While Telugu poet P Lalitha Kumari, better known by her pen-name Volga, might feel that the writing of this generation is either too simple or too complex, “and in the guise of complexity, there is sometimes an emptiness”, what she remains most enthusiastic about is the writings of Dalit and minority women. “They are straightforward and write without hesitation about their sufferings, protests or dissent.
When I hear their voices, I feel a lot of hope,” says the Sahitya Akademi Award winner, in conversation with budding poet Kadali Satyanarayana. The 24-year-old proceeded to ask Volga about the political conditions of the past four decades and if it made her a better writer. Volga took us back to 1975 — the year in which the Emergency was declared in India.
“Women’s groups in every city started discussing women’s issues and presenting them in the form of prose, poetry, novels, short stories and more. It was the first time that women started writing about their bodies, touching upon topics like menstruation, labour pains, reproductive rights, division of labour in households and more.
Hard work is important for a writer,” says the 70-year-old, establishing that though the political situation wasn’t very free, they paved their path, step by step.