For a long time, we wanted to organize a special story workshop for women, from a woman’s perspective. After Bandaru Vijaya published the “Swayamsiddha” and “Yodha” story collections, she took the initiative to conduct such a workshop. After consulting everyone, it was decided to hold the story workshop right after the Hyderabad Book Fair in 2024. Thus, the workshop began at Bogapuram, near Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road, at the ashram run for many years by Mokkapati Sumitra. Thirty-five women writers from various regions attended. When it was time for introductions, each person introduced themselves.

B.S. Ramulu and Shyamala

Resource persons for the workshop included renowned social thinker and writer B.S. Ramulu, Shiramsetty Kantharao, and Subbarao. When introductions were happening, Shyamala, companion of B.S. Ramulu, stayed silent, saying she didn’t want to speak. But after everyone finished, she came forward, full of emotion and enthusiasm, and said she would introduce herself too. The Shyamala who thought she wouldn’t speak, went on to emotionally recount the hardships and tears of her life. Everyone was moved to tears. When Kondaveeti Satyavati asked for more details, she shared even further. It inspired everyone, showing how life itself takes more dramatic turns than stories.

Many of the women writers wanted to write Shyamala’s life as stories or novels and considered interviewing her.

The two-day workshop brought us closer. We all left with sweet memories in our hearts. The conversations and discussions, where each person’s life seemed more interesting than a story, deepened our commitment to writing. After returning to Hyderabad, I wanted to interview Shyamala right away.

So, we arranged a time to meet. In Hyderabad, I, along with Bandaru Vijaya, left by car from ECIL near Sundara Vijnana Kendra in Baghlingampally. At that time, Shyamala was staying at Ranki Towers near Gachibowli with her eldest daughter-in-law. Her daughter-in-law Sulekha welcomed us warmly. After introductions and pleasantries, I spoke with Shyamala alone about many things. While we talked, Bandaru Vijaya, B.S. Ramulu, and Sulekha chatted elsewhere. By the time the interview was over, Sulekha had prepared a lovely meal with Viz Biryani. The joy that, despite the hardships and tears, the next generation had risen and settled well—sons and daughters-in-law alike were highly educated—filled us all with happiness. How much Shyamala had endured, and how life had moved forward from there! As Sri Sri said, “From the depths, so many stories are born.” If the book “Our Unknown History,” brought out by the Stree Shakti Sanghatan in the 1980s, hadn’t existed, many women who worked in the movement would have remained in the shadows. The struggles faced by families of those who went into the movement need to be known to the public.

Among such people is Shyamala, companion of B.S. Ramulu. Let’s look at her life’s journey, which moved “from fear to security.”

1. Hello, Shyamala garu! How are you?

Hello! I’m well.

2. When and where were you born?

I was born on September 14, 1954, in Paidimadugu, a village in Korutla taluk, Karimnagar district.

3. Tell us about your parents.

My father’s name is Chenn Narayana. My mother’s name is Chenn Gauramma. We are eight siblings. I have three elder brothers, then me, followed by two younger brothers and two sisters.

4. Tell us about your education.

There was a government school in our village, but it was far away. Our house was on the east side of the village, and the school was on the west. So, I wasn’t sent to school. My cousin Bheem Rajanna, who lived next door, ran a home school up to third grade. I used to sit there and learn. Later, family friends Prabhakar and Smitha ran the Satavahana School. When our children went to school, I would go to Smitha madam, who noticed my interest in learning and taught me. Now, I read newspapers and storybooks.

5. When did you get married? Tell us about your family.

I got married on May 17, 1973, in Paidimadugu itself. I was 18 then. My father-in-law is Mittapalli Narayana, mother-in-law is Bethi Lakshmi Raju, and brother-in-law is Gopal. At that time, my husband (B.S. Ramulu) didn’t even have a job. I have four sons.

6. When did your husband get a job? Where did he work?

He got a job in 1975. He worked in Elgandal, Huzurabad, Vemulawada, Malyala, and Rayikal, retiring in July 2006.

7. When did B.S. Ramulu go to jail?

He was suddenly arrested in January 1984. He was taken from Jagtial and kept in Korutla lockup for a week, then sent to Karimnagar jail for three weeks. While he was in lockup, my sister Saroja would bring lunch, and my brother-in-law Chandrasekhar would deliver it at the station. At that time, my youngest son Naresh was just a month old. To get bail, I had to run around a lot for documents, carrying baby Naresh in my arms and holding my third son Kiran, who could barely walk, with the other hand. Even after he was released, many difficulties continued.

