Aarudhra

Bhagavatula Sadasiva Shankara Sastry ( pronunciation ) (31 August 1925 – 4 June 1998), known by his pen-name Arudra, was a highly respected author in Modern Telugu literature of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Early life

Aarudra was born in Visakhapatnam on 31 August 1925. After the primary education here, he shifted to Vizianagaram in 1942 for his college education. He became attracted to Communism after coming into contact with people like Ronanki Appalaswami and Chaganti Somayajulu.

He joined the Indian Air Force as a band boy in 1943 and served it till 1947. He shifted to Madras and worked as editor of `Anandavani' magazine for two years. Joining the cine field in 1949, he wrote lyrics and dialogues for many films.

He married noted writer, K. Ramalakshmi (a columnist and a writer-critic in her own right) in 1954.

Literary works

Aarudra was a multifaceted personality. He wrote many poems, essays, short stories, dramas, translations, film songs, detective stories and a book on Chess.

Tvamevaham (You are none other than me) and Samagra Andhra Sahityam (An Encyclopedia of Telugu Literature) are landmark works of this great writer.