On using simple language

On using simple language

Ranganayakamma wrote a very long story titled 'KUTRA' (meaning 'Conspiracy') in 1981 in a monthly magazine. It deals with the language of Communist revolutionaries. The synopsis of the story is like this: The police arrest the revolutionaries and produce them in the court, the prosecution goes on for several days, and finally the judge delivers a judgement. The contention of the police is that the Communist revolutionaries have conspired to overthrow the legally/constitutionally elected government and hence the court should punish them accordingly. The police, in support of their contention, cite the documents of the revolutionaries where they characterize the Indian ruling classes as the 'Compradore' (agents) of the Imperialists and the representatives of the feudal landlords and hence they want people to overthrow the present government of the ruling classes.

On the judgement day many people especially young men and women attend the court to hear the judgement eagerly. The audiences in the court hope that the judge may not give harsh punishment in view of his progressive views in other matters of social life, viz., that he is sympathetic to oppressed wives and poor and so on. The police also are worried about the outcome.

The judge at the outset declares that it does not amount to conspiracy if the revolutionaries plan to overthrow the Present State because he agrees fully with the revolutionaries that the Indian ruling classes are Compradore in nature. He finds nothing wrong in overthrowing an anti-people government, which is supporting feudalism and imperialism. By this time, the police become very nervous and disappointed and the sympathizers of the revolutionaries feel very happy. "However", the Judge continues, "the revolutionaries have conspired not against the government but against the people". The reason he shows is that the documents of the revolutionaries are so difficult to follow and understand in view of the language and the style they use. And he continues to cite many examples of sentence construction and asks the young audience to explain the meaning of those sentences and the audience finds it difficult to explain. Finally the judge says that he is sending the revolutionaries to the jail where there are already some peasants who failed to pay their dues to the revenue department and learn how to use the language either in speaking or writing.

Many readers felt very happy over this story but some persons belonging to some revolutionary groups became unhappy and thought she is attacking the revolutionary camp.

In 1989, that is eight years later, Ranganayakamma also wrote a long essay titled VAADUKA BHAASHEE RAASTUNNAAMAA?(meaning 'Are we writing the colloquial language?') and it appeared as a serial for about 20 weeks. It subsequently underwent two prints in the book form. This book is based on a ten-year data collected (during 1978-88) from various Telugu newspapers of the bourgeois press as well as the journals and documents of the revolutionary left.

In fact one of the chief strengths of Ranganayakamma's writings is that readers, irrespective of their ideological viewpoints, understand very easily and without any doubts. Because of this quality of her writings, many readers write questions to her concerning various economic, political and cultural issues. Her answers to the questions of the readers appeared in two volumes, which underwent two editions so far.

(A note prepared and sent to a Marathi speaking journalist when he responded to Ranganyakamma's style of writing in one of her English translations.)