Telangana Telugus vs Andhra Telugus

by Guest Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:23 pm

An excellent, well researched, and scholarly article exploring the vast and bitter cultural divide existing between Telangana Telugus and Andhra Telugus:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/andhra-and-telengana-a-vast-and-bitter-cultural-divide-41427.html

by Guest Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:26 pm

Rashmun wrote:An excellent, well researched, and scholarly article exploring the vast and bitter cultural divide existing between Telangana Telugus and Andhra Telugus:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/andhra-and-telengana-a-vast-and-bitter-cultural-divide-41427.html

from the article at the link:

In spite of being together as part of the same state since 1956, the people of Telangana consider themselves distinctly different from their counterparts in Andhra because of their different histories that have led to the creation of different cultures. They, however, speak the same language. Trying to unite these two culturally different people – though Telugu they both were – would be a Herculean endeavour.

After the merger, the Telugu people of Andhra were ecstatic. For the first time after 1323, an integrated Telugu state was coming into being. But people of Telangana were in for a rude shock. Their conception of Telugu state was quite different from that of the Andhra people.

It was an unequal union between two brothers who had been brought up in different circumstance,” describes former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh Narendra Luther. What made the union unbearable for the less fortunate Telangana was the overbearing attitude of the people from better-endowed Andhra.

“This arrogance was borne out of the realization that they were superior to the local Telangana population in terms of modern education and the mores of modern life. Very soon the Andhra people were sniggering at our culture, our language and work ethics,” says V. Venkataramana, head of the School of Management Studies at the University of Hyderabad.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) after they tendered their resignations in Hyderabad. Police arrested two dozen state lawmakers and teargassed students. Noah Seelam/AFP
Thinking of themselves as the proper representatives of Telugu culture, the Andhra people were able to thrust their brand of Telugu as the language of the government. This was the language as spoken in the Krishna district located in the Andhra area. “Though there is no standard version of Telugu, this Krishna district Telugu came to stand for the real Telugu. All other variations were frowned upon,” says A. Shyam Mohan, president of the intellectual cell of the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh.

“It is as if it’s the language of servants and the menial classes that cannot be spoken by the educated people. As a result many parents these days force their children to speak the Andhra variety of Telugu so as to be counted as an equal in society,” the [Telengana] Jagriti’s representation says.

Other representations of Telangana culture are also ignored and festivals like Batukamma are not recognized as a state festival. “Textbooks for schools perpetuate the Andhra culture as if there was never any Telangana culture,” says Shyam Mohan.

by Guest Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:29 pm

Rashmun wrote:An excellent, well researched, and scholarly article exploring the vast and bitter cultural divide existing between Telangana Telugus and Andhra Telugus:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/andhra-and-telengana-a-vast-and-bitter-cultural-divide-41427.html

from the article at the link:

Villains, vamps and buffoons

Nowhere has the misrepresentation of Telangana culture been more striking than in Telugu films. People of Andhra Pradesh are avid film viewers and the Telugu film industry churns out more movies every year than even Bollywood. But in these colourful extravaganzas, the hero and heroine mouth the Telugu spoken in the Andhra area. However, the villain, vamp and the comic characters speak Telangana Telugu.

“This is invariably the case and it hurts. They are the good guys and we are the foul fellows,” says Keshav Rao, Rajya Sabha MP from the Congress party, who hails from Telangana.

Sometimes the portrayal is such that a person from Telangana is shown as extremely silly. “Films occupy such an important position in the life of a Telugu but rarely ever films are set in Telangana. And show me a single hero who hails from Telangana,” says Union cabinet minister Jaipal Reddy. This is a point made by TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao as well. Incidentally, 50 per cent of the revenues grossed by Telugu productions come from the Telangana area.

“What can we do? Such dialogues and representations are lapped up by audiences. So long as this is so, things are not going to change,” admits a film producer who does not want to be identified. Realizing this, the TRS has been working on a plan to boycott movies which “makes fun of the Telangana way of life”. Simultaneously, to give a boost to Telangana culture, films are being planned with pure Telangana dialect.

by Guest Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:33 pm

Rashmun wrote:An excellent, well researched, and scholarly article exploring the vast and bitter cultural divide existing between Telangana Telugus and Andhra Telugus:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/andhra-and-telengana-a-vast-and-bitter-cultural-divide-41427.html

from the article at the link:

Andhra people, though they openly lampoon Telangana folks for their laziness, assert that there is hardly any difference between the two. On the contrary, the Telangana people harp on the differences and highlight how diverse the two peoples are.
“Our festivals are different, so is our way of life. For us Dussehra is most important but for them it is Sankranti [the festival to herald new crop]. Even on Telugu new year, the ugadi pachhadi we make in the two regions is different,” says Sameer Reddy, a young businessman whose family hails from Siddipet in Telangana.

