Arudra (born Bhagavatula Sadasiva Sankara Sastry; 31 August 1925 – 4 June 1998) was an Indian author, poet, lyricist, translator, publisher, dramatist, playwright, and an expert on Telugu literature. He is also known for his works in Telugu cinema as a lyricist, dialogue writer, and story writer. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1987.

Early life

Aarudra was born in

Yelamanchili Elamanchili is a town in Anakapalli district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and also the mandal headquarters of Elamanchili mandal. The town is spread over an area of , which is under the jurisdiction of Visakhapatnam ...

, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India on 31 August 1925. Aarudra is the nephew of Telugu poet Sri Sri. After primary education, he shifted to Vizianagaram in 1942 for his college education. He was attracted to communism after coming into contact with people like ''Ronanki Appalaswami'' and

Chaganti Somayajulu Chaganti Somayajulu (17 January 1915 – 2 January 1994), popularly known as CHASO, was a short-story writer in 20th century Telugu literature. His nickname, "CHASO," is a portmanteau of the syllables from his name ('CHA' from Chaganti and 'SO' fr ...

. He joined the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

as a Band Boy in 1943 and served it till 1947. He shifted to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and worked as editor of '' Anandavani'' magazine for two years. Joining the film industry in 1949, he wrote lyrics and dialogues for many films. He married noted writer K. Rama Lakshmi (a columnist and a writer-critic in her own right) in 1954.

Literary works

''Tvamevaham'' (You are none other than me) and ''Samagra Andhra Sahityam'' (An Encyclopedia of Telugu Literature) are his landmark works. He wrote poetry such as ''Koonalamma Padaalu'', reminiscences of the Second World War.Aarudra, 'Samagra Andhra Sahityam' (1968). Reprinted in 1989Aarudra, 'Samagra Aaandhra Saahityam' (2005): Revised and Reprinted, Published by Telugu Akademi, Hyderabad. He translated the Tamil treatise Tirukkural into Telugu. He belonged to the school of progressive writers such as ''Abhyudaya Rachayitala Sangham''.

Tvamevaham

''Tvamevaaham'' written in 1948 was based on the contemporary violence and lawlessness during the Razakar movement in the princely state of Hyderabad. The Razakar attrocoties were sponsored by the Nizam against his own people who wanted to overthrow him in favor of democracy and join the Indian Union. In this kaavyam, death spoke to a human being and says, "you and I are the same (Tvamevaaham)".

The Samagra Andhra Sahityam

AHumpy first published the SAS in 12 parts between 1965 and 1968. It spans the Telugu literature from the 9th century CE to modern times. He chronicled the history of Telugu Literature in 12 volumes: # Early and Chalukya Era (From 8 – 9c CE to end of 12c CE) #

Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...

(1200–1290 CE) # Padmanayaka Era (1337–1399 CE) # Reddiraju Era (1400–1450 CE) # Early Rayala ( Vijayanagara) (1450–1500 CE) # Later Rayala (Vijayanagara) (1500–1550 CE) # Nawabs (1550–1600 CE) # Nayaka Kings (1600–1670 CE) # Later Nayaka Kings (1670–1750 CE) # East India Company (1750–1850 CE) # Zamindari (1850–1900 CE) # Modern (1900 CE onwards)

How is Sita related to Rama?

''Ramudiki Sita Yemautundi?'' or ''How is Sita related to Rama?'', put before the public the riddle of

Mandodari Mandodari ( sa, मंदोदरी, , lit. "soft-bellied";) was the queen consort of Ravana, the king of Lanka, according to the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. The ''Ramayana'' describes Mandodari as beautiful, pious, and righteous. She is extoll ...

, Sita and Hanuman and their origins in a lucid and scholarly way. It was a bold attempt at cracking the Valmiki- Ramayana code and in the process de-mystified the story of Rama to the middle-class, literate, modern day Telugu reader. Aarudra, 'Ramudiki Seetemautundi? 'Vishalandra Publishing House, Hyderabad, 1978. The book explores the Buddhist and Jain sources of the story of Rama. It also surveys the Khotan Siam (

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

), Laos, and Malaysian versions of the story of Rama. Here is a sampling from the 'Dasaratha Jataka ', a Buddhist Tale:

Buddha narrates the 'Dasaratha Jataka' tale to a householder who was grieving the death of his son....Long long ago.. Dasaratha was the king of Varanasi. He had sixteen thousand wives.The Queen had two sons and a daughter.The eldest son was called Ramapundit and the younger one was called Laxmanpundit. The daughter was called Sitadevi. The Queen dies after sometime. Dasaratha marries again, and comes to like her the most. She begets a son named Bharata...When Ramapundit returns from the forest, he marries Sita and rules for 16000 years...Bodhisatta concludes the story stating that Dasaratha was none other than Shuddhodana (Father of Buddha) in an earlier reincarnation. Similarly, Sita was none other than Rahulmata (Mother of Rahul or Wife of Buddha) and Ramapundit was none other than Buddha himself.

