The telugu movie Malleswari was set in the period of Sri Krishnadevaraya. The hero is a young sculptor who makes his fortune sculpting statues in the grand temples that we see today as the ruins of the Vijayanagar Empire. The heroine is the daughter of a weaver’s family with a talent for music and dance. This is a beautiful period movie that makes the grand days of Vijayanagar now known as Hampi and once known as Kishkinda come to life and transports you back in time and mood.
In this video link, we see them sending messages to each other over the clouds, full of love for each other.
I have read a post by a professor who said that Kalidasa’s poem Meghasandesam reflects the cloud paths and patterns very accurately. Since both Kalidasa and Varahamihira were gems at the court of King Vikramaditya and Varahamihara’s Brihat Samhita describes cloud movements, types and patterns exactly, it is easy for me to accept that one consulted the other and discussed these matters.
I am not sure if this lovely movie clip takes any real cloud movements into account, but it does capture the bhAva of Kalidasa in days when there was neither texting nor e-mail.
It should appeal to any romantic telugu speaking couple in love with music! I knew it by heart in my younger days!
The hero was played by Andhra Icon N.T. Rama Rao and the leading lady was Bhanumati. The lovely voice is her own, not a playback singer! In the link below you see her dancing happily and Sri Krishnadevaraya himself in disguise impressed by her talent.
A playful request on the hero’s part, who does not know that he is speaking to the king and she lands up living in the palace to sing for the queen. After a long separation they manage to set up a secret meeting and you can see her singing happily in the queen’s palace. Take a look around the palace and look at her jewellery even as you hear the song.
They finally meet and here is this lovely song.
They do get caught, but luckily for them the king is compassionate, forgives them and allows them to get married. On their part they learn not to joke with the king.
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
More Notes from This Source on Meghadutam Meteorology:
- “Meghadoot”, meaning the Cloud Messenger, is a Sanskrit poem of 120 stanzas or slokas, composed by the poet Kalidasa. Briefly, the poem is about a yaksha, who is banished from Alakapuri, takes refuge in Ramgiri, shares his sorrow with a cloud, and requests the cloud to go and tell his beloved in Alakapuri that he is safe. However, Kalidasa has developed this simple theme into a great literary masterpiece of unparalleled beauty.”
- The yaksha knows that the cloud is made up of four ingredients: water, wind, electricity and smoke (“Dhoomra jyoti salila marutam sannipatah kva meghah…” 1.5). He is well aware of the different forms of clouds (1.6). Moreover, he also knows that the northern town of Alakapuri, where his beloved is, lies in the path of the monsoon clouds (“Gantavya te vasatiralaka…” 1.7). Today it is known that smoke consists of two types of carbon, organic and black, of which the former helps in cloud formation and the latter absorbs heat.
- But here again the scientist prevails over the poet and he says that the monsoon winds will surely carry the cloud to the destination (“Mandam mandam nudati pavanaschanukulam yatha twam…” 1.10). The monsoon winds will slowly turn westwards (“Kinchit paschadvraja laghugatirbhuya evottarena…” 1.16). The yaksha is acquainted with the circuitous route of the monsoon and he repeatedly cautions that the cloud must always keep moving to the north (“Vakra pantha yadapi bhavatah prasthitasyottarasham…” 1.27).
- . In some respects, Kalidasa remains ahead of the scientists of the twentyfirst century and they can learn from him and draw inspiration for doing further research in the monsoon.
