demanding devotion and
dedicated practice of a plethora of poets...
Telugu poetry like poetry in any other language is constantly
supported by patronage of the elite as well as enthusiastic
admirers. While the background of the patterns mattered most in
the past, the prevailing context is pre-eminently influenced by
sectarian/ regional aspirations.
As of today Telugu poetry radiates the restlessness of creative
minds brimming with caste / ideological fervors. Of course,
there are many poets who simply compose exquisite poetry
unmindful of the feverish environment around.” (Dr.T.S.Chandra
Mouli)
Kritya’s Team is thankful to all poets and translators who have
submitted these poems to kritya, especially to Dr.T.S.Chandra
Mouli: (poet, translator, critic) for providing most of the
material for kritya. In fact he is the “Gust editor of this
issue”
In this issue Paintings by Nicholas Roerich have been given with
great admiration to the painter. The pursuit of refinement and
beauty was sacred for Roerich. He believed that although earthly
temples and artifacts may perish, the thought that brings them
into existence does not die but is part of an eternal stream of
consciousness — man's aspirations nourished by his directed will
and by the energy of thought. Finally, he believed that peace on
Earth was a prerequisite to planetary survival and the
continuing process of spiritual evolution, and he exhorted his
fellow man to help achieve that peace by uniting in the common
language of Beauty and Knowledge.
Nicholas Roerich died in Kulu on December 13, 1947. His body was
cremated and its ashes buried on a slope facing the mountains he
loved and portrayed in many of his nearly seven thousand works.
Others sketches are taken from Prabhakar’s scatch book.
Kritya wish you all a new year
with peace,
Without fear,
With love
Without war
Rati Saxena
