Softly Dies a Lake

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May I add another reference ? It is a published academic paper about the book. 137pallavisingh (talk) 19:42, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Softly Dies a Lake is an eco-memoir written by Akkineni Kutumbarao. It was originally written and published in Telugu as Kolleti Jadalu in the year 2014, and was translated into English by Vasanth Kannabiran in 2020. The book intends to highlight and document the causes and impact of degradation of Kolleru, one of the largest freshwater lakes in India, situated in Andhra Pradesh. Being an ecological memoir, it effectively portrays Kolleru as it was before being reduced to a dry lake-bed by unchecked aquaculture, water diversion, and agriculture.

The book opens with a now 65-year-old Srinivasa Rao and Radhakrishna looking over a shallow and dried up Kolleru lake which was once deep and home to a complex and rich ecosystem comprising of plants, flowers and animals. Srinivasa mourns the pitiful condition of the lake and wonders where had all the life, lush greenery, plentiful water disappeared? How did Kolleru get to its present state? Both of them standing near the now dried up, and lifeless lake reminisce their childhood, 60 years ago, of which Kolleru was an inseparable part. The entire memoir recalls Srinivasa's difficult albeit happy childhood intimately intertwined with nature and Kolleru.

Summary

Setting

The village of Pulaparru and its people are the focus of the memoir and it recalls the events and developments of the 1950s. Most of the events are situated in Pulaparru and nearby places such as Eluru, Kaikaluru, and other island villages on Kolleru.

Characters

Kolleru

The very title Softly Dies a Lake personifies Kolleru. The freshwater lake is the most important part of the memoir and the entire village is at her mercy for their livelihoods, food, and even drinking water. Kolleru is almighty and omnipresent throughout the text. She is both nurturing - providing all animals and people with food and shelter, as well as menacingly unforgiving and destructive when in floods. The villagers have a saying about Kolleru: "There is no count of the harvest in Kolleru or the bullocks that die there". Throughout the text Kolleru is alive with a rich aquatic ecosystem and this serves as a stark contrast to the highly polluted and dried up lake it has become now.

Rangayya

Rangayya is Seenu's father and one of the most noble, gullible and helpful man in Pulaparru. He is the son of Rathayya and Subbama and was married to Lakshmamma at the very young age of seven years. It is Rangayya who repairs the damages caused by a flooded Kolleru, mitigates fights, and helps everyone in need irrespective of their caste, religion or community. For him, the entire village with all its people, plants, animals belong to him. Lakshmamma often worries as "He would leave his own work and go and do that work. He wouldn't think about his son's future."

Lakshmamma

Lakshmamma is Rangayya's wife and Seenu's mother. She was from Chautupalli and was married at a very young age of 4 years. Her character effectively highlights the state of women in not just Pulaparru but in most of rural India. Fondly called as Bhudevi by the villagers, Lakshmamma never stops working throughout the memoir and is a doting mother to Seenu. Besides Seenu, she also has two daughters: Sakuntala, who is married and Jhansi who stayed with her sister and wanted to be a teacher.

Seenu

It is through the eyes of little Seenu that we see most of the events in the memoir. Seenu is the childhood name of the adult Srinivasan Rao who is now older than 65 years old. The book focuses on Seenu and his childhood friends like Kishtudu, Pottudu, Dasu, Rajulu, etc. Narrating events through the eyes of a five year old innocent boy very effectively depicts the simple yet difficult life of the villagers. Through Seenu the readers realize how intimately the villagers are connected to Kolleru and how significant nature is in their lives.

Madhu

Madhu is the son of Veerabhadram and Vajramma. He is extremely wise, hardworking and aims to be educated like his cousin Pitchayya. Since there was no proper school in Pulaparru, Madhu goes to the school in Kaikaluru. He symbolises ambitious and hardworking rural youth of India that aims to rise above the status quo.

Atluri Pitcheshwar Rao

Fondly known as Pitchayya, Atluri Pitcheshwar Rao is the first and the most educated character in the entire village of Pulaparru. It is him who helps the villagers to survive and harness the flooded Kolleru for their farming. Pitchayya and Madhu highlight the importance of education. It is only through the education and awareness of Pitchayya that the persistent and serious problem of flooding in Kolleru is resolved.

Themes

This ecological memoir deals with important themes such as slow violence and its devastating impacts on the poor, environmental degradation, state of rural women, importance of education and much more. It also explores how an ecological memoir can be an effective genre to effectively depict Environmental crisis and degradation to the readers.

References

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📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

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