Telugu Poets

Paravastu Chinnayasuri (Telugu: పరవస్తు చిన్నయ సూరి; 1807-1861) is a well-known Telugu writer. He was born in 1807 in Perambur of Chengalpattu district and died in 1861. Suri was the son of Venkata Rangayya a Vaishnavite Scholar. He worked as a Telugu teacher at Pachaiyappa's College in Madras. He also worked as a law scholar for the Supreme Court of East India Company. He was a Pundit in Sanskrit, Telugu, Prakrit and Dravida (Tamil) languages. He was acclaimed as a profound scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit in the traditional education. More than a third of his life span was spent in teaching Telugu in schools and in the Presidency college, Madras. He was one of the most famous pandits of the 19th century. He dedicated his entire life to the progress and promotion of Telugu language and literature. Suri is the title bestowed on him.

Chinnayasuri wrote the Baala Vyaakaranamu (1855) in a new style after doing extensive research on "Andhra Grammar" which is his greatest gift to Telugu people. The other well-known writings by Chinnayasoori are: (1) Neeti Chandrika (1853) (2) Sootandhra Vyaakaranamu (3) Andhra Dhatumoola and (4) Neeti Sangrahamu.

Chinnayasuri translated Mitra Labham and Mitra Bhedam from the Sanskrit Panchatantra as Neeti Chandrika.

According to the German translator Johannes Hertel of Das Panchatantra (1914), there are 200 versions of Panchatantra in fifty non Indian languages. Panchatantra was one of the earliest Sanskrit works that traveled outside India. Because of its great antiquity and its extensive migration, traces of its influence can be detected in works of literature widely separated in time and place, such as The Arabian Nights, The Gesta Romanorum, Decameron, Canterbury Tales, Fables of La Fontaine, The Br'er Rabbit Stories, etc. Although Sanskrit speaking Brahmins had access to it from the beginning in the Telugu land, Telugus were able to lay their hands on a Telugu version in 19th century, thanks to Chinnayasuri!

Suri’s normative approaches resulted in setting up a neo-classical tradition and practice of ‘correcting’ even the older classics in accordance with the grammatical rules framed by him. He was a remarkable scholar who lived in an ivory tower, away from the masses and unreachable even by his admirers. He will be remembered, despite his literary dictatorship, in the history of the Telugu language and literature.His writing style is classical. The stylistic elegance in his prose is unparallel to any other known, even today. Kandukuri Veeresalingam and Kokkonda Venkataratnam followed his style of prose writing and wrote Vigrahamu and Sandhi in a different pattern. But, they were unable to provide the depth of style of Chinnayasoori's prose writing to the readers.

Many of us might have read the Neeti Chandrika as the text book at the high school level. Those who do not have good command over the Telugu language will also be enthusiastic to read the Neeti Chandrika. Chinnayasoori's intention in writing the Neeti Chandrika was not only to translate the honey of morals into Telugu but to enlighten the readers with the cool rays of Telugu language which is ever glowing.