Dasaradhi Rangacharya, a well-known poet and writer who minced no words in expressing his impatience with the autocratic rule of the NIzam breathed his last at a corporate hospital here on Monday morning.
The 86-year-old Dasaradhi was rushed to a hospital in Somajiguda after his condition deteriorated. He passed away undergoing treatment. His family members said for the last seven days, Dasaradhi was not keeping well. His body was shifted to his residence and the family members said the last rites would be performed on Tuesday.
Born on August 24, 1928 in Khammam District of erstwhile Hyderabad State, Dasaradhi actively participated in fight against the Nizam’s autocratic rule. He went underground and took part in the Telangana Armed Struggle till Hyderabad was liberated.
He was rusticated from the school and was forced to go to Vijayawada to pursue higher education. Initially, he worked as a school teacher and later shifted to Hyderabad and joined the municipal corporation in Secunderabad Division where he worked for over three decades.
In 1969, his pen attracted the spotlight with 'Chillara Devullu' (The Lesser Deities). He followed it up, writing 'Modugu Poolu' (Fire Flowers) in 1971, a chronicle of the history of Telangana. Chillara Devullu brought him Central Sahitya Akademi award. Jeevanayanam was his autobiography.
Considering the feudal background and 'poor literacy rate', the two novels are widely-accepted as the 'rarest of the great novels' produced in Telangana. He wrote the novels in the typical Telangana dialect, against the advice of traditional writers because he wanted them to be easily understood by people.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao condoled the untimely demise of Dasaradhi saying that the Telugu literary world had lost a towering personality. His writings on the Telangana armed struggle and the condition of people in Telangana can not be forgotten, he said.
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari, APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy, YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and others condoled his death.
