October is Kavitha Kalvakuntla’s favourite month, and for a reason. That’s when this formidable woman in Telangana’s political narrative gets to celebrate Batukamma, the state’s very own Dasara festival. The nine-day celebrations give her dream project 'Telangana Jagruthi', a shot in the arm.
As the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao signs off documents and okays some final decisions on a cool winter evening, she receives news that she has won the Nizamabad MLC by-election. Amidst all the high drama, we ask if she managed to get some me-time during the lockdown.
"When you choose to be amidst people and serve them, there is little left between professional and personal time. One intertwines with the other," says the new social media star who is also celebrating hitting one million followers on Twitter as @RaoKavitha.
She is one of the few south politicians sans a film background to have garnered such a massive following in 10 years of her Twitter journey. Kavitha's Twitter timeline is a good mix of political, social and cultural topics along with the urgent cry for medical help - ranging from seeking plasma donors to some irregularity at a hospital - to other grievances. Recently, her intervention helped someone reach his loved one in six minutes flat.
“A man in Chennai wanted to talk to his mother in a corporate hospital in Hyderabad. I managed to get the hospital to help him catch a last glimpse of his mom, minutes before she passed away. He was profusely grateful,” says the politician who gets about 4,000 tweets and messages every day. Interestingly, it is when she posts a candid family photo or something personal that it goes viral.
Her romantic photograph with husband Devanapalli Anil Kumar to greet him on his birthday, garnered 15,000 likes. The other viral post was when her brother and Telangana Urban Development Minister K Taraka Rama Rao, aka KTR, and she had a hilarious banter about KTR's wife getting a chance to cut his hair during the lockdown. She also believes that campaigns such as #SisterForChange - started by her, wherein sisters gift helmets to brothers on Rakshabandhan - resonate with the womenfolk.
A late entrant to Instagram in 2017, currently she posts occasionally and monitors the usage of her sons Aaditya, 17, and Aarya, 13. She also broadcasts live events on Facebook. However, she believes that parents must ensure their teens don’t get bullied online. "Online trolling/bullying can affect their psyche. If we are allowing our kids to post online, we need to regulate it," she says.
A firm believer in juggling online and offline personas, the 40-plus politician is excited about the first festival after the lockdown. "We in Telangana always make a song and dance, literally, about Batukamma - our very own version of the Dasara Navratri. But this time due to COVID-19, it will be a private affair. However, we at Telangana Jagruthi are making sure we compensate with digital offerings," says the founder of Telangana Jagruthi, a non-profit working towards capacity-building, preserving heritage, cultural renaissance and sustainable development.
This year too, Kavitha has handpicked nine Telangana folk songs rendered by local artists that were released on YouTube to usher in the festive spirit. "I look into every lyric before it is sent for composition. The work began 10 months ago and it involved identifying singers, composers, listening to the bits and finally giving the go-ahead."
Batukamma also reminds Kavitha of her rapport with Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Member of Parliament, representing Thoothukkudi constituency in the Lok Sabha, also the daughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, late K Karunanidhi.
"Kani akka organised Chennai Sangamam a few years ago in which she mobilised 1,500 folk artists. It inspired me to do something similar for Batukamma. She was our guest at the 2011 celebrations," she recalls fondly.
Kavitha doesn’t want to stop with music and dance. She wants to introduce the literary element too. A book series that chronicles the 3,000-year-old history of India's 29th state along with scientific, historic and anthropological proofs is taking shape and is all set to release this Batukamma.
Another of her pet projects is the launch of Tangedu (named after the state flower) literary magazine which will be personally edited by her. "It will celebrate the old classics while encouraging new writers to share their stories and perspectives about Telangana. Over 2,000 hard copies of the magazine are being distributed this year," she adds.
Talking of magazines and other channels of communications, what are her thoughts about traditional mainstream media? "Even today, an average Indian turns to the morning newspaper to get news. The 280 characters on Twitter can never replace the intellectual exchange of ideas. I appreciate the old form of communication while embracing the modern form. The twain shall co-exist," she proclaims, obliging me with a selfie for social media and wrapping up the interview for the newspaper. She sure knows how to get the best of both worlds!
Quick Takes
The last series she binge-watched:Game of Thrones
What she’s hooked on to now: Grey’s Anatomy
Her benchmark in politics: Late Sushma Swaraj
Current read: Mindf*ck: Inside Cambridge Analytica’s Plot to Break the World
What excited her most recently: An online discussion on public policy by Global Policy Insight where she shared her inputs