A Multifaceted Personality: According to Carlyle, the great English essayist, sincerity of purpose and earnestness of conviction are the first essentials of greatness. C.P. Brown was amply endowed with these as a truly great person whose contribution to Telugu literature is immense and monumental. Charles Philip Brown or C.P. Brown was popularly known as 'Brown Dora'.
C.P. Brown was born in Calcutta on 10th November, 1798. His father Rev. David Brown (1763-1812) was a provost at Fort William College in Calcutta. He was a linguist and wished his sons also should learn many languages. After the death of David Brown, the family moved to London. Brown was educated at Haileybury College where he obtained an award in Hindustani and Sanskrit. He landed in India in 1817 to take up a job as a civilian officer under the East India Company. He was appointed second Assistant Co-Collector of Cuddapah (now called Kadapa) in 1820. A major part of his service was rendered in Telugu area.
Sir Thomas Munroe (1761-1827), the then Governor of Madras Presidency, exhorted the civilian officers to study regional languages and carry on administration in the language of the people. In the course of his study, Brown came closer to people and said, "Books alone will not reach the living language. I therefore studied the everyday dialect in the police office. There cannot be a better school. And whenever I had a conversation with a plaintiff, witness or prisoner, with a learned judge or ignorant mental, everyone became my teacher for the time'.
His bungalow was called 'Brown College'.
His Literary Contribution: From the time he landed in India in 1817 till his death at London in 1884 C.P. Brown devoted 66 of his 86 years long life to the study and promotion of Telugu language and literature. He acquired mastery over several languages -- Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit. He loved and worked hard to master Telugu more than any other language. His relentless efforts in collecting the manuscripts of Telugu classics and publishing them show his sincerity and steadfastness. He started with a scratch and made into an ocean. There were ten to twenty pundits under his patronage to transcribe the manuscripts on paper and to prepare standard editions of the old classics in Telugu. He collected more than 5000 manuscripts in Telugu, Sanskrit and other languages.
'Manucharitam' and 'Vasucharitram' were printed for the first time by him -- duly edited and with commentaries by native scholars. His English-Telugu Dictionary (published in 1852), Telugu-English Dictionary (of 1300 pages), Dictionary of mixed dialects and Zillah Dictionary speak of his remarkable works in the manner of Dr. Samuel Johnson. As an author he printed and published readers, grammars, chronicles, treatises, translations, essays and a number of Telugu classics with commentaries. It is no exaggeration to state that Brown did yeoman service to Telugu literature at a time when he did not get any patronage from the rulers of the day. His passion for study is evident from his own words, "Want of leisure so often lamented in India', he says, 'denotes want of inclination. I have always had leisure'. He gifted to us more than 5,000 palm leaf manuscript volumes which he collected at a cost of 30,000 rupees, all from his pocket! Brown translated 1,215 verses of Vemana and published them at his own cost. The 'Brown College' in Kadapa consisted of eminent scholars namely Ravipati Gurumurthi Sastri, Advaita Brahma Sastri, Julur Appaiah Sastri and many others.
Brown was very kind towards people. He opened free schools - two at Kadapa, two at Masulipatnam and one at Madras. He did valuable service as the Collector of Guntur during the great Guntur famine in 1832-33. He liberally helped all people in distress. He was kind to all and commanded respect for his character from all. Among his trusted employees mention must be made of Ayodhyapuram Krishna Reddy of Kadapa district. To him, Brown was God.
He held many important posts and honours. He served as the Post Master General, Telugu translator to Government, Member of the Council of Education, Curator of Manuscripts, and after his retirement he worked as Professor of Telugu in London University. He passed away in 1884. Never in the history of the Telugu country, has an individual worked so much and for so long a time for the revival and development of its language and literature. His broad-mindedness is revealed in his own words. "The Apostles taught Christianity without reviling idols. Why should not modern teachers imitate this courteous method?" A remark that demands daily practice by the fanatics of any religion or of any doxy.
Perpetuating His Memory: Thanks to the pains taken by Sri Venkateswara University, a project was started for a period of three years (1975-78) to study the continuation by C.P. Brown. Dr. G.N. Reddy was made the director of the project and Bangorey was the research officer. The University published four works of Brown. To perpetuate the memory of C.P. Brown and his colossal personality, a library has been constructed at Kadapa on the very site where Brown's bungalow stood. The C.P. Brown memorial trust was formed in 1986. The library has 31,000 books. Recently it was handed over to Yogi Vemana University. Indeed the contribution of men like Brown makes one ask, "When shall such a one come again?"
Challapalli Srinivas Chakravarthy
H. No. 12-13-302, St. No. 9,
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Telangana State
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