The poet who lost his life for his belief- Alishetti Prabhakar.

-Ch v Prabhakar Rao,Senior Journalist

Born: 12-01-1954 Died 12-01-1993

“Life is short but live for a long time”, these words may express contradictory statement but it is true in the life of many extraordinary personalities. The persons, who make their way of living is exemplary to others, they live after their life. Many poets` life may short, but their writings live for many centuries.

Way back to 70`s Poetry in crisis. Not only poetry all other writers flown away in the cyclone of detective and romantic wave.

In those days, very few Telangana writers were exclaimed by other Telugu writers. At the same time, the Telugu poetry took a new wave and attracted many young people. Many poets took the revolutionary way of their expressions to express their inner feelings. They went out of the way to bring light on common man`s issues and social problems and atrocities and suppression of power groups. They never leave any small point to bring into light, where the society failed to pay attention. They were criticized by other traditional writers and others, by saying there is no poetry in their writings. But many young people were attracted to the writings, which open new horizons for the new age.

Out of them, one from Jagtial town.  That Alishetti Prabhakar. He was not highly educated or having a high profile life. But he was the live witness of the many social and economical problems of downtrodden in his vicinity. Though, he is not aware of the literature, he was reading the real life’s of the people. He had tried to understand the society and tried to analyze the issues of the society from a new angle.

He never tried to take the shelter under strict rules of the language. Instead of that, he broken them and followed his own soul`s way. In those days no magazine accepted the writings of new poets, that to 5 to 10 words tiny poems( so called short poems), though the new poets called them as mini-poems. These mini-poems were also sarcastically called as `space filling` writings.

Jagtial town is a famous place for its consciousness and revolutionary thoughts. It is the place, which has witnessed the atrocities of the landlords and other Zamindars. It has given birth to new movement in this area and in 1978. `Jagtial Jaitrayatra (peasants` Rally)`,  a revolutionary phrase, which sent shock waves into the spine of the landlords and government establishment.

That is another story but it has given birth to a new poet, who becomes a torch bearer of the downtrodden, in literature. He only a 22-24 years young and just tenth class completed unemployed. He don`t have any back ground of literature but he tried to understand and analyze the issues, which were overlooked and suppressed by the leaders and governments.

His parents were named him as Alishetti Prabhakar. How they named him as Prabhakar,do not know but he really became the Prabkarudu (the meaning of the word is The Sun) and focused on the social and grassroots problems of the downtrodden people. He tried to become their voice and penned their feelings from his heart. He lost all his property, health and everything but not lost his courage and path what he has chosen in his early age.

He spoke on behalf of a red light area (bitch) girl and expressed his anguish in little, little words, with great meaning.

Title: VEshya-(bitch)

Thanu shavamai  …/okariki  vashamai …

Thanuvu pundai .../okadiki pandai…

Eppudoo yedaarai …/ endhariko oyaasissai…

Total 12 words,  but thousands of thoughts and flow of eye drops.

She herself dead…/ ….enthralled to other

Body becoame wound…/  fruit for one other

Desert forever…/ Oasis for many others

This is an example of his many poems, which gives eye opening conclusions.

Another one:

Amaanusham/e manishi/ aavahinchinaa/ bheebhatsame jaripistundhi.(from  :palithamokkate)

In search of horizons he to get helping hand he says..

Naa choopulu/shoonyam aranyamlo/chikkunnaayi/ naa agnatha hastaalu/ edho roopaanni /chekkuthunnaayi.

………………

……..

Ee adugulonchi,vedi lonchi/naa dheshaanni paikilaagami praartistaanu./vaaritho nEnU kalisi prayatnistaanu.

(My sight lost in space forest/my unknown hands/

Unkown shapes/sketches

……..

…….

From this deep, hot/I pray to pull my country./

I try along with them.)

Prabhaker became well known poet within short time but lost his peace and health. He never cared about himself or about his family. He wrote for his passion and satisfaction, He was not only write but also he was a good artist, and photographer. He took shelter under the cover of photographer to survive but never gained anything from the profession. He has to run pillar to post to save his life from the so called democratic society.

He left his birth place, after a deadly threat to his life, to Karimnagar, from there to Capital city, Hyderabad. His entire journey went in search of peace and harmony, but in vein.

He was much needed person to many eminent persons and organizations .He was used as conduit by many personalities for their betterment. He never last faith on himself and continued his journey in his own way. He never tried to sell himself to his livelihood. When he was unable to feed his family also he never lost his courage and wrote optimistically and said he may change the society.

Idhi …

Prakruthi shishiram kaadhu

samaajam shithilam kaadhu

avi eenelu kaavu. EetElu nEdu

(This…

Nature is not autumn

Society not debris

They not …viens ,spears today)

He strived for food but never sold his soul for money. He walked miles together for a penny of his own. He came to know his destiny of his life. He was advised by many of his friends to go commercially, but didn`t lost confidence.

He started caricature cum poem writing in Andhra Jyothi daily, Hyderabad edition in the name of “City Life”. This front page short poem and drawings earned him name and fame. At the same time the payment of one caricature-poem (socio- political satires) earned him daily fifteen rupees. Almost two years of his lost days he drawn and penned “City-Life”. Still the caption resembles his memories and style.

Many of his short poems were quoted on silver screen and writings of many famous write. Many lines of his poems became headings of news items.

Before his death, he penned his last poem

 “ maranam naa chivari charanam kaadhu..”(Death, not my last line..).

He breathed lastly on his birthday(12th Jan.), may not be co-incidence but true. The poem published in Andhra Prabha daily, next day of his death, Monday,13th Jan.1993, along with the news item. Alishetti Prabhakar may not come back and witness the glory of his writings but as he admired, his poems are in the hearts of the common man. We can proudly say that till date no one has wrote such big philosophy in such a short lines with such a common words.

After twenty two years of his death today his poetry became part of tenth class student’s syllabus. At last his co-professional photographers erected his statue in Jagtial town near by his own house, which was sold long back, for his livelihood.

We do not have his photo graphs also. Now only one profile black and white available, though he was a professional photographer. He has taken profile and family photos of many big wigs but not cared about his own and family photo.

This day will be called as prabhakar`s day in the annals of Jagtial, as his statue coming up today.

Ch V Prabhakar Rao

Sr.Jornalist

6-5-204,Brahmana wada,

Jagtial 505327

Cell: 9391533339,9492710508

Email:  chvprabhakarrao@gmail.com