ఆకులో ఆకునై - దేవులపల్లి

Over five decades, Telugu verse and song attained rare heights through his quest for eternal freedom, metaphysical beauty, and pristine aesthetics in his three most important works - క్రిష్ణ పక్షం, ఊర్వసి మరియు ప్రవాసి.

Many lucky people who heard Krishna Sastri's recitals say, reading his books is one thing, but listening him read his poems is quite another.

Sadly, towards the end of his life, he went silent from a throat ailment. Whole country cried. Someone said - "దేవులపల్లి భాద లొకమందరిదీ, లొకం భాద శ్రీశ్రీ ది".
An anecdote says, once on his way to Bellary, Krishna Sastry was passing through the dense Nallamalai forests, when he was enamoured by the splendour of nature, the scenic beauty and the majestic silence.

The result is a spectacularly beautiful song called "ఆకులో ఆకునై ".

All India Radio was the first to compose this poem into a light classical melody and it was sung by Vedavati Prabhakar . But it really caught the popular imagination when Ramesh Naidu composed a more sprightly tune and P Suseela etched it in her golden voice for the film Megha Sandesam.


ఆకులో ఆకునై (as a leaf among the leaves )
పూవులో పూవునై (as a flower among the flowers )
కొమ్మలో కొమ్మనై (as a branch among the branches )
నునులేత రెమ్మనై (as a gentle delicate twig )
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా (shall I blend in this forest )
ఎటులైనా (somehow) ఇచటనే here యాగిపోనా stop

Can I become one among the leaves, branches and flowers and blend into this nature, and somehow conclude my journey here itself?

Is it his delicate choice of words, or unrestrained exuberance of his ideas? It is hard to explain the reason why our hearts jump with joy and dream up many things -

Small children running around with flower tiaras. Waves of pearly rain. Drapes of golden sunshine. Spring valleys covered with petals of flowers. Gentle breezes egging on birds to sing.

Love for nature and freedom cannot be sung or written better. He wrote the entire song, not using a composite letter even once.

గల గలని (sounds of wind) వీచు (blowing)
చిరుగాలిలో (breezes) కెరటమై (wave)
జల జలని (sounds of water)
పారు సెలపాటలో (stream) తేటనై (skimmed water)

Shall I become a wave of the gentle breezes, or part of the winding stream?

The words "గల గల" and "జల జల" gently strum on the strings of our aesthetic senses. Words take wings to become music.

పగడాల red like a coral stone చిగురాకు tendril
తెరచాటు veiled తేటినై honey bee
పరువంపు nubile విరిచేడె flower girl
చిన్నారి babyish సిగ్గునై bashful

Shall I become the honeybee veiled behind the crimson colored tender leaf? Can I become the bashful blush of the nubile flower bud?
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా (shall I blend in this forest)
ఎటులైనా (somehow) ఇచటనే (here) యాగిపోనా (stop)

తరులెక్కి climb the trees యల నీలి that blue
గిరినెక్కి mountain peak మెల మెల్ల slowly
చదలెక్కి climb the clouds
జలదంపు rainy నీలంపు blue నిగ్గునై blush

Can I climb the trees, and then slowly the clouds and reach the peak and become the blue blush on its face?

The mountain he is referring to is the "nilagiri" mountain, the second highest peak in South India, famous for its bluish appearance caused by the rain clouds and blue algae.

ఆకలా no hunger దాహమా or thirst
చింతలా sadness వంతలా or sorrows
ఈ తరళి in this forest వెర్రినై lose my existence
ఏకతమ lose my sense of being తిరుగాడ and wander

Can I forget the hunger, thirst, sadness and sorrows, all the troubles of the physical world, lose my existence and become part of this wilderness?

His words are eloquent for his unfettered love for freedom and nature. He is the "terachaaTu tETi", his words are "chirugaalilO keraTam", and his joy is "jaldampu neelampu niggu".

When Krishna Sastri died in 1981, Telugumata lost her favorite son.

Epilogue :

India is blessed with some of the finest wilderness in the world - the Nallamalai forests, Nilagiris, and the silent valley. Let us hope these will still be around for future generations, not just in songs such as this.

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