Ravuri no more

Bharadwaja was educated up to Class VII only. However, his books are used as course works in BA, MA and there have even been several PhD degrees awarded for research on his works.

Ravuri Bharadwaja, Jnanpith awardee and a prominent writer in Telugu, passed away here on Friday night. He was 86. He was undergoing treatment at Care Hospital, Banjara Hills, for the past five days for multi-organ failure. The end came at 8.35 pm and almost all the members of his family were beside him when he breathed his last. He is survived by four sons and a daughter. His last rites will be performed on Saturday afternoon.

Bharadwaja, who struggled in his initial years due to poverty and overcame many an obstacle to pursue his passion, is the only third writer of eminence from the State to achieve the rare feat of winning the prestigious Jnanpith Award. He secured it in 2012.

He had 37 collections of short stories, 17 novels, four play-lets, and five radio plays to his credit. He also contributed profusely to children's literature. ‘Paakudu Raallu,’ a graphic account of life behind the screen in film industry, is considered his magnum opus. It is a trend-setter in the genre. ‘Jeevana Samaram’ is another popular work which also got a very wide acclaim in the field of Telugu literature. Bharadwaja, who had been unwell for quite some time, flew to New Delhi to receive the Award.

Bharadwaja was educated up to Class VII only. However his books are used as course works in BA, MA and there have even been several PhD degrees awarded for research on his works. He got honorary doctorates from Andhra, Nagarjuna and Jawaharlal Nehru Technolo- gical Universities for his literary prowess.

Bharadhwaja has been twice awarded the State Sahitya Academy Award for Literature and in 1983 was the winner of the Central Sahitya Academy Award. In 1968, he was the inaugural recipient of the Gopichand Literary Award. He was conferred the Rajalakshmi Award for Literature in 1987 and the Lok Nayak Foundation’s Literary Award in 2009. In 2013, he became the third Telugu author to be conferred the Jnanpith award for his novel ‘Paakudu Raallu’. Viswanatha Satyanarayana and C Narayana Reddy were the earlier recipients.

His notable creations include ‘Kadambari’, ‘Pakudurallu’, ‘Jeevana Samaram’, ‘Inupa Tera Venuka’ and ‘Koumudi’ and have been translated into English and various Indian languages. Throughout his life he had sought out the common man – both as subject and reader. Struggle, poverty and stories have been a common thread in Ravuri’s life. If poverty compelled him to discontinue studies after Std VII, it did not stop him from reading books and stories. He was greatly influenced by the well-known rebel writer Chalam.

The move from Moguluru village in Paritala jagir to Tenali was a turning point in Ravuri’s life. Though he did odd jobs there as a field worker, labourer in factories, orphanages, printing press for livelihood, Ravuri also came into contact with writers Tripuraneni Gopichand, Chalam, Aluri Bhujanga Rao and others. His writing began in his mid-teens.

His style evolved through his journey in journalism. Ever since he joined the editorial staff of Zamin Rythu, a popular weekly, in 1946, and through his stints at Jyothi, Abhisarika, Rerani, Chitraseema Sameeksha and Yuva the periodicals, till 1959, Ravuri had been writing short stories and essays, appreciating the need to be reader-friendly. Later he joined the All India Radio. as a junior script writer in 1959. By the time he had retired from AIR in 1987, Ravuri had turned producer and writer of radio plays, stories and features on various themes.