I was involved in this work intensely during 1981-85. I tried hard to propagate the idea of female equality. I spoke about women's lives, their tears, their unequal status, crimes against women and so on in the various places I travelled to.
There were not many people then even to write about feminism. I thought I must create awareness among women. I wanted to make women understand their rights. I started this after I lost faith in Marxist philosophy and revolutionary politics. What were your expectations when you started the feminist study circle?
Some friends got together to set up a statue in just one place in Andhra Pradesh. The government, the communists and the other parties did not accept his ideas. Some friends got together to celebrate the event. In 1994 we celebrated his centenary in a big way. I hope the people of Andhra Pradesh have understood his greatness at last. Chalam's daughter Souri, who was religiously inclined, lived there. I went to Thiruvannamalai 30 years ago to meet him.Īndhra could not accommodate such a revolutionary and he became disenchanted with Andhra. Unfortunately, his writings have not been able to reach people of other languages as they were not translated. But Chalam spoke about women's lives, their miseries, their sexuality, the house-work they do, the degraded lives they live, and such other revolutionary things. You can imagine what the condition of society would have been at that point of time.
He started writing in 1920, when his first novel was published. You have mentioned often that the writer Chalam influenced you greatly. But my first poem was not to say something about that. I assumed her name and began writing poems. Did you write your first poem on that, after assuming her name? You said `Volga' was your sister's name and that she died in a fire. Thilakavathi, writer and Indian Police Service officer, spoke to her in Chennai about her life and works. Her efforts have gone a long way in changing the focus of what women writers write and how they write. She edited the first volume of Maku Godalu Levu, a collection of feminist essays and Neeli Meghalu, an anthology of poems, co-edited Sarihaddulu and Lani Sandhyalu and co-authored Saramsam and Mahilavaranam. Volga has published an anthology of stories called Rajakiya Kathalu. The book won her the prestigious Chatura Award in 1987. But she fought on bravely and is a name to reckon with today in Telugu literature. It was a controversial book and Volga found that her personal life was dissected along with the contents of the book. Her novel Svecha sold over 50,000 copies and created a wave in favour of women writers. Increasingly drawn into the question of the woman writer's place in society and in literature, she began exploring the feminine experience in her work and became part of women's movements. But her passion was always literature and she was a member of the Revolutionary Writers' Association. She had her share of political action as a member of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and also the naxalite movement. She took her Master's degree in Telugu literature from Andhra University. However, it is the name by which the soft-spoken but fiery artist Popuri Lalitha Kumari is known today. It was not her name to begin with - it was her sister's, which she adopted as a pen name after the latter died tragically. The name reflects her mind and its leanings. Interview with Volga or Popuri Lalitha Kumari, Telugu writer.