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Gudipati Venkatachalam (1894–1979), popularly known as Chalam, was an Indian
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
-language writer and philosopher. He was considered to be one of the most influential personalities in modern
Telugu literature Telugu literature is the body of works written in the Telugu language. It consists of poems, short stories, novels, plays, and song lyrics, among others. There is some indication that Telugu literature dates at least to the middle of the first ...
. Most of Chalam's work was regarding women, especially the kind of difficulties women encountered in the society, both physical and psychological. Chalam's work discussed how he believed women should face these problems. His writing had a distinctive style which would earn him an enviable place in the Telugu literary world. Chalam's writings have been celebrated by his contemporaries and are a growing influence among writers of the current generation as well.


Life

Much that is known about Chalam's childhood comes from his 1972 autobiography titled ''Chalam''. In it, he vividly mentions how he suffered beatings from his father and how his mother, residing at her parents’ home (in
Tenali Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Tenali mandal and Tenali revenue division. The city is renowned for art, culture, drama and hence, it is called ''Andhra P ...
) even after getting married and starting a family with her husband, who belongs to Valluripalem of Krishna district, had to face a flurry of insults. Chalam brazenly puts across why he wrote his autobiography in its foreword:
"I hate autobiographies. By writing an autobiography, I am admitting to myself and indirectly telling everybody that I am an important person, I made lots of good things to help people and society and if I do not tell the world about myself, there is great loss to the world and by not knowing about me, the world is losing something. For a person like me who always thinks and wonders, "Why was I born? And OK, I was born but why I did not die immediately without polluting my surroundings? Writing an autobiography and telling my story shamelessly is not a matter to be excused ..


Birth and childhood

Gudipati Venkata Chalam was born on 18 May 1894 in
Krishna district Krishna district is district in the coastal Andhra Region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is the coastal district of Andhra Pradesh. Machilipatnam is the most populated city in the di ...
in India. His mother was Venkata Subbamma and his father was Kommuri Sambasivarao. He was mainly raised in Tenali after his maternal grandfather adopted him and changed his surname from "Kommuri" to "Gudipati". He was an avid practitioner of Hindu rituals and committed himself to an exhaustive study of Hindu epics as well as Hindu doctrinal teachings. The way his father abused his mother made an indelible impression on his young mind. Besides this, the manner in which his sister "Ammanni" (Venkata Ramanamma, Dulla) was coerced into an arranged marriage also made him concentrate on the difficulties that women faced in society.


Education, marriage and employment

Chalam joined Pithapuram Maharaja College in 1911. At that time, he was attracted by the preachings of Raghupati Venkata Ratnam Naidu—a social reformer and the founder of Brahma Samaj in Andhra Pradesh. Chalam went to Chennai to study for his Bachelor of Arts degree. Before joining the college, he was married to Chitti Ranganayakamma. During his stay in Chennai, he got his wife admitted into a convent for her education and used to drop her at school on his bicycle. Chalam stopped wearing the sacred thread (
Yagnopaveetham ''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...
) and started incorporating non-vegetarian food into his diet (
Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
were strict vegetarians). He mingled with members of all castes which infuriated his relatives and more so his father-in-law who banished him from entering his house. At the time, Chalam's wife's age was merely 13. When his mother-in-law died, Chalam and his friends were not allowed in his father-in-law's house for the funeral, and were served food outside. After completing his studies in Madras, Chalam joined in a job as tutor in
Kakinada Kakinada ( formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the sixth largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the district headquarters of the Kakinada District. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. J. ...
and started participating in the Brahma Samaj activities. He worked as a teacher in
Karimnagar Karimnagar is also known as Elagandula (Ancient name) is a city and District Headquarters in the Indian state of Telangana. Karimnagar is a major urban agglomeration and fifth largest City in the state. It is governed by Municipal corporation a ...
then joined in a job with Teacher's Training College in Rajahmundry. He later became a school inspector. About his job, Chalam wrote in his famous book "Musings" (in Telugu language) (Page 72, 5th Print in 2005) as follows: I am a stone, slave of the government, school inspector and for the poor mice like teachers, I am the cat.


Chalam's daughter

Chalam's daughter,Souris, a devotee of Ramana Maharshi, maintains an ashram at Bheemili, Visakhapatnam.


Bibliography


Novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

* ''Maidanam'' * ''Sasirekha'' * ''Dyvamicchina bharya'' * ''Jeevitadarsam'' * ''Brahmanikam'' * ''Vivaham'' * ''Aruna'' * ''Anusuya'' * ''Ameena''


Short story collections

* ''Jealousy'' * ''Aa rathri'' * ''Prema paryavasanam'' * ''Satyam Sivam Sundaram'' * ''Vedantam'' * ''Doshagunam'' * ''Maadiga ammayi'' * ''maamagari maryada'' * ''mukkaalupeeta'' * ''mukthimaargam'' * ''mosamchesindha'' * ''yavvanavvanam'' * ''rasaputhrulu'' * ''raamabakthudu'' * ''raavanadarshanam'' * ''reddyrangamma'' * ''lancham'' * ''lakshimdevi'' * ''lakshmiuthharam'' * ''villytho snejam ela ayyindante?'' * ''vaani-a-study'' * ''vaallu naluguru'' * ''vichitranaleeyam'' * ''vithanthuvu'' * ''vennelathotalu'' * ''vendantham'' * ''vontarithanam'' * ''shamantakamanitho interview'' * ''sheshamma'' * ''saraswathee prasannam'' * ''cinema saayam'' * ''seethathalli'' * ''seethayya'' * ''sugandhi'' * ''susheela'' * ''stationpampu'' * ''hamko mohabbath'' * ''hampeekanyalu'' * ''hathya vicharana'' * ''harijana vidhyardhi'' * ''harijana samasya'' * ''hindhumusalmaan'' * ''nakshatrakaanthi'' * ''kamalaanehru samadhi vadda'' * ''anusooya''


Nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with bei ...

* ''Musings'' * ''Papam'' * ''Prema Lekhalu'' * ''Stree'' * ''Biddala Shikshana'' The novel ''Maidanam'' made an indelible mark on the reader for its free and frank way of expression, the relationship between man and woman disregarding caste and creed.


Philosophy

Chalam was a strong critic of the fundamental societal architecture of his time. He believed that the barriers created by the society precluded love and mutual understanding from human relationships. In a society that believed in children being indebted to their parents, he proclaimed caring for and bringing up of children as the fundamental duty as parents. He was widely shunned during his times especially for his advocacy of women's rights and his total rejection of the family system.


Adaptations

His Short story Doshagunam was adapted as a Telugu movie Grahanam.


Quotes

* From Brahmanikam: ''to be verified'' ''Stri oka mata valla,chupu vallaa purushuniki Spandichindaa....ika atani adhikaraniki,korikalaki,vinnapalaki antam undadu. Asalu paryavasanam akkarleni stri modatininchi vimukhamgane undali......nippu vale undali,kaalanu kudadani chala mandi moorkhula aasa...'' ''స్త్రీ ఒక మాట వల్ల,చూపు వల్లా పురుషునికి స్పందించిందా....ఇక అతని అధికారానికి, కోరికలకి, విన్నపాలకి అంతం ఉండదు. అసలు పర్యవసానం అక్కర్లేని స్త్రీ మొదటినించి విముఖంగానే ఉండాలి......నిప్పు వలె ఉండాలి, ...''


References


External links


Chalam


{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalam 1894 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Indian novelists Writers from Chennai Telugu writers Indian male novelists Novelists from Tamil Nadu