A woman’s view of life

With her sensible approach to societal and personal problems, the soft, yet assertive writer, Malleswari represents the future of Telugu literature

Egalitarian society is not a utopia, men and women with a little comprehension and sensibility can make it come true. This is the assertive tone of the well known writer from north coastal Andhra Dr KN Malleswari. It’s a pride to her literary flair that she had been presented the prestigious Vasireddi Sithadevi Sahithi Puraskaram on April 15.

The award carried a citation and a cash prize of Rs 10,000. This award has been formerly given to famous writers like Saleem (Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award winner), Volga and Singamaneni Narayana. The award is given to the progressive writers who are prolific in writing short stories and novels. This time, the award is presented to Malleswari for her sensible approach towards social and personal problems with a progressive thought in her fiction.

Hailing from a village in West Godavari, Malleswari had done her post graduation in Telugu from Andhra University. She had done her M.Phil on famous writer Kethu Viswanatha Reddy and her doctorate on Volga, a famous feminist writer, under the guidance of Prof. Atthaluri Narasimha Rao. Dr Malleswari has five novels, three short story anthologies and five literary essays published till date. She has recently been awarded the post doctoral fellowship, and she is going to work on the feminist literature in Telugu.

“Jaaji Malli”, which is a collection of her blog stories by the same name, carries a nostalgic approach towards life. She comes from a village and is one of the four sisters in her family and hence records her reminiscences in this book that appeal to the heart. Her new anthology “C Batch ammayi” is released on April 26 in Visakhapatnam. The book is an anthology of her stories that she wrote in the last decade.

One of her novels “Jeevithaniko Software” won her the Anil Swathi Award, which is given by the Swathi magazine group. In the novel, she portrays the effect of globalistion and privatisation on a family. The problem of children - to cope and live up to the expectations of the parents is vividly portrayed in this novel. The hustle and bustle of life in software profession with people having no time even to take a leisurely breath is the story of Avinash, the main character of the story.

The story is narrated by Ramya, Avinash’s wife, who does not desire much, but a dream of peaceful and happy life. She finds life losing its charm and the relations turning brittle. The problem of globalisation is much discussed by many authors and writers. But in this novel the writer tries to show a solution by appealing to the fast forwarding generation to look back and think. She says software is not just for computers, but for lives too- a software needs to be developed to show love and care towards our family, villages and country.

Her book of essays “Malleeswaram” carries her observations on society, life and literature, which have a realistic presentation. Her stories can be compared with the famous Indo –Anglican writer Shashi Deshpande with respect to the treatment she gives to her characters. Malleswari is also the founder member of Praja Rachayitrula Vedika, a literary forum for women writers.

Though she does not claim to be a staunch feminist; her solutions to life’s problems sound simple and pragmatic, and from the stand point of a woman’s mind and heart. One of her stories ‘Sisuvadam’, where a nine-year-old girl tells her parents that she is going to fight for the rights of children, who are deprived of living as per their wish, won her great accolades. Telugu literature has high hopes on this dynamic, soft, yet assertive writer.

BY:Jagaddhatri