Ranganayakamma is a fire brand writer who is famous for speaking her mind. At a time when even sending a girl out is considered a big thing, a woman coming out as a Marxist and opposing all the preciously valued literature would’ve definitely resulted in numerous gasps. Though she didn’t back off, she continued her whip lash on all the issues that were then settled as rituals and traditions.
Born in 1939, a time when girls are just meant to be in the kitchen and are treated as machines who give birth to children, Raganayakamma caused a stir at every stage of her life. She finished her SSLC in the year 1955 and couldn’t pursue her higher studies as her parents refused to send her to far off places. Despite getting married in 1958, she came out of it in 1970 and started living-in with a person who was 10 years younger to her. She even removed the surname ‘Muppala’ which came after her marriage. This resulted in a lot of back lash and eye rolls.
Her writings hold a special place in Telugu literature. She was stamped as ‘Male offender’ because of her writings which strongly supported women and opposed patriarchy. She faced a lot of criticism for her Marxist take on Ramayana called “Ramayana Vishavruksham”. Though her writings come across as feisty and rebellious, she is even capable of ironical humour which makes us die laughing. She never backed off from criticising her fellow writers too. The infamous Telugu writer Vara Vara Rao came down and apologised to her regarding his poem which disregards Transgenders.
Ranganayakamma is an example for a true feminist. She talked about gender equality which was sometimes misinterpreted. Her novel ‘Janaki Vimukti’ which came as a serial in Andhra Jyoti had to be stopped mid way because of the critical content. In that novel, she argues that Marxism is the correct path to gender equality. She wrote many pro-feminist novels like Krishnaveni, Sthree, Chaduvukunna Kamala, Krishnaveni etc. She also translated Karl Marx’s Das Kapital as Marx Capital Parichayam in three volumes. The critical take on Mahabharatha “Idandi Mahabharatham” made her marked as a Brahmin offender too.
She won the Andhra Pradesh Government Sahitya Akademi Award for the novel “Balipeetham” in 1965. However, since she came into contact with Marxism, she started opposing awards, whether governmental or non-governmental. Though she faced heavy criticism and even faced legal charges because of her writings and comments she made, she never backed off from opining her mind. Women like Ranganayakamma are rare to find who make a strong point despite the criticism they face. Recently, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma expressed his respect towards her thoughts and opinions. The main theme of her writings being the depiction of women got her a lot of women following. She never stooped to anything. She opposed even at times when the world opposed her. Women like these create history and should definitely be taken as inspiration. They stand as an example for true rebels but with a cause!
