Voices of Resistance presents a selection of Telugu writings in English translation that explores articulations on humaneness, justice and social transformation from unlikely locations in time and genre. These poems, songs, stories, and extracts from novels and tracts—by 89 authors from the thirteenth century to the present—open a window into literary imaginations around questions that continue to preoccupy us today: egalitarianism, dignity, oppression, violence and resistance.
Voices of Resistance is part of the ‘Dakshinayan Indian Thought’ series of books curated by G.N. Devy, showcasing the plurality and diversity of Indian traditions.
Volume editors Volga is a Telugu novelist, poet and literary critic with over fifty books to her credit. A feminist writer, she received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015 for her collection of short stories Vimuktha. Kalpana Kannabiran, sociologist and legal scholar, has published widely in the field of interdisciplinary law, including law and literature. She is currently Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development, India.
Translator Vasanth Kannabiran is a feminist novelist, poet and translator who taught English for close to three decades. Among her translations are My Life Is a Song: Gaddar’s Anthems for the Revolution (2021) and Akkineni Kutumba Rao’s Softly Dies a Lake (2020).
Series editor G.N. Devy, former Professor of English at the M.S. University of Baroda, founded the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre (Baroda) and the Adivasi Academy (Tejgadh). He is known for helming the monumental People’s Linguistic Survey of India and has received several awards and honours, including the Padma Shri.
Acknowledgements Introduction Editors’ Note
Tikkana Manchena Annamacharya Atukuri Molla Potana Dhurjati Vemana Muddupalani Kandukuri Veeresalingam Gurajada Appa Rao Bhandaru Acchamamba Unnava Lakshminarayana Tripuraneni Ramaswamy Bhagya Reddy Varma Sripada Subramania Sastri Garimella Satyanarayana Chalam Basavaraju Apparao Gurram Jashuva Nanduri Venkata Subbarao Kanuparti Varalakshmamma Suravaram Pratapa Reddy Devulapalli Krishna Sastri Folk Song Kusuma Dharmanna Kodavatiganti Kutumbarao Sri Sri Tripuraneni Gopichand Boyi Bhimanna Kaloji Narayan Rao Chaganti Somayajulu Vattikota Alwaruswamy Bucchi Babu Potlapalli Rama Rao Kanchanapalli Chinavenkataramarao Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastri Kalipatnam Ramarao Arudra Aluri Bairagi Dasarathi Krishnamacharyulu Dasarathi Rangacharyulu Madhurantakam Rajaram C. Narayana Reddy Sivasagar Vasireddy Seetha Devi Kolakaluri Enoch Kethu Viswanatha Reddy Bojja Tarakam P. Sathyavathi Varavara Rao K. Siva Reddy Singamaneni Narayana Cherabandaraju Akkineni Kutumba Rao Ammangi Venugopal Rachapalem Chandrasekhara Reddy N. Gopi B.S. Ramulu Gaddar Devipriya Chilukuri Devaputra K.N.Y. Patanjali Katti Padma Rao Papineni Siva Sankar Ganteda Gowru Naidu Nandini Siddha Reddy Kondepudi Nirmala V. Pratima Mandarapu Hymavathi Anisetti Rajitha Sikhamani Vimala Yakoob Yendluri Sudhakar Vadrevu China Veerabhadrudu Tripuraneni Srinivas Pydi Theresh Babu Joopaka Subadra Madduri Nagesh Babu Sitaram Afsar Goreti Venkanna Challapalli Swaroopa Rani Jajula Gowri Mohammad Khadeer Babu Khaja M.M. Vinodini Shahjahana