A young Suddala Ashok Teja got the first taste of Osmania University’s legacy from his poet-freedom fighter father Suddala Hanumatha Rao who narrated tales about its founder Nawab Osman Ali Khan and three of his counterparts who toured around the world to understand what goes into making a world-class institution. A few years later, Suddala Ashok Teja even dreamt of studying at Arts College, but that didn’t materialise. So he was overjoyed when he was roped in by OU Vice Chancellor S. Ramachandram to pen lyrics for a song (akin to an anthem) to commemorates the centenary year of the institution. “Although I had studied M.A Philosophy in external mode from the university (on which he had even written a line in the song that reads ‘ adhyatmika deepama adhunatana rupama ’), my goal of being a full-time student didn’t fall in place. That’s a God’s gift, you think of something else, but you get more than what you desire,” he starts off.
In fact, he says, not being a student of Osmania University helped him approach the song with more reverence. “Maybe I wouldn’t have been that conscious of its rich history had I studied there,” says Ashok Teja. The song that starts with ‘Jaya jaya jaya Osmania, Viswa vidya divyalaya, Meri vatan ko tune kitni tehzeeb diya’ also has Urdu references, for it was the first university across the world to have Urdu as its medium of instruction. “Initially, I wondered if people would understand its significance in the anthem, but I felt the song had to bear a true signature of the university,” the national-award winner adds.
Presenting a balance of facts, personal experience and ensuring a poetic flow wasn’t the easiest of tasks. The lyricist says he built an appropriate atmosphere (he calls it ‘ geethavaranam ’ and not ‘ vathavaranam ’) around himself to pen these lines. One of the most inspirational literary references he had was Vaddera Chandi Daas’ novel Anukshanikam . The tale of the protagonist in the novel is narrated amid the backdrop of Arts College. “You must read to believe that the novel had three pages devoted solely to describe the architectural history, and student life in the university.”
He’d written almost three versions of the song, despite constraints of length of song, besides a few lyrical suggestions from the committee that approved the song. The number besides focusing on the Osmania Unversity’s architectural glory and it’s backdrop for the Telangana movement also acknowledges that the University continues to produce greats from many fields, who reside in various parts of the globe. “Every Telugu that we know abroad has a memory related to Osmania University. I only feel humbled to know that the University management would be playing this song for every event at the college premises. But for a rare opportunity like Tagore , people forget what we do in films. Opportunities like these are rare and more fulfilling. It’s only fitting that I got to work with the likes of Yasho Krishna and Vandemataram Srinivas,” he shares, calling the trio a ‘ triveni sangamam ’ (confluence of three rivers).
Yasho Krishna on Suddala Ashok Teja
“We’d first met when he wrote for the film Nagaram Nidrapotunna Vela . Since then, we’ve collaborated for over 300 songs, including the recent Amaravati Ganam . It was four months back that I got this opportunity and I am happy to compose a song that’s full of spirit. Though I work in films, the popularity that I got for my Bathukumma song is unmatched. I and Ashok Teja sir are teaming up for another song surrounding the film city that’s to be established in Rachakonda.”
Published - April 27, 2017 03:40 pm IST
