Sometime in the summer of early 80s, Nayani Krishnakumari came to the fishing hamlet of Gopalpur on Sea, Odisha (as it’s called now). Armed with a National Panasonic 2-in-1 (that’s what those contraptions with tapes were called) she began her meticulous work in the old house of her in-laws.
Every evening, for nearly a month, fisherwomen would come in the evening, in troupes of eight or nine, stand around the recorder and sing their songs. Sometime, the electricity would be there, most of the times it would be batteries that would help the recording. She would note down the names of the singers, give them their payment and next day would be spent in transcribing the song.
My mother would call her Mastan vadina . And thereby hangs a tale. For many years, well-known writer and poet Nayani Subba Rao and his wife remained childless. Then the couple went to Mastan Shah Walli Dargah and prayed for a child and Nayani Krishnakumari was born on March 14, 1930.
Her pet name would remain Mastan for the family even as she carved a niche for herself in the literary field beginning with a history of Andhra people called Andhra Katha when she was 18 years old and a little later Agniputri (a collection of poems). Her biggest contribution to Telugu literature would remain the study and understanding she brought to folklore and folk songs with Telugu Janapada Geya Gaathalu (ballads).
But it was as a teacher that she made a mark having taught in Chennai, Tirupati, Osmania University and retiring as a Vice Chancellor.
Her journey as a teacher began with the lecturer’s job in Ethiraj College in then Madras.
In 1952, she moved to Osmania University Women’s College in Hyderabad, where she began as a lecturer and became a Professor in 1983. For one year, she served as a principal of Padmavathi Mahila University, Tirupati before returning to Osmania University as Head of the Department of Telugu. She retired in 1990 and later she was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University.
Even when she had her hands full with academic engagements, her literary journey continued as she published a series of works ranging from travelogues and collaborative works to poetry, where she preferred to write her own preface.
In her death, Telugu literature has lost the last of the titans.
