Naa Rachanalapai Sameeksha Vyasalu

Not Kalamkari But a Design of her own
Life has granted Chaya Devi some enviable gifts. Born and educated in Rajahmundry-the then pivotal centre of renaissance in Andhra. A Parental home where J. Krishnamurti was more relevant than traditional rituals. Married into a family of famous literati, aesthetes and poets. And the chosen vocation is librarianship in Delhi.
To become a writer is not mere accident. As Alexender Blok-the famous Russain Poet states-a writer is a slow growing plant. Growth may be slow, for she is not known as a prolific writer,but the halts and pauses on her Journey (which are essential for further development of a writer’s craft) have definitely helped her to discover distinctly individual style in fiction-a quiet and telling way.
In her scheme for short story’s exposition, climax and conclusion,the discerning reader can see the harmony between the word, the phrase and character’s mood.
In this highly readable collection of 25 stories-the sixth piece-Sukhantam (Happy ending)-easily stands out as a world classic.
The protagonist is an ordinary housewife-above wants if you so like. All that she desires is a few hours of carefree sleep-which is denied throughout-in her childhood, adult life and married phase.
Anarchy-mental, physical, cultural, political, inner and outer-which a modern woman has to experience- this, Chaya Devi deals with a rare artistic freshness. Seemingly inconsequential daily incidents to mere beings but deeply disturbing to a real human being. The end leaves you in desolate chill. Truely, Epiphanic creation, a sudden insight into reality and a ghastly basic meaning of an event.
A similar, if not identical, experience of metaphysical dimension is in SPARSA (Physical touch). It is an encounter after a long gap between an aged father and his visiting daughter. This strict father was never an exhibitionist in his affection for his daughter. And the daughter feels alienated from him all her life. She craved for his assuring and affectionate touch, but was kept at distance. Now that he was losing his eye sight, the fulfillment comes about in this meeting,but that only leaves the daughter in more dreadful depression. Sentimental may be, but truly Indian definitely.
In “JAILU” (Jail) the entire gamut of Indian spiritual strength is depicted through delicately etched human relationship. A kindly disposed house-holder and a servant maid he helped to find her own home and family. All her hopes gone away and finding her-self in a state of depression, disintegration and solitude-the servant women picks up positive views from the elderly gentleman’s mere philosophical smile amidst his own gloom and neglect. Find your own breath of creation, the breath of life. Yes, for a contemplative Indian Woman there is flooding Joy in her family. She is the mother, wife and nurse. The focal point for life and dream. No place for gloom.
Without resorting to wildly imaginary incidents, (which is the forte of many women writers) Abburi Chaya Devi places before the reader the piteable place of a woman in our social system in a restrained style and explosive inner Nirvana. This trait is more evident in her long stories, but the very short one about Indian work culture (as opposed to the Japanese) is also thought provoking, though written in a lighter vein (Anuchitam).
The pleasing colours of the cover page with a kalamkari design may mislead you that inside pages are all romantic melancholies.But you are confronted with some eternal problems of life, narrated with self effacing skill, yet profound and humane.
- Munipalle Raju (Feb. 1992)

Naa Rachanalapai Sameeksha Vyasalu is available for download from Vikasa Dhatri.