For latecomers to the party, here is a brief introduction to Venugopala Soraba: Venugopala Soraba, born on November 29, 1937 at Devanahalli in Bangalore Urban district, studied English literature at the University of Mysore, taught at Kanakapura’s Rural College from 1964 to 1989 before joining Bangalore’s NMKRV College for Women. He taught literature there until his untimely demise on March 21, 1995 at the age of 57. Soraba took to writing at an early age -- when others his age would be busy on the playground, this nine-year-old scrawny boy sharpened his pen, introduced himself into literary world through a poem that he gingerly passed on to legend, D R Bendre. Out came fulsome praise from the Jnanpith laureate, and thus began Soraba’s voyage into literature, stormy and romantic both at once.
A literary all-rounder, he wrote novels, poetry, travelogue, essays, compiled books and was on the jury of several awards committees. Such was his enthusiasm for art and criticism that he was on the editorial board of art magazines that tried to deconstruct the jargon and raze the barriers that stood between artworks and the common people. His novels – Bayalagada Jana, Sareekaru, Suttu Balasu and Sullu Buruki, among many others – spoke of the human angst, of the turbulent times we live in, and were definitely crafted with finesse that challenged the works of his contemporaries. Soraba was a poet at heart; the literary works may have taken the shape of a novel, but his works still contained the soft, gentle caress of a poem without the frieze becoming the centrestage.
His poetry collections are humungous, and no wonder this facet of Soraba is the most celebrated. One is tempted to say Soraba made the theme of romance the cause célèbre of his most works, Dhaare, in particular. That Soraba wrote with candor is borne out by Maanavi, a poetry collection that brought under the spotlight 10 gritty women – five from India and as many from the West. This included Draupadi, Seetha and Desdemona. Maanavi critically examined the strong points, virtues and foibles of these women as it were. Over 50 of his lyrics were set to music and broadcast on air. The oft-aired one is Maataayi Barutaale, which captured the demonizing phase of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a poem that’s often misunderstood to interpret she has been glorified, but what the poem does is exactly the opposite!
Soraba wore many hats, that of a critic being the toughest and the most adorable one. Not for him the sugary-syrupy review of a book detailing the plot and a wishy-washy exit line. He’d examine the plot with clinical precision, follow through the narrative and then make a commentary. Came under his lens were the likes of Yashwanth Chittal, U R Ananthamurthy, Chandrashekhara Kambara, S L Bhyrappa and many other leading lights. The literary world would often wait with bated breath for Soraba’s take on the new book on the block. A collection of his essays and literary criticism, brought out posthumously, holds a mirror to his refulgent bouquet that his mighty pen covered.
Any profile of Soraba would be incomplete without assessing his qualities as a translator. He would rank as a very few in the Kannada literary field who wrote in both Kannada and English with surprising felicity. Jnanpith laureate Vinayaka Krishna Gokak is another legend who wrote a sequel to his Kannada work in English; Soraba penned several of his poems in English, translated many of the legends – D R Bendre, Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga – for several national literary publications and actively collaborated with Dom Moraes, Nissim Ezekiel and Rukmini Bhaya Nair. Soraba co-edited with colleague Hemalatha John Women Writers In South Indian Languages, which saw the light of day just months before he passed away.
