Taking the Lead

Ammamma says that she got married shortly before the marriage of Indira Gandhi, which was quite talked about because of Nehru's dislike of Feroze Gandhi for several reasons, including his prowess in oratory. Imagine, Ammamma was a mere 16 years (June 13, 1941 maybe) when she got married, but considering that her older sisters got married before 12 years, which was the official age at that point of time in India, I must say that she got married quite late for her generation! Even Vanakumari Pinni was 14 when she got married. At Vanakumari Pinni's marriage, Ammamma's main job was to bathe all the kids of the house as others were engaged in cooking and other chores! It is also interesting to note that despite news of her affair and her subsequent rejection of the same, the family, traditional as it may have been, never looked down on her. In fact, she was always treated with respect, she was welcome in all the houses and her views sought after, even by the extended family, such as her second sister's brother in law, who insisted that Ammamma give her opinion even on the positioning of the doors in his house! Such is the power of education and self confidence in women.

(Sweety, Preeti- This brother in law of Ammamma's second sister, is another Jhansakka's father - she visited us a few times and both of you seemed to like her, I hope you remember her. Her husband works in a sugar factory and your Naanna's eldest Atthayya's husband also worked there and both of them were friends and which I came to know about it after my marriage, when she came visiting us).

Having finished her exams and also losing her first born, Ammamma took to writing letters to magazines (she remembers writing more to Prajavani from the Deccan Herald stable, published from Bangalore) on issues, and also wrote counters to the replies to her letters, keeping up her debating skills alive and kicking. She was itching to do more. So she went about enquiring about the setting up of women's organizations/associations and wrote to the Toorpu Krishna Mahila Sangham President named Katragadda Hanumayyamma at Vijayawada to find out details. She was an avid reader and a regular visitor at the town library, where she befriended several women from all political affiliations and tried to discuss her proposal with them on the setting up of a women's cell. At about this time (1942), the famous and powerful Quit India Movement was launched by Gandhi and set the imagination of the country on fire in their 'Do or Die' slogan. Cutting across parties, castes and classes, many excitedly joined this movement. It is interesting to note that the Communists and Congress worked together on many issues, in fact many joined the Congress through the route of N G Ranga's Rythu Sanghams (farmer associations).

They used to meet secretly in the houses of different people as there was a ban on such meetings. Some of the meetings were held at Ammamma's house also. She remembers leaders such as Lavu Balagangadhar Rao addressing them. These were heady days, made all the more exciting by the ban.

After sometime, Communist Party was legalised and the ban lifted and the party moved into high gear organizing cadre mobilization, meetings and activities. Ammamma finally got a response for her mail on how to set up women's organizations. She was summoned to the Zilla office in Tenali to start working. Obviously she was good and was better utilised at the Head quarters in Guntur, to where she was soon shifted. The party was busy organizing different groups such as ryots (farmers), women, youth and children and the major task was spreading awareness on rights, responsibilities, health and other messages, as well as organizing women's groups.

She very quickly proved her mettle at organizing activities and systematic handling of work, good letter drafting and very good communication skills. She was soon given direct membership to the party (a short cut in place of going through being first the sympathiser, associate member, cell member route - she says with pride!). The party leadership also realized that Ammamma and Tathayya were separated because of this and they ordered him to resign from his government job and now join the party full time. He started working in the party office as Secretary. Tatayya thus graduated to being a member after being a sympathiser since his high school days, where he was indoctrinated into socialism and communism philosophy by his senior Mallayya (this mentor of Tatayya became a Fire Officer later in life). Tatayya was a poet as you know, and he wrote poems on Spanish war while in school at Kolluru.

Ammamma was away quite a lot. Tatayya chafed at being used only for Headquarter based organizing activities and aspired for field work. But since Tatayya had the gift of writing, he was asked to contribute more here. He slaked his thirst for activism by organizing the Press Workers' Union in Guntur and boosting their cause. This was the first of the press/journalist unions that he would find and lead. At this time, he was also requested by Praja Shakti, a leftist Telugu paper, to contribute news from Guntur, and thus began his illustrious career in Telugu journalism.

Busy as a Bee

In 1943, the first All India Communist Party Conference was held in Bombay (Mumbai as it was then known). P C Joshi, the All India Party Secretary sent a circular requesting all unit delegations to bring along a cultural troupe, and that the best one would win a prize of Rs 500 for the party unit. Makineni Basava Punnayya was determined that their unit must win a prize. His contention was that the Bongs would only sing Robindra Shongeet (the favourite of the classes) and therefore, they should stage folk dances that represent the masses. A group of men and women were stationed in Vijayawada for training for this purpose - Ammammma was among them. The trainers were V Madhusudana Rao (he later became a famous cine director of Tollywood), and Mukkamala Nagabhushanam (later of famous as Praja Natya Mandali theatre group, which is a landmark institution in Telugu theatre). It was very disciplined and rigorous training on Chindu dance, Kolatam (the types you see in garba dance during Dusshera time), and Uyyala Paatalu (lullabies), Oggu Katha (by men - soothsayer godmen types - you may noticed the continuance of this in the annual Mahankali Bonalu). Through all these, denouncement of fascism and propagating socialism were the main themes that were enacted. Ammamma participated in Chindu dance and Kolatam. The training was so intense that she used to feel famished even after being given a heavy breakfast. Ammamma was nominated to the Bombay Conference as a delegate from Andhra that comprised of personalities such as Makhdum Moiuddin, Pramila Tai, from Hyderabad and Vemulapalli Hanumantha Rao (Vijaya Ghanta's father), Makineni Basava Punnayya, Chandra Savitramma, Katragadda Hanumayamma, Chandra Rajeswara Rao, Vellanki Annapurna, Putchalapalli Sundaraiah and others from Andhra. The programme was punctuated with one dance item by AP Unit followed by a song by the Bengal Unit and the the entire crowd applauding loudly for the AP Team. Imagine Ammamma bundling up her saree at knee level and taking it back and inserting it at her waist (it is easy to say gochi kattandam in Telugu). The AP state unit was the proud winner of the national prize. Not only that, the Maharashtra Unit requested them to perform separately in another hall for the general public. Alas! If only Ammamma had pursued an acting career - where would we have been??

