CaitlinBecker07: new the bio basic info

2026-04-29T04:39:46Z

new the bio basic info

New page

{{Short description|Telugu poet and writer known for her feminist perspective}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox writer 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1950|11|27}}
| birth_place = [[Guntur]], Andhra Pradesh, India
| image = Writer_Volga_Photo.jpg
|image_size = 200px
| occupation = Writer, scriptwriter, lecturer
| pseudonym = Volga
| nationality = Indian
| years_active = 1986–present
| genre = [[Feminist]]
| notableworks = Vimukta ([[The Liberation of Sita]]), Sweccha
}}

'''Popuri Lalita Kumari''', popularly known by her pen name '''Volga''', is a [[Telugu language|Telugu]] poet and writer well known for her feminist perspective. She won the prestigious [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in 2015 for her short story compilation 'Vimukta Kadha Samputi' in [[Telugu language|Telugu]]. Along with being a writer, she has also been a professor and head of scripting division in [[Telugu cinema|Tollywood]]. Her work initiated debates across the country about feminism, in times when the idea was hardly accepted. The [[Library of Congress]] has a collection of her most popular published works, including the English translations of selected short stories.<ref>{{Cite web |title=P. Lalita Kumari (Olga): The South Asian Literary Recordings Project (Library of Congress New Delhi Office) |url=https://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/kumari.html |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=www.loc.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=says |first=Surajit Poddar |date=2019-09-05 |title=In conversation with Volga: Telugu literature, translations & more - Purple Pencil Project |url=https://www.purplepencilproject.com/interview-volga/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Volga was born in [[Guntur]] on 27 November 1950. She completed her MA in Telugu literature from [[Andhra University]] in 1972.

==Career==
Volga after her MA joined as a Telugu professor at VSR & NVR College,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vsrnvr.ac.in/nvr/tel.html|title=VSR & NVR College|website=vsrnvr.ac.in|accessdate=21 April 2018}}</ref> [[Tenali]] between the period 1973 to 1986. Later, she worked in scripting division as a senior executive at [[Ushakiran Movies]] during 1986–1995. She later in 1991 joined Asmita Resource Centre for Women, a Telangana-based NGO which addresses women's issues, as its President and presently serving as the Chairman of the organization. She is also the member of the publication, Vamtinti Masi (Soot from the Kitchen), an editorial of Asimita Organization, which is an active member of Telugu Advisory council for National Book Trust of India.

===Author===
Volga had chosen her pseudonym because it was both the name of her deceased elder sister and the [[Volga|Volga river]], which according to her was the 'perfect mix of the personal and political' because of her self-described 'Leftist leanings'.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Supriya |date=20 January 2017 |title=The democratic space to disagree is shrinking in India: Telugu writer Volga |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/the-democratic-space-to-disagree-is-shrinking-in-india-telugu-writer-volga/story-JLL0uaiPD3jt3wBYsPa5FL.html |access-date=7 October 2024 |website=[[Hindustan Times]]}}</ref> Volga is known for her feminist literary works. Her novels, articles, poems portray women with modern, progressive ideologies. She while keeping the quality of work maintains the reality of characters, intact. All of her novels were written while she was a full-time employee, rather than fully dedicating her time to the novels. She published her first novel, Sahaja in 1986. The novel was a debatable topic among the newspaper columns. The immediate next year, 1987, her second novel Sveccha was published. These two novels speak how marriage binds a woman and shackles her freedom.

==Literary works==
Lalita Kumari has penned and translated around 50 publications. The most popular ones are listed below:

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size:90%"
|- align="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Type of work
! scope="col" | Notes

|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1983 || Athadu, Aame, Manam || Literary Criticism || style="text-align: center;" | A review of a novel by Uppala Lakshmana Rao on nationalist struggle
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1984 || Agnes Smedley's Stories || Translation to Telugu || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1985 || [[Daughter of Earth]] || Translation to Telugu || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1986 || Sahaja || Novel || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1987 || Sweccha || Novel || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1988 || Kanneeti Kerataala Vennela || Novel || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1989 || Three Generations || Translation to Telugu || style="text-align: center;" | Short story by [[Alexandra Kollontai]]
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1989 || Maanavi || Novel || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1989 || Maku Godalu Levu || Edited Work || style="text-align: center;" | Collection of essays
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1990 || [[Letter to a Child Never Born]] || Translation to Telugu || style="text-align: center;" | Novel by [[Oriana Fallaci]]
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1990 || Aakasamlo Sagam || Novel || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1992 || Rajakiya Kathalu || Short story collection || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1993 || Gulabeelu || Novel || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1993 || Neeli Meghalu || Edited Work || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1993 || Neeli Meghalu || Edited Work || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1994 || Nurella Chalam || Edited Work || style="text-align: center;" | Critical essays on the works of [[Gudipati Venkata Chalam|Chalam]], whose centenary was celebrated in 1994
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1994 || Saramsam || Co-edited work || style="text-align: center;" | A report about the struggle of the women in [[Andhra Pradesh]] against liquor.
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1994 || Widows|| Translation to Telugu || style="text-align: center;" | Novel by [[Ariel Dorfman]]
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1995 || Sarihaddulu Leni Samdhyalu || Co-edited work || style="text-align: center;" | Collection of essays
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1995 || Prayogam || Short story collection || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1995 || Vallu Aaruguru || Play || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2001 || Charitra Swaralu || Play || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| Not known || [[Woman at Point Zero]] || Translation to Telugu || style="text-align: center;" | Arabic novel by [[Nawal El Saadawi]]
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2016 || [[The Liberation of Sita]] || Novel || style="text-align: center;" |
|-

|}

Lalita Kumari wrote articles that were published in journals and newspapers, mostly regarding feminism. She became the first person to introduce western feminists, [[Feminist Movement]], [[First-Wave Feminism]] and [[Second Wave Feminism]] to Telugu readership.

==Awards and honors==
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size:90%"
|- align="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Notes

|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1987 || Sweccha || Best Novel Award || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1990 || Aakasamlo Sagam || Best Novel Award || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1993 || Sweccha || Award in recognition for effort in women's causes || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1998 || Todu || Nandi Award (Best Story Writer) || style="text-align: center;" | Awarded by the Government of Andhra Pradesh
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 1999 || NA || Best Woman Writer || style="text-align: center;" | Awarded by Telugu University
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2009 || NA || Suseela Narayana Reddy Award || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013 || NA || Kandukuri Veerasalingam Literary Award || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2014 || NA || Lok Nayak Foundation Award<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.loknayakfoundation.com/past-winners.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218183408/http://loknayakfoundation.com/past-winners.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=18 February 2015|title=Loknayak Foundation|website=www.loknayakfoundation.com|accessdate=21 April 2018}}</ref> || style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2015 || Vimuktha || [[Sahitya Akademi Award]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 December 2015 |title=Feminist Volga Wins Sahitya Akademi Award |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2015/Dec/18/feminist-volga-wins-sahitya-akademi-award-854985.html |access-date=14 October 2024 |website=[[The New Indian Express]]}}</ref>|| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*[http://vsrnvr.ac.in/nvr/tel.html]
*[http://www.bhaavana.net/volga/ids/volga.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820030122/http://bhaavana.net/volga/ids/volga.html |date=20 August 2022 }}
*[http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/People-Were-Angry-With-my-Writing-Volga/2015/12/19/article3184504.ece1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915002956/http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/People-Were-Angry-With-my-Writing-Volga/2015/12/19/article3184504.ece1 |date=15 September 2016 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20151222132707/http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/Feminist-Volga-Wins-Sahitya-Akademi-Award/2015/12/18/article3183580.ece]
*[https://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/kumari.html]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumari, P. Lalita}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Telugu women writers]]
[[Category:Telugu writers]]
[[Category:Women writers from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:People from Guntur]]
[[Category:Writers from Guntur district]]
[[Category:Poets from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian women poets]]
[[Category:Novelists from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian feminist writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:Indian women dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu]]
[[Category:20th-century pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:Pseudonymous women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women novelists]]

P. Lalita Kumari - Revision history

CaitlinBecker07: new the bio basic info