An index of cultural integration would be instances of mixed marriages: grooms from Telangana marrying an Andhra girl and vice versa. But in traditional marriages fixed by parents – and this constitutes the preponderant majority – the match is always between the bride and groom coming from the same region.

Believe it or not, conversations become difficult in an office with colleagues also. Oftentimes, we cannot fully understand what they are saying,” says S. Rao, a journalist hailing from Telangana. “I know Andhra people say that there are no cultural differences but that’s because they are assuming thatours. If we accept their culture without demur, obviously there will be no difference. This is what they want.”.....

An interesting aspect of the culture gulf is the difference amongst the Dalits (who along with the Brahmins are the only pan-Indian caste) of Andhra and Telangana areas. The chief Dalit group in the Andhra area, the Malas, consider themselves distinctly superior to the chief Dalit group of Telangana area, the Madigas. In turn, the Madigas argue that by hook or by crook, the Malas have cornered the benefits made available to the scheduled caste groups.

by Guest Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:53 pm

Rashmun wrote:
Rashmun wrote:An excellent, well researched, and scholarly article exploring the vast and bitter cultural divide existing between Telangana Telugus and Andhra Telugus:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/andhra-and-telengana-a-vast-and-bitter-cultural-divide-41427.html

from the article at the link:

In spite of being together as part of the same state since 1956, the people of Telangana consider themselves distinctly different from their counterparts in Andhra because of their different histories that have led to the creation of different cultures. They, however, speak the same language. Trying to unite these two culturally different people – though Telugu they both were – would be a Herculean endeavour.

After the merger, the Telugu people of Andhra were ecstatic. For the first time after 1323, an integrated Telugu state was coming into being. But people of Telangana were in for a rude shock. Their conception of Telugu state was quite different from that of the Andhra people.

It was an unequal union between two brothers who had been brought up in different circumstance,” describes former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh Narendra Luther. What made the union unbearable for the less fortunate Telangana was the overbearing attitude of the people from better-endowed Andhra.

“This arrogance was borne out of the realization that they were superior to the local Telangana population in terms of modern education and the mores of modern life. Very soon the Andhra people were sniggering at our culture, our language and work ethics,” says V. Venkataramana, head of the School of Management Studies at the University of Hyderabad.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) after they tendered their resignations in Hyderabad. Police arrested two dozen state lawmakers and teargassed students. Noah Seelam/AFP
Thinking of themselves as the proper representatives of Telugu culture, the Andhra people were able to thrust their brand of Telugu as the language of the government. This was the language as spoken in the Krishna district located in the Andhra area. “Though there is no standard version of Telugu, this Krishna district Telugu came to stand for the real Telugu. All other variations were frowned upon,” says A. Shyam Mohan, president of the intellectual cell of the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh.

“It is as if it’s the language of servants and the menial classes that cannot be spoken by the educated people. As a result many parents these days force their children to speak the Andhra variety of Telugu so as to be counted as an equal in society,” the [Telengana] Jagriti’s representation says.

Other representations of Telangana culture are also ignored and festivals like Batukamma are not recognized as a state festival. “Textbooks for schools perpetuate the Andhra culture as if there was never any Telangana culture,” says Shyam Mohan.

elsewhere the article says that there are no less than thirty two dialects of telugu in the state. what tremendous linguistic diversity! the question is: are you killing a part of local culture by promoting the Krishna Telugu dialect and insisting that this particular dialect of Telugu be considered standard telugu?

by Guest Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:06 am

The present Telangana agitation complicated the matters further due to the behaviour of certain Telangana political leaders. Some time ago they demolished statues of eminent Telugu personalities in Hyderabad on the pretext that statues of eminent personalities from Telangana region were not installed. Who prevented them from installing them?. They could have installed them either with their own money or with the public money. Further the same elements are insulting the official song of Andhra Pradesh ” Ma Teugu talliki mallepoo danda”. This song literally praises the Telugu language. Ironically these people also speak Telugu with a different accent. It is like insulting the mother. This reflects badly about the sorry state of affairs of the administration. It is completely administrative lacuna.

Interestingly there was a question asked in the popular American TV Programme ‘Jeopardy’ twice, the second time on 11th February 2012, about a Telugu word. The question is ‘Which American word got it from Telugu word ‘ Pandikokku’. No one could tell the answer. The host gave the answer ‘Bandicoot.’

Telugu people are too good in cutting the branch of a tree on which they stand. They are also very good in caste politics. I am keeping my fingers crossed and wonder when better sense will prevail among my people since I am also part of the sinking ship.

Another disturbing trend observed among Telugu people is the negligence of their language and culture mainly by the middle class and rich urban parents and their children in their fascination to learn English. There is nothing wrong in learning English but ignoring their language and culture is pretty bad to say the least.

I pity the Telugu youth who have neglected their glorious Telugu culture and have aped the negative side of the western culture and are crazy about the present day ridiculous Telugu and Hindi movies in a big way

http://bharatjanani.com/what-ails-telugu-people/

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