"caraNa calita janitam nee sahaja vilaasam
jwalita kiraNa kalitam soundarya vikaasam
nee abhinaya ushOdayam tilakincina ravi nayanam
gagana sarasi hrydayamlO
vikasita sata daLa sObhala SUVARANA KAMALAM"

Thus described the poet the concept of "swarna kamalam" in the movie swarna kamalam. Swarna kamalam was not something that was awarded to Meenakshi for her exemplary dancing prowess; swarna kamalam did not allude to the proverbial lotus in her heart upon the realization of the artistic satisfaction following "naaTya nirvaaNam"; swarna kamalam was justfied as something that the world would bloom as (gagani sarasi lO ravi nayanam), by witnessing the brilliance of art performed by one, who was baptized by fire.

Abstraction - the ability to distill an idea to the core, beautifying the distilled idea with another totally unrelated concept and ultimately justify the original idea, or the ability to detach completely from the original concept, rise above it and explain the trappings of the idea. This process of digging into the minutia of an idea or drawing oneself out of the concept to observe things on a macro level, brings to fore the different shades of an idea by focusing on unforeseen dimensions. Consider the thought process that went into
"kaLLalOki kaLLu peTTi"
song from Nuvve Kaavaali, which squeezes the essence of the movie into a few words and shows the inner turmoil and the deep conflict that the character undergoes.

"gaalipaTam gaganaanindaa
egaraesae ee naeladaa
naa hrudayam nee celimidaa
muDi vaesae inkokaridaa"

Looking glass - the poet looks at the world through a different lens. Where the world sees night, he sees slumber, where the world light, he sees rejuvenation, where the world sees defeat, he sees optimism, where the world sees victory, he sees humility. Add to that the symbiotic relationship that he shares with nature, the poet abstracts the terrestrial ideas in ethereal terms, explaining the earthly wordly relationships in surreal terms. Abstraction does not merely confine to relating an idea to something bigger and grandiose or splitting the idea to the point that the entire scheme becomes malnourished. It grabs hold of the fine thread that runs through the idea, understands the intrinsic nature of the concept and then starts to prop the key element with a relationship in the immediate vicinity that is closest to the central concept. Observe the number of ways that the poet describes the dark night and the sunrise the day after

"paamu laanTi seekaTi paDaga dinci pOyindi
saavu laanTi seekaTi sooru daaTi pOyindi" -
tellarindi leganDoy from kaLLu

"seekaTamma seekaTi yeccanina seekaTi
muddugaa iddarike oddikaina seekaTi" - nammaku
nammaku from rudra veeNa

"karagaka pOdugaa cikkani ceekaTi
minuguru rekka caatu cinna kaantiki" - evarO okaru
from ankuram

"mellagaa mellagaa taTTi melukO melukO
manToo toorupae talupulae teeyangaa" - aasa aasa aasa

Context - no other ingredient is more essential to the fundamentals of abstraction than context. The same items that pervade the poet's universe take on different shapes, images and metaphors suiting the changing needs and serving the purpose of the context. The same sea works as an inexhaustible source of eternal hope in an optimistic context; the same sea assumes the role of an unstoppable force of devastating strength in a more pronounced context; the same sea doubles as a vast mystery hiding the storms and whirlpools within. The same set of tools that are at his disposal lend themselves to be 'metaphorized' in different ways through different looking glasses set in different contexts. By matching up the pattern of the idea with what he finds around him and dressing it with a proper context, the poet tends to throw light on the hidden facets of the concept. Follow the flow of this thought when the poet tries to equate incessant rocking of the waves in a sea to the eternal optimism that nature inherently possesses

"nee geeta menta taDimina
silalu sangeeta kaLalu kavanee
enta naadaamrutaana taDisina
isuka ravvanta karaga laedani telisi
astamistunna soorya taejaanni
kaDupulO mOsi nityamu
kotta aayuvistunna amrutamlaanTi aaSatO
egasi aavirai ashTa dikkulU daaTi
mabbulanu meeTi niluvuna nimirite
gaganamu karagada" - ae raagamundi from manusulO maaTa

Poetry consists in expression elevated in thought; poetry lies in equating the extremities; poetry is defined as the art of make believe. If a poet is to be measured for his ease with the language, eloquence of expression and fluidity of thought, the yardstick that sizes him up is the power of abstraction..

Srinivas Kanchibhotla

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