Port city gears up for Ravi Sastry centenary fete

Visakhapatnam: Through his remarkable contribution to the Telugu literary world, Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry poured life into the characters he brought out in his writings.

Marking the centenary celebrations of the popular lawyer and Telugu litterateur Raavi Sastry, Visakha Rasagna Vedika is organising a grand event in Visakhapatnam on July 31. For which, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana is gracing the event as chief guest.

A master story writer, a novelist, a dramatist and a critic, Raavi Sastry's writings gave voice to the struggles faced by common man against the system. In his writings, the downtrodden and oppressed were the heroes and he was a ray of hope for the poor and aggrieved. As a practicing lawyer and creative writer then, Raavi Sastry was the spokesperson for the less privileged sections.

As a thoughtful writer, he was critical about the judicial process and police machinery. He employed the dialect of North-Andhra which further aided in striking a chord among the people of this region in particular. He made his creative debut in 1938 with the short story 'Demude Chesadu' in the monthly magazine Vinodini.

His anthologies of short stories including 'Aaru Chitralu', 'Aaru Sara Kadhalu', 'Rukkulu', 'Baki Kadhalu', 'Maro Aaru Chitralu'. He published an impressive number of playlets, novels and essays. His short stories got translated into various Indian and foreign languages.

Many scholarly works appeared on his creative output, which include a monograph by Sahitya Academy. He wrote four novels, three dramas and more than 1,000 stories, essays and articles.

Born on July 30, 1922, Raavi Sastry fought as a lawyer for the common man. As a writer, he shared the suffering of the masses till he breathed his last on November 10, 1993.