8. What happened after your husband returned home?

He wasn’t taken back into his job. He was suspended. According to rules, they were supposed to pay half salary, but even that wasn’t given. As a government employee, we didn’t even have a ration card. We survived on my mother’s support. My third son Kiran couldn’t attend government school, so I used to roll beedis and do all housework. I pleaded and cried to pay private school fees; I fell sick from the stress. During that time, Nizam Venkatesham and Alishetti Prabhakar visited us. Nizam Venkatesham got Kiran admitted to Sharada Vidyalayam, a private school, paid his fees, and bought books.

My childhood friend Manchala Gangadhar from Warangal visited once or twice. There was always police surveillance, so not many people came.

The tenants in our new house in Mission Compound were threatened and forced out. We were told not to stay there, so I took the children back to my mother-in-law’s house.

9. Were you aware of the Naxalite movement?

To some extent, yes. My younger brother-in-law Kalluri Narayana was already working in the party. So, I had some awareness.

10. How many years was your husband underground? What financial difficulties did you face?

He was underground for six years, from 1984 to 1990.

11. How did you manage life during that time?

With four children, we squeezed into two small rooms in our old house. I rolled beedis for a living. It was a small mud house, no bathroom—we had to go outside. For every thousand beedis, they paid 15 rupees. I made a thousand beedis a day, but payment came only once every 15 days. When beedi workers went on strike, there was no work. My siblings helped during those times. When N.T. Rama Rao was Chief Minister, we got two sarees on the ration card. I would wear one and use the other as a bedsheet. That same saree, I’d use after bathing. I couldn’t afford to stitch pants for the children—they wore only shorts.

Food was a struggle. If there was rice, there was no curry; if there was curry, there was no rice. Sometimes, I’d feed the children and go to bed after just drinking water. If I wore a bindi or flowers, people would gossip, “Her husband must be dead by now.” Such words would depress me further.

My elder brother Jagatanna helped with everything. My elder sister-in-law invited us for every festival meal. My sister Saroj sent ration rice. My father brought some paddy. My brother Shankara, who practiced medicine in Kodimyala, would sometimes bring ration rice from his wife Aruna’s house. Shankara would also tell the police not to trouble my sister. Since I depended on beedi work, the company gave me extra tobacco leaves. My maternal uncle Kasturi Raj Narsaiah and aunt Kasturi Venkatamma gave me sarees from their clothing shop.

Whenever the police came and threatened us at our new house, Vanamala Sahadev and Bhagya supported me, talking to them and sending them away. At our old house, our neighbor Narsaiah, a warden, would buy vegetables for us when he went to the market. Sometimes, he’d bring cooked curry. Warden Pochayya would bring notebooks and books for the children.

My eldest son got a merit scholarship in seventh grade. From eighth to tenth grade, he studied at Prabhakar’s Vidyaniketan School without paying fees. Later, during intermediate at government college, he went for tuition. My father paid the tuition fees. We didn’t have a clock at home. He’d wake up at five, sometimes even at four, and wait in the cold for tuition. He passed intermediate with a first class. When he went on a college excursion, my elder brother paid for it.

12. Tell us about the most difficult moments in your life.

Once, when I was postpartum, I was arranging things in our new house in Mission Compound. I slipped from the stairs and fell. I was taken to Naidu hospital at 6 pm, after being treated at home until then. The doctor put both my legs in cement casts. I was bedridden for two months, with small children to care for. That was very hard. Our old mud house had many rats, which ruined things stored in the attic. Snakes would come for the rats. If I saw a snake during the day, I’d take the children to our neighbor Kasturi Srinu’s house at night. Once, after the children were asleep, I saw a snake at midnight. I couldn’t take the children outside, so I stayed awake all night. Even now, the memory gives me chills. I was alone, rolling beedis. Sometimes, I’d cry, and Neelakka would come and help me roll beedis or take me to her house.

During the rainy season, next to our house was Saraswati Shishumandir School. They dug pits two yards deep for new building pillars, which filled with rainwater and flooded our yard. My son Pani and his friend, along with our neighbor Kasturi Srinu, went to play in the water. My second son Srikanth ran after them and fell into one of the pits. Pani tried to pull him out and also fell in. Kasturi Srinu bravely pulled them out one by one. Otherwise, both would have drowned. We wouldn’t have known where they’d gone. When he brought them back, covered in mud and fear, my heart nearly stopped. (Shyamala became very emotional.)

13. Tell us about your relationship with your mother-in-law and daughters-in-law.

My mother-in-law was very kind. She’d say, “You too are raising children alone, rolling beedis, just like I did after my husband died. Our lives are the same…” When I’d cry to her, she’d comfort me, saying, “Don’t say that, Shyamala! When my husband died, I raised my children. But your husband is still out there somewhere.” But for me, I never had hope he’d return… Whenever I heard news of an encounter, I’d be terrified.

