It became a customary practice among classical Telugu poets to denounce “bad poets” and condemn readers of poor taste. Interestingly, this tradition did not originate with Nannaya, the first major Telugu poet of the 11th century. Rather than attacking unfavorable shifts in taste, Nannaya appealed to the assembly of connoisseurs (satsabha) to aid him in judging the merit of his work. He believed that poets with a “fertile heart” (saramati)—those truly capable of appreciating the craft—would recognize his success in transcreating the Mahabharata. It was actually Nanne Chodadeva, the first major Saiva poet, who broke this tradition by devoting several verses to condemning the “ill-refined” poet and the tasteless reader.
Nanne Chodadeva, one of the most original minds in Telugu literary history (though his exact dates remain a subject of scholarly debate), likely faced significant resistance from those with an inadequate sense of aesthetics. This friction arose because he initiated a new trend known as Deshi poetry, which he termed vastu kavita. While scholars still debate the precise definition of vastu kavita, it is clear that Chodadeva believed the formal structures of poetry should never deter a reader from experiencing the rasa—the essential “juices” or emotional essence—of the work.
When the traditions of Marga (the “Great Tradition”) and Deshi (the “Little Tradition”) are viewed through the lens of modern anthropology, the Deshi school is best understood as a vibrant local tradition. In an intriguing and linguistically complex poem (Kumara Sambhavam, 1:28), Chodadeva appears to denounce poets who blindly resort to the Marga (classical/Sanskritized) tradition without first grounding themselves in the local idiom. The two poems that follow this critique serve to disparage those with poor taste, using metaphors that are startlingly local, visceral, and—consequently—remarkably modern.
The Fly and the Sugarcane
Incapable of appreciating a work
of true merit, the lowly cling only
to that which lacks essence—
just as a swarm of flies deserts
the sweet, flowing juice
to cluster upon the dry, discarded pith
of the squeezed sugarcane.
Gold and the Touchstone
If you seek to weigh the worth of a verse,
go to the one who knows;
what can the ignorant ever truly grasp?
One tests the brilliance of gold
by rubbing it against a touchstone,
never by scratching it against a piece of lime.