NIZAMABAD: For the 70-year-old Mallavvarapu Chinnaiah, retirement didn’t slow him down. While many would take it as a sign to relax and hang up their boots, the septuagenarian author’s thirst for knowledge and keen desire to share it continues unabated.
While he started as a cleaner with the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), he quickly rose up the ranks and retired as a senior assistant. However, he never left behind his love for books and writing. Throughout his career as a government employee, he kept on learning and writing.
With over a dozen of books on varied topics such as the first and second waves of Covid-19 and across genres such as poetry, novellas and dramas, Chinnaiah is looking to publish 25 more books in English and Telugu.
Though he hails from a Roman Catholic family, his tale of devotion to Dattatreya, believed to be an avatar of Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, is well-known.
Chinnaiah’s forefathers belonged to the Narsaraopet area of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, but he was born at Jadi Jamalpur in Bodhan mandal of Nizamabad district. Though he lived in a remote village during his childhood, the village elders, seeing his zeal for learning, encouraged him to get educated.
His work has now earned him felicitations from several cultural and literary organisations, and appreciation from many intellectuals across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. His contribution to literature also earned him a chapter in a book on novelists from Nizamabad by Afreen Begum, a research scholar with Telangana University.
Work is worship for Chinnaiah
Chinnaiah pursued his graduation from Dr BR Ambedkar Open University and post-graduation in English literature from Kakatiya University. This enabled him to get promotions in the TSRTC.
Though he notes that the habit of reading books has subsided among youth, he remains undeterred in his endeavour, and self-publishes his books and donates it to libraries.
Speaking to Express, Chinnaiah mentions that he doesn’t receive any pension from the TSRTC, but his son bought him a computer, on which he learnt DTP (Desk-Top Publishing). He now operates a DTP shop near the Nizamabad District Court.
When asked about his motivation, he replies, “Whatever I’m doing is all a gift from God, and only with this belief, I write or work as a DTP operator. It gives me satisfaction and enables me to enjoy life.”