Venkataramasastri Oleti and Ramakrishnasastri
Vedula were a pair of poets known as "Ramakrishna Kavulu." They were also
cousins. Ramakrishna Kavulu were poet laureates in the kingdom of Pithapuram
in the court of great king (maharaja) Suryarao Rao.
According to a Sanskrit saying, knowledge flourishes by competition and
debate is the touchstone of one's scholarship.
Tirupati
Venkata Kavulu, another popular poet pair, were their rivals. Poet
pair
Tirupati
Venkata Kavulu and rival poet pair Rama Krishna Kavulu produced a lot
of literature through rivalry and competition. Tirupati-Venkata kavulu entered
into an interesting contest with the Poets-laureate of Pithapuram Kingdom.
Ramakrishna Kavulu attacked Tirupathi Venkata Kavulu in an article called
Srinkhala to which Tirupati Venkata Kavulu responded by writing
Srinkhala triNeekaraNamu. When Tirupathi Venkata Kavulu
wrote
paaMDavaasvamEdhamu, Ramakrishna Kavulu wrote
Sataghni
by showing 100 errors in
paaMDavaasvamEdhamu to which Tirupati Venata
Kavulu responded with
paasupatamu. Similarly,
khaMDana maMDanamulu
and maMDana muMDanamulu were written. Tirupati Venkata Kavulu wrote
geeratamu and
biDaaloapaakhyaanamu, when Ramakrishna
Kavulu wrote
koakila kaakamu and
sringabhamgamu.
When Ramakrishnasastri died at a young age of 29, Venkatasastri Chellapilla
(one of the rival
Tirupati
Venkata Kavulu pair) wrote in grief: "You departed because you could
not stop; I stopped because I could not go; It seems even Gods have little
control over their decisions; Then what of the poor mortals?"
After the death of Ramakrishnasastri, Venkataramasastri wrote under the
pair's name. He also wrote independent books such as
viswagunaadarsamu,
paaNigraheeti, kauravagauravamu, koMDaveeti vijayamu, ouchitya vichaaracharcha,
suvriti tilakamu, matsyapuraanamu, mairaavaNa charitra, madaalasa, uttararaama
charitra, iMdiraadevi, parasuraamakavi padyoapanyaasamulu, kathaasaritsaagaramu
etc. He also ran a journal
kavita (poetry).
Mana Sanskriti (Our Culture)
