Narla Venkateswara Rao

Narla Venkateswara Rao, or V. R. Narla (1 December 1908 – 13 March 1985)^[2] was a Telugu language writer, journalist, and politician from Andhra Pradesh, India. He was a Rajya Sabha member twice between 3 April 1958 and 2 April 1970. He wrote a satakam in Telugu along with several other books.^{[citation needed]}

Narla Venkateswara Rao
Born	1 December 1908 Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh[1]
Died	February 16, 1985(1985-02-16) (aged 76)
Other names	V.R. Narla
Term	Members of the Rajya Sabha 1958–1970
Spouse	Sulochana Devi
Children	7

Early life

Rao was born in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. He had two brothers, Narla Gowri Shankar Rao and Narla Tata Rao, and a sister, Laxmi Bai.

During the late 1960s, he moved to Hyderabad, which became the main publishing centre of the Andhra Jyothi daily.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Journalism

His career as a Telugu journalist began when he became the editor of Andhra Prabha of the Indian Express Group.

He wrote a series on Suryadevara Sanjiv Dev of Tummapudi village in Guntur district. He was at the forefront when journalists fought Chief Minister Brahmananda Reddy's efforts in 1969 to impose constraints on the Andhra Jyothi Daily by introducing a bill in the State Assembly aimed at curbing the freedom of the press.^{[citation needed]}

Editorial work

As a journalist, Rao was upset when the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution were suspended and 'internal emergency' imposed in 1975 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As an editor of the paper, he sought to keep the editorial column of Andhra Jyothy blank in protest. Andhra Jyothy's management overruled his decision for fear of a government crackdown and a possible forced closure of the newspaper.^{[citation needed]}

To avoid the resultant confusion and uncertainty, Narla went to the U.S. to be with his seven children and their families. He returned to India after cessation of the 'emergency' period and then resigned as editor of Andhra Jyothy. Earlier during the late 1940s, he had submitted his resignation as editor of Andhra Prabha while supporting the journalists who were resisting the efforts of the proprietor, Ramnath Goenka, to disperse the newspaper establishment from Madras to the districts to defeat government regulations on pay scales of the staff. Then, Goenka had persuaded Narla not to press his resignation. Narla also felt increasing contempt for the Congress Party for its demagogic attitude to public life. As a member of the Rajya Sabha, he was a witness at close quarters to the functioning of corrupt politicians. This alienated him further from the goings on in public life.^{[citation needed]}

Public speaking

Narla authored a Telugu play, Seetha Josyam (prophecy of Seetha), published by the Sahitya Academy. The play attracted much interest among religious and literary circles. However, Narla vehemently resented criticism of the play by the official journal of the Sahitya Academy, on the grounds that being the mouthpiece of the publishers it should not voice criticism of the work. This was likewise his basis for rejecting the Sahitya Academic Award, a decision which caused a sensation in literary circles. Narla's monographs on Vemana, Veerasalingam and Gurajada Appa Rao were translated into several Indian languages.^{[citation needed]}

Playwright

After giving up newspaper editorship, Narla took to writing plays on serious themes with lengthy prefaces – along the lines of George Bernard Shaw's works. One such play, Narakam lo Harischandra (Harischandra in Hell), was dedicated to his longtime friend and journalist Innaiah Narisetti. Another play by Narla was based on the mythological story of Draupadi, who was the common wife of the five Pandava princes. Narla could not complete his characteristic lengthy preface for the play, which was originally titled Panchali (wife of five persons).^{[citation needed]}

Paatha Kotha, (Old and New), a collection of essays by Narla, was selected as one of the best books in modern Telugu literature. It was also published posthumously by his family members through the New Student Book House, Vijayawada. The volume houses an incomplete essay on Purana Vairagyam. Finally, Narla was working on a project of one thousand verses in Telugu – Narla Maata (Narla's word). Each verse ended with the refrain "Navayugaala Baata Naarla Maata" ("the path of the new age and Narla's word"). These verses were satirical, critiquing society and stressing human values.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Narla married Sulochana Devi in 1938. All of his seven children are medical doctors practicing in the U.S. Narlas's eldest son, Mohan Das, is a professor in cell biology working in New York City. His second son, Durga Das, and his younger brother, Lakshman Das, are also doctors living in the U.S. Narla himself preferred to live in India.^{[3][citation needed]}

Donation

Narla had a library consisting of approximately 25,000 books. After his death, his wife presented his library to the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad. Ambedkar University maintains an annual programme of memorial lectures in his name.^{[citation needed]}

Award in his name

An award, Narla Venkateswara Puraskar, was instituted in his name by B.R. Ambedkar Joshua Phule Periyar Literature Foundation.^[4] He participated in many debates in the parliament.^[5]