Eminent writer Aluri no more

Guntur: Prominent author and leader of Viplava Rachayatala Sangham (Virasam) Aluri Bhujanga Rao (85) died here on Thursday after a brief illness. He is survived by wife and five children. Virasam leader Varavara Rao visited his house and paid his homage to the departed soul. Speaking to the media, Varavara Rao said Bhujanga Rao stood by his beliefs all his life and dedicated his life for the revolutionary literature. He said he first introduced the writings of Marxist intellectual Rahul Sankrityayan to the Telugu readers by translating his Hindi works to Telugu.

Bhujanga Rao was attracted by the revolutionary struggles and extended his support to them until his last breath, Varavara Rao said. He said it would be very difficult to fill the void created by his death. A self-made man, he started his life as hotel boy at the age of 12. He learnt Hindi and landed as Hindi Pandit in a school in Gudivada. Bhujanga Rao penned 20 short stories, which were published as a collection under the title 'Aranya Parvam'. He also wrote several novels, prominent among them are: Kondavagu, Prajalu Ajeyulu, Naina and Gamanamaganam.

He translated into Telugu several Hindi works of Rahul Sankrityayan including Meri Jeevan Yatra and Scientific dialectical materialism. He also translated novels of Premchand, Kishan Chander, Saroj Dutta and Yashpal to Telugu. He wrote the biography of Natarajan, a Tamilian who worked as a hotel worker in Tenali, penned his short stories in Telugu under the pen name of Sarada, published in prominent weeklies, and received critical acclaim.

He translated several Telugu revolutionary novels on the travails of the poor and tribals into Hindi. He edited a Hindi periodical Prabhat for six years.

Tributes paid to Aluri Rich tributes were paid to revolutionary writer and activist Aluri Bhujanga Rao, who passed away in Guntur on Thursday. Revolutionary Writers' Association (Virasam) leader Varavara Rao, CPI leaders Cherukuri Satyanarayana and Ramadevi visited Aluri's residence and offered their condolences to his family.

"Though a late entrant into revolutionary realm, Aluri left an indelible mark both in his writings as well as the affairs of Dandakaranya politics. He led a life of a revolutionary all through. He imbibed the core principles of communism, the sincerity and discipline. He never compromised on issues which he felt anti-people. His death is a loss to the movement" Varavara Rao said.

"The greatest contribution of Aluri was his writings. Simhavalokanam, Digdarshanam, the translated works of Rahul Samkrityan etc are a great treasure.He has also let us know the sacrifices of common people in Freedom Struggle" Ramadevi remarked.