From the Editor:
Thulika means quill. I am planning to translate the short stories and free verse of prominent writers from
Andhra Pradesh for the western readers.
In the late 19th century Virginia Woolf stated that women writers did not succeed in writing and
publishing for lack of a room of their own and economic resources. In the later years American
establishment reaffirmed this claim. In recent times prominent Indian writers like Kamala Das and Anita
Das made similar statements. In fact Kamala Das went further and said that the sister of Rabindranath
Tagore did not receive the same acclaim as Tagore because she was a woman.
I am not contradicting any of these claims. My intention here is to show that the position of women
writers in Andhra Pradesh was very different.
In 1960s Telugu women started writing and publishing fiction, rose to heights unheard of, were more
successful than their male counterparts, were paid higher than male writers and got contracts from
publishers without submitting their work. Among them writers like Malathi Chendur, Lata,
Ranganayakamma, Sulochana Rani, Vasireddy Sitadevi, Ramalakshmi Arudra and Bhanumati
Ramakrishna stand out for their contribution. Each
of them found a medium in which they showed superior talent. To my knowledge this is an unusual
phenomenon in any part of India or in any other country.
In all humbleness I submit that I am a writer of that generation. I am acquainted with some of them and a
great fan of few others.
It is with that thought in mind, I launched this venture-- to present to the English reading public the
translations of Telugu writers of repute and a brief account of their experiences in their own words and
from other interviews..
One of my good friends Prof. B. Bhaskar Rao has kindly invited me to join the editorial board of
e-Telugu Patrika. Together we decided that e-Telugu Patrika publishes the Telugu originals and Thulika
publishes the English version. Thus readers with limited knowledge of Telugu can take advantage of
appreciating the native flavor.
Starting September 2001, Thulika will start with those women writers who have created a sensation in
the 60s, and will continue to publish stories by other prominent Telugu writers.
Hope you will enjoy this edition. I am putting out this edition as a pilot issue with only my writings. I
thought it would be safe and should help in fixing any neonatal problems I might encounter.
Nidadavolu Malathi
June 2001.