Kondapalli Koteswaramma (August 5, 1918 – September 19, 2018)
was an Indian communist leader, feminist, revolutionary, and writer born in 1918 in
Pamarru.
As a child widow, she remarried Kondapalli Seetaramaiah and faced many social constraints. Later, she was active in the freedom struggle and also worked underground with the party staying away from family and children. In her last years, she lived in Visakhapatnam at her granddaughter's house.
Childhood and early life
She was married to her uncle very young but he died within two years leaving her a child widow at 9. She did her schooling from her hometown besides getting trained in music. At the age of 10 years, she took active part in the freedom struggle by singing patriotic songs in various meetings and congregations. She got remarried at the age of 19 to
Kondapalli Seetaramaiah. Initially, she faced many social constraints as widow remarriage was not accepted by the society back then. After marriage, she stayed along with her husband in Jonnapadu for few years. During this time, she worked for the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
in
Gudivada
Gudivada is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Gudivada mandal in Gudivada revenue division. It is one of the cities in the state to be a part of Andhra Pradesh Capital ...
. After moving to
Vijayawada
Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises N ...
, she attended various conferences and worked for Women's association.
Work and later life
She worked actively for the Communist Party of India along with her husband and the likes of Puchapalli Sundaraiah. She contributed actively to the
Telangana Rebellion
The Telangana Rebellion popularly known as Telangana Sayuda Poratam (Telugu : తెలంగాణ సాయుధ పోరాటం) of 1946–51 was a communist-led insurrection of peasants against the princely state of Hyderabad in the r ...
. She worked for the party for few years staying underground (In Bandar, Eluru, Puri, Raichur), away from her family and children. Shortly after the rebellion, the communist party divided into two. Her husband deserted her and she was left to fend for herself and her children. At the age of 35, she came to Hyderabad to study matriculation. She sustained during those years through the little money earned from writing stories and performing for the radio. Even while sustaining with such meagre earnings, she used to send ten rupees each to the party (CPI and CPI(M)) funds every month. After completing her matriculation, she joined Polytechnic college in Kakinada as a matron. She started participating in the literary events in Kakinada. Later, she worked in various colleges across the state. She had a daughter Karuna and a son Chandrasekhar. Karuna was a doctor and Chandrasekhar studied at Regional Engineering College, Warangal. Both of them died under unforeseen circumstances. During these years, her husband established the People's war party in India and worked actively towards it. But he got ousted later on from his own party and was jailed. He suffered mental illness and died at the age of 87 in his granddaughter Sudha's (daughter of Karuna) place. Koteswaramma lived in Vijayawada for a few years and later on moved to
Chandra Rajewsara Rao Old age home in Hyderabad. In her last years, she was back at her granddaughter Sudha's house in Visakhapatnam. She was hospitalised in September 2018, and returned home after a few days to her other granddaughter Anuradha's house, where she breathed her last.
Literary works
Koteswaramma penned various books, essays and songs to date. The notable ones include ''అమ్మ చెప్పిన ఐదు గేయాలు'' (''Amma Cheppina Aidu Geyalu'', 1972), అశ్రు సమీక్షణం (''Ashru Sameekshanam'', 1991), and ''సంఘమిత్ర కథలు'' (''Sanghamitra Kathalu'', 1991). Her autobiography ''నిర్జన వారధి'' (''Nirjana Vaaradhi'', 2012) was published by the Hyderabad Book Trust. It was translated to English as ''The Sharp Knife of Memory'' and into other Indian languages. A more complete bibliography can be found on .
Other
She was actively involved in Communist, Naxalbari, Feminist, Freedom and Reformist movements throughout her life. Latterly, she lived in
Visakhapatnam
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, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
along with her granddaughter. She died on September 19, 2018, presumably at the age of 100.
References
Sources
* ''Nirjana Vaaradhi'' (lit. Deserted Bridge)'','' Autobiographical memoir of Kondapalli Koteswaramma.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koteswaramma, Kondapalli
1918 births
2018 deaths
Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Andhra Pradesh
Indian women novelists
People from Krishna district
Novelists from Andhra Pradesh
Telugu-language writers
Telugu women writers
Telugu writers
20th-century Indian novelists
20th-century Indian women writers
20th-century Indian journalists
Indian political writers
Indian women political writers
20th-century Indian essayists
Indian feminist writers
20th-century Indian women educational theorists
20th-century Indian educational theorists
Women writers from Andhra Pradesh
Journalists from Andhra Pradesh
Educators from Andhra Pradesh
Women educators from Andhra Pradesh
Indian centenarians
Women centenarians
Deaths from cerebrovascular disease
20th-century women educators