Ammamma became the District Women's Association Secretary. She started touring villages and forming women's groups, talking to them on several issues and used to organize camps as well. The organization banner was Freedom, Equality and Progress (emulative of the French slogan). Campaigning was against rampant social evils such as child marriages, marriages of women to old men, propagating and performing widow remarriage, education, building latrines etc. An interesting niche fight was against the purdah system that existed among the Rajus, where women did not even know their husband's face even after children were born!! Isn't it strange that this relic of Muslim influence transcended from North India and was carried out to such an extreme? The latest followers of any practice/religion appear to be more zealous. Many widow marriages were performed. One particular marriage she remembers vividly is that of Innaiah and Sarojini. Sarojini's husband had died in a railway accident. Sarojini's father was dead against the wedding, though her mother and aunt had agreed to it. He sat with a lathi (a big stick) on the front doorstep. Others got scared but Ammamma braved him and went inside and brought Sarojini out. Despite his being livid, Saraojini's father said he could not bring himself to hit a girl like Ammamma, who had moved freely in his house as his own daughter. When I was around 12, Ammamma took Maapi and me to Innaiah & Sarojini's house in Guntur and I remember the house, the heavenly feeling of sleeping outdoors in summer, the food and the smiling face of the affectionate Sarojini. She showed off her four-girl brood to Ammamma and jokingly gesticulated that she was responsible for it. That family made an impression on me as they were quite affectionate between themselves and with others, a trait which is not very common in our otherwise undemonstrative society.

Another thing on which they used to spread a lot of awareness about was on the nutritious food and the way to clean and cook it. Of course food was her favourite anyday and she believed in what she was preaching, by following it in letter and spirit. This was also the case with Tatayya in terms of love for food and the need to eat properly - no wonder, I am such a glutton! I also know that it is because of this, I have developed a lifelong habit of eating everything on my plate, and particularly including the curry leaf (karivepaku)! Of course, this helped to me survive at any place on earth. Dr Komarraju Atchamamba, an avid activist, wrote a book on Pregnancy and Child Care, and this was widely preached to counter crude birthing methods prevalent then, including one that made the hapless woman to run around a room while in labour, taking support from a thick rope tied to the ceiling of the room. They talked specially about hygiene and the importance of trained nurses to attend delivery.

Most would find it difficult to listen to lectures, so they used innovative media such as Burra Kadha (narrative play in verse form accompanied by rhythm & beat), songs, street plays, lullabies, Sodi (a typical crystal gazer type of woman going from house to house giving predictions), etc. The Burra Kadha was the most popular medium. A Burra Kadha has a typically structured format. There were three people - one the main narrator (kadhakudu or kadhakuralu), who uses verse and song for a story line and accompanies it with chirutalu (small hand held clappers), the second one was for comedy - Hasyam, and the third was the commentator who explained in greater detail and outlined the learning (usually political) from the story and the comedy. The men's Burra kadha party became famous hugely, even at a national level and Shaikh Nazar became legendary. The women's burra kadha became famous as Moturi Udayam's Burra kadha as she was very effective. Hasyam was provided by Chintala Koteswaramma and the commentator was Mahankali Parvati.


Around 1944 (or 1945, Ammamma begs indulgence to her failing memory), the tobacco workers' strike was on in Guntur. Ammamma and her comrades kept the motivation of the workers high and also picketed outside the offices of British India Tobacco Co and ILTD. T Lakshmikantamma was also part of this picketing - she later became a Congress MP. There were men and boys also participating in the agitation. Ammamma and Lakshmikantamma and a few men were arrested and sentenced to one week's imprisonment. During the trial, the Magistrate asked if the arrested had anything to say in their defence, and none volunteered. Bapatla sub jail did not have more than 2 cells, which were used for criminals, so Ammamma and others were lodged in the verandah and they made a great picnic out of the whole imprisonment. They used to be fed food ordered from the hotel. This was the first of her imprisonments. I wish Ammamma bothered to fetch the records of all of her and Tatayya's jail sentences, they would have got Freedom Fighters' pensions and also land and what not. Somehow, both Ammamma and Tatayya were against going through the whole bureaucratically painful process of proof and file movement and I don't think I would have done it either.