అరుణ [Aruna]

by Chalam, చలం

96 pages, Paperback

About the author

Gudipati Venkatachalam aka Chalam (Telugu : గుడిపాటి వెంకటాచలం) (1894–1979), a Telugu writer and philosopher, was one of the most influential personalities in the modern Telugu literature. Telugu is a language spoken by more than ten crore(100 millions) people and the literary interest of the people was at its height during first half of the 20th century.

Most of his writings were regarding Women, especially the kind of difficulties women encounter-physical as well as psychological-in the society, families from their near and dear ones. Chalam discussed how the women should encounter them. the themes of his writings, philosophical tinge in his writings blended with his writing style earned him unenviable place in Telugu literary world

Reviews

[Prasanna Dommu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utter garbage!

I was told that Chalam was a revolutionary writer who carried the mantle of women empowerment. His definition of women empowerment seems to have aged terribly. It appears that he is confused between sexual liberation and sexual depravity. His idea of liberation is for women to escape unhappy marriages by sleeping around the town.

The titular character of this story, Aruna, seems to be the Indianised version of the manic pixie dream girl. Promiscuous, selfish, utterly inconsiderate of how her actions impact others' lives. She plays with the feelings of every man that she comes across, leading them on, to what end? And why these men pine after a woman who they clearly know is exploiting and manipulating them is beyond my comprehension. Clearly, none of the men in this story, including the narrator, are thinking straight because their blood flow is focused elsewhere. The author seems to have very low opinion of men in general.

I fail to see what the author tried to convey through this story. I have never been disgusted by a piece of 'literature' as I was by this one. Maidanam comes very close. I see a pattern here.

[Maddy]

this is the first book I have read of chalam's.it was engaging throughout.the author emphasizes on the freedom of women.how their freedom is tied to a word called husband .he talks about the vulnerability of the marriage and the damage it does to the women.like bhagat singh said in 9 out of 10 cases , marriage is a perfect training school for adultery . he tries to redefine love . especially through a quote i absorbed .
"రక్త కణాలు మళ్ళీ వీర్యాన్ని తయారు చేసే లోపు చచ్చిపోయేది ప్రేమ....."

P.S I don't like to rate book...tbh I don't know how to rate them

[Pavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another writing of chalam that is focused on life of an unhappy woman trying to break society shackles.. like maidanam, he tries to use Aruna shoulders to shoot at then existing societal norms. Though the central theme is about Aruna and her life, the struggle he presents from teacher pov when she gets close to other men is too good. To not make use of the opportunity when presented and run later for the same thing is my most fav part of the book.

[Sarath Sarma · Rating 4 out of 5]

ప్రేమించడానికి కొత్త విధానాలు తెలుసుకున్నా

[Prashanth Penta Reddy]

Okay.