Nationalist Poems of Basavaraju Apparao

Basavaraju Apparao was a nationalist Telugu poet born in the Vijayawada district of Andhra Pradesh in 1894. During the Indian freedom struggle, he wrote a number of patriotic poems, songs, and anthems in Telugu. Basavaraju Apparao's nationalist poems are classified as Bhava Kavitam, a form of emotion-driven poetry writing that emerged in the 1920s against the backdrop of the freedom struggle. His poems on Gandhi deserve special attention. In one of his poems on Gandhi, Bapuji-Mabop equates Gandhi with the prophets of various religions, stating that Gandhi "melted his foe's arrogance" without harming them. In another poem, Apparao describes Gandhi as having a "divine lustre" on his face and his words as "divine commandments''. He also wrote a poem inspired by Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha-Swarajya Laxmi Pendi (Marriage of Swarajya Laxmi). Among Apparao's poetic songs about Gandhi are Magandhi, Gandhi Prabha, and Birth. He also wrote the National Flag, a popular nationalist anthem in Telugu. Basavaraju Apparao’s collected works, including his nationalist poems, were published posthumously in 1934 in a book titled Basavaraju Apparao Geetalu. Basavaraju Apparao, a great poet in his own right, is remembered as a devoted nationalist and a stalwart of Andhra literature.