Aarudra's questions like "How is Sita related to Rama?" or "Were they just Husband and wife?" may sound naive or sacrilegious but a serious study of genealogies, as revealed from different sources, logically leads to them. To deny the existence of such stories, per Arudra, would amounted to intellectual dishonesty.

List of his works

*Poems (Kavyas): Tvamevaaham, Sinivaali, koonalamma Padaalu, Intinti Pajyaalu. America Intinti pajyaalu, sitakoka chilukalu (radio play) *Lyrics: Gaayaalu-Geyaalu, Pailaapacceesu, Yencina Padyaalu, Yetikedadi, Kondagaali Tirigindi. *Translations: Veera Telangaana Viplava Geetalu (from English), Vennela-Vesavi (from Tamil), Kabeer Bhaavaalu and Batvaada-Arudra (from Hindi). *Dramas: Udgeedha, Geyanaatika, Raadaari Bangla, Saalabhanjikalu. *Dual Poetry: Rukkuteswara Satakam (with Sri Sri), Meemee (with Sri Sri and Varada) *Research Work: Samagraandhra Saahityam, Arudra Vyaasapeetham, Raamudi ki Seeta Yemavutundi?, *Other works: Arudra kathalu, Mahaneeyulu, Chadarangam, cinema scripts and lyrics.

Filmography

# ''

Beedala Patlu ''Beedala Patlu'' () is a 1972 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced and directed by B. Vittalacharya. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Krishna Kumari, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film is based on the 1862 French nove ...

'' (1950) (lyrics) # '' Kanna Talli'' (1953) (writer) # '' Pakka Inti Ammayi'' (1953) (adapted screenplay) # '' Veera Kankanam'' (1957) (dialogue) # ''

Chenchu Lakshmi ''Chenchu Lakshmi'' is a 1958 Indian bilingual Telugu and Tamil language Hindu mythological film, produced and directed by B. A. Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. It was sim ...

'' (1958) (lyrics) # '' Illarikam'' (1959) (dialogue) # '' Jayabheri'' (1959) (lyrics) # '' Aradhana'' (1962) (lyrics) # ''

Bhishma Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्‍म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epic M ...

'' (1962) (lyrics) # '' Dakshayagnam'' (1962) (writer) # ''

Manchi Kutumbam ''Manchi Kutumbam'' () is a 1968 Indian Telugu-language drama film co-written and directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sowcar Janaki, Kanchana, Krishna and Vijaya Nirmala, with music composed by S. P. Kodan ...

'' (1965) (lyrics) # ''

Gudachari 116 ''Gudachari 116'' () is a 1966 Indian Telugu-language spy film written by Aarudhra, and directed by M. Mallikarjuna Rao. The film stars Krishna, Jayalalitha, Rajanala and Mukkamala in pivotal roles. It is noted to be the first spy film in Telu ...

'' (1966) (story and dialogue) # '' Farz'' (1967) (story) # '' The Train'' (1970) (screenplay) # '' Mosagallaku Mosagadu'' (1971) (story and dialogues) # '' Andala Ramudu'' (1973) (lyrics) # '' Muthyala Muggu'' (1975) (lyrics) # '' Yashoda Krishna'' (1975) (writer) # ''

Mahakavi Kshetrayya ''Mahakavi Kshetrayya'' is a 1976 Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Kshetrayya, produced by P. Adinarayana Rao under the Anjali Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao & C. S. Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswar ...

'' (1976) (writer) # '' Daana Veera Soora Karna'' (1977) (lyrics) # ''

Mallepoovu ''Mallepoovu'' or ''Malle Poovu'' is a 1978 Telugu-language drama film directed by V. Madhusudan Rao. It is remake of 1957 Hindi film ''Pyaasa'' produced and directed by Guru Dutt. It is musical film with lyrics penned by Veturi and Arudra and ...

'' (1977) (lyrics) # ''

Anugraham ''Kondura'' / ''Anugraham'' is a 1978 Indian bilingual film directed by Shyam Benegal simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Marathi writer, Chintamani T. Khanolkar, the screen adaptation was ma ...

'' (1978) (dialogue) # '' Kondura'' (The Sage from the Sea) (1978) (writer) # '' Thoorpu Velle Railu'' (1979) (lyrics) # '' Pelli Pusthakam'' (1991) (lyrics) # '' Mr. Pellam'' (1993) (lyrics)

Film songs

His film songs are compiled and published by his wife K. Ramalaxmi in five volumes.Arudra Cine Geethalu (1977–1998) – Vol. 5, Kurise Chirujallulo, Compiled by K. Ramalakshmi, Published by Vishalandhra Publishing House, Hyderabad, 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aarudhra Indian lyricists Telugu-language lyricists Telugu people Telugu poets 1925 births 1998 deaths Telugu-language writers Andhra University alumni 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian male dramatists and playwrights Telugu-language dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian historians Writers from Visakhapatnam Dramatists and playwrights from Andhra Pradesh Indian Marxist writers Indian atheists