Arunodaya Vimala (born 1964), popularly known as Vimalakka ( te, విమలక్క), is a

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 ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

eer and social activist. Her folk troupe is known as Arunodaya Samskritika Samakhya (ACF). She also heads a Joint Action Committee for the creation of

Telangana state Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35, ...

Early life

Vimalakka was born in Aler village in

Nalgonda district Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri and Nagarkurnool districts ...

to Narsamma and Bandru Narsimayya, a Telangana revolutionary who participated in

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 belongs to

Kurma community Kuruba is a Hindu caste native to the Indian state of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are the third-largest caste group in Karnataka. Traditionally, they were agriculturalists and cattle farmers. The origins of kuruba i ...

. She was youngest among five children. She did her graduation in

Bhongir Bhongir, officially known as, Bhuvanagiri is a district headquarters of the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district and part of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region of the Indian state of Telangana. Falling under Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authorit ...

Life

Vimalakka was greatly influenced by her father's association with the rebellion. She started singing at a young age after being encouraged by Ram Sattaiah, an activist. She fought against

Jogini A yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, IAST: ) is a female master practitioner of tantra and yoga, as well as a formal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibet. Th ...

system. She was a civil rights, woman's activist. She has been fighting for Telangana statehood since 1995. She is now touring Telangana districts by organizing folk concerts, Telangana dhoom-dhaam & Bathukamma Festival. She married Koora Devender, the revolutionary party leader of CPI (ML) Janashakthi. She is the president of Arunodaya Cultural Federation (ACF) which played a key role in formation of Telangana state by their cultural programmes coordinated by Mohan Bairaagi the vice president of the cultural federation. She also has number of police cases during separate Telangana statehood movement. She was in jail for 4 months with her cultural organisation colleagues Mohan Bairaagi, Santhosh, Venkat, Mallu, and others. Now she is working for Saamajika Telangana with her organisation Telangana United Front (TUF) as chairperson. Her mother in law Koora Mallama (101) died on 31 January 2019, at Vemulawada Rajanna Siricilla district, Telangana.

References

{{authority control Indian women folk singers Indian folk singers People from Telangana People from Nalgonda district Living people 1964 births Date of birth missing (living people)