ABSTRACT
Vemana was an eclectic folk philosopher who drew on ideas from Virashaiva concepts, Tantric Shaivism, Buddhist teachings, Vedanta and yoga, and from proverbs and other aspects of the collective wisdom of India from five or six centuries ago. Vemana's and Baddena's verses are made from the materials at hand words of the spoken and written Telugu language, relevant themes, items and events of everyday life. The verses of Vemana and Baddena, like the proverbs of folk wisdom which they feed into and also grow out of, and the songs that live on people's lips for generations, all capture patterns across several scales, and remain a part of many lives. At their worst they may become clichs, rigidly imposing verdicts on situations in a way that does not help us understand; at their best they encourage alertness, common sense, conscience, honesty, and they rebalance distorted views. They provide common bonds of shared references and lend spicy flavours to a regional language.