14. How did you feel when B.S. Ramulu returned?

My eldest son Pani had just finished his intermediate exams. It was summer. One night, there was a loud knock at the door. When I opened it, there stood my husband, with a big beard, along with Enaka Gaddar, Ma Bhoomi Sandhya, Varavara Rao, Devulapalli Amar, and others. I was speechless. I never expected him to return. I thought they’d come to take me and the children away. They asked, “So, do you want us to leave him here or take him away?” They called my elder brother Jagatanna and asked, “Should we leave your brother-in-law here? Will he be safe?” My brother assured them we’d take good care of him. So, they left him at home and went away.

The next morning, my brother and some others went to the SP office. Later, my husband met the collector with union members and rejoined his job within a week.

15. Tell us about your children.

I have four sons, born in 1974, 1977, 1980, and 1983—Pani Grahi, Srikanth, Kiran, and Naresh. All of them are well educated.

16. All your children studied engineering. Tell us about your efforts.

My eldest son Pani Grahi did B.Tech and M.Tech, worked in Bangalore for a year, and in 1998 his company sent him to Chicago, USA. Now he has a house in Indiana, three hours from Chicago, with two sons—one studying for a degree in the US, the younger in tenth grade.

My second son Srikanth did MCA and lives in his own house in Chicago. He also has two sons—one in tenth, one in seventh.

My third son Kiran did B.Tech and now lives in Sydney, Australia, with a daughter in fourth grade.

My youngest, Naresh, did B.Tech, worked in Hyderabad, then moved to Ireland four years ago. He has a son in ninth and a daughter in second grade.

I moved to Hyderabad in 2001 for my children’s education. I have five grandsons and two granddaughters. No matter how many hardships I faced, I made sure all four of my sons studied engineering. I stayed up at night, studying with them. I always loved learning, so I worked hard to educate my children. Their father was always busy with meetings, his job, union work, and writers’ associations. His world was his own. I took care of the children and their studies.

In 2000, my eldest son Pani Grahi married Sulekha in Hanumakonda. It was a stage marriage, conducted by Kaloji, Dr. Kottapalli Jayashankar, and Anishetty Rajitha.

17. When did you first go to America? Tell us about that experience.

I went to America alone for the first time in 2005. I stayed with Naresh’s friend. I never dreamed I’d fly on a plane. From bathing behind a screen in the village as a child to bathing in big bathrooms and tubs in America! I’ve been to America five times, and once to Australia to visit my third son Kiran. In our family, Pani was the first to go to America, then me. All our relatives spoke proudly of it. I was born and raised in a village, came as a bride to Jagityal. As a child, I didn’t even know Hyderabad. Yet, I traveled to many states in America and Australia. My husband would ask me to come to his meetings, but I stayed for the children’s education. Recently, I attended the Keesara story training classes for the first time. I was so happy to meet all of you. I enjoyed those two days very much.

18. How did you feel when B.S. Ramulu was appointed Chairman of the Telangana BC Commission?

I never expected it. I didn’t even know it was such a big post. But after he got it, we went to Yadagirigutta for darshan. The collector and SP welcomed us and took us into the temple with applause. Five Vedic priests performed special puja for us. That’s when I realized how big the post was. Once, there were shoot-at-sight orders if he was seen. Now, the same police came as security. It all felt confusing, surprising, and joyful.

19. As the companion of a great writer, what are your thoughts?

That’s my good fortune. My husband would invite great poets like Kaloji, Dasarathi, and C. Narayana Reddy to meetings. Because of that, not just me, but my whole family got to see such personalities. The fact that I’m giving you this interview is because of that.

20. You have seen unbearable hardships and joys in your life’s journey. How do you feel about it?

A: I do not believe in gods. But when I was going through hardships, I used to pray to Santoshi Mata for many weeks. At that time, all I wished for was for my husband to return home safely. That’s all… But that goddess gave me much more than I asked for. In life, you never know what will happen. May everyone have a good heart. We must be good at heart.

21. What more do you wish for in life?

A: I have no wishes left now. I have seen so many hardships. My children have grown up, my husband became the BC Commission Chairman. My children were so happy. This is an honor our family never even imagined. I just want to stay healthy. I want my children and their children to be well. I wish well for everyone.

22. What is your opinion about your companion?

A: My husband is a people’s man. Whether as a Naxalite, in the Telangana or Dalit or Bahujan movements—whatever he did, he did for the people. He is still doing so. Even as a writer, he always stands with the people… Recently, he wrote his autobiography in three parts.

23. Finally, what advice would you give to girls of this generation?

A: Girls should study well. They should work and have careers. No matter how many hardships come, they should stand strong and move forward with courage. Everyone thinks they are good people, but it’s important to be seen as good in everyone’s eyes too.