Ranganayakamma Muppala

Ranganayakamma (Telugu: రంగనాయకమ్మ) (also known as Muppala Ranganayakamma; born 1939) is an Indian Telugu-language Marxist writer and critic. The main theme in her works is gender equality and the depiction of women's family life in India. She has been writing since 1955. To date, she has written about 15 novels, 70 short stories, and many essays. She published about 60 volumes in all. She is a leading proponent of communism and feminism. She won the Andhra Pradesh Government Sahitya Akademi Award for the novel Balipeetam in 1965. Ranganayakamma was born in Bommidi village near Tadepalligudem in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on September 21, 1939. Her maiden name is Daddala. In her early days of writing (before her marriage) she wrote some stories in her maiden name . She have six siblings — one elder brother (deceased), one elder sister, and four younger sisters. She is well educated and clever among her siblings. She passed SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) examination in 1955. She could not continue her studies because her parents could not financially afford to send her to a far-off college.