In mid-70s, the Andhrapradesh Sahitya Academy gave its annual award to the yaJnam anthology, which the author refused to accept. Srisri, raavi Saastri, kodavatiganTi, velcEru and many others heaped praises on the story and its author. As vEloorigaaru mentioned in an earlier post, ranganaayakamma published a long article in prajaa saahiti in 1977, criticizing the story and that article raised a storm. In 1982, Hyderabad Book Trust published a volume of essays on yaJnam. In 1983, ranganaayakamma published a volume of essays criticizing yaJnam. Now in December 1995, the central saahitya akaaDemi honors the story and its author.

In early 80s, the famous director bi. narasinga raavu talked about directing a movie based on yaJnam. In late 1980s, another famous director ji. raamineeDu directed the feature film yaJnam, based on this story.

I do not know of any other story in Telugu that has commanded the kind of attention that yaJnam did. What is so special about this story that it continues to be talked about even 30 years after its creation? Why do many people consider it the finest story ever written in Telugu?

The story takes place in a single setting: the raccabanDa of a small, but developed village in SreekakuLam district. The events take place during a morning's course of deliberations at the raccabanDa. The subject of these deliberations is the payment of the debt owed by the maala_raitu appalraamuDu to the 'citiki pOyina shaavukaaru' gOpanna. The story, longer than the usual short story but shorter than the usual novel, runs to about 35 pages of small print in the standard (8.5" x 5.5") book size.

At first blush, the story appears like a simple narration of events of that morning. Soon, we find that there is more to it than that; that the deliberations of that morning reflect the culmination of a lifetime of events; that it is not the story of just the 'taguvu', but the story of the entire village - nay, the entire country; that what we think to be true is not always so; that the accepted practice does not necessarily mean justice; and that while trying to create and nurture, one can become the tool of destruction; and a lot more. There are several layers to this story just like life, and each layer has its own texture.

The story has two principal characters: the village elder - Sreeraamulu naayuDu, a Gandhian reformer whose single minded devotion changed the sleepy village into a prosperous 'model' village, and appalraamuDu, a low-caste peasant with a small amount of land, who was a fervent supporter of naayuDu's reforms. On this fateful day, Sreeraamulu naayuDu, the head of the village, was being challenged by appalraamuDu to clarify whether the debt he owes to the shaavukaaru is a valid debt. naayuDu answers in the affirmative and appalraamuDu now has to sell his remaining land to pay off the debt. Before he does that, he tries to explain to the audience why he thought that the 'debt' was not a real debt. He also talks about his understanding of the truth about his life; about his family; about the village; and about naayuDu and his reforms. Then as all the members of appalraamuDu's family are signing the land-sale deed, his younger son refuses and protests. The uniqueness of the defiant protest and its brief aftermath marks the unforgettable climax.

The story is written simply, from a third person point of view. As the story progresses, one begins to suspect that this is not a simple story as it first appears. But one cannot stop to ponder the complexity as one is compelled to read on to find out what happens next. And when it ends, one is stunned and perplexed. One then goes back to reread the story to understand it much as one tries to rehash every relevant detail from memory when trying to understand a dramatic event that happens in front of them.

The author's skill is such that even a single reading of this story is sufficient to etch the setting, the characters and the events in one's mind for ever. But, I do not know anybody that has simply read yaJnam once and could let it go. There is an urge to discuss this story, dissect it and to digest it.

Somebody once said that yaJnam is to Telugu story, what mahaaprasthaanam is to Telugu poetry, kanyaaSulkam is to Telugu drama, and maalapalli is to Telugu novel. How true!