The Sharp Knife of Memory

by Kondapalli Koteswaramma, Sowmya V.B. (Translator)

When it was first published in India, ninety-four-year-old Kondapalli Koteswaramma’s autobiography was acclaimed by the Telugu literary world. Koteswaramma is well known as the widow of Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, founder of the Maoist movement in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, and her life spans a tumultuous century of Indian politics that included the Independence movement, Communist insurrection, and the militant leftist Naxalite movement. A child widow at the age of five, she went on to marry Seetharamaiah and work for the Communist Party of India. She was later forced to live underground with her family in the difficult years of the late 1940s. Then Seetharamaiah deserted her and everything changed. Painfully, Koteswaramma worked to rebuild her life, only to face tragedy again when both of her children died as young adults. When many others would have given up, Koteswaramma responded by enrolling in school, taking a job, raising her grandchildren, writing poetry and prose, and eventually establishing herself as a thinking person in her own right.
Now in English, The Sharp Knife of Memory is a searing memoir that will resonate worldwide as it explores the nature of memory and gives a firsthand account of the arrival of women’s political independence in India. That Indian women often face incredible suffering is known, but that they can fight back and emerge winners is exemplified in the life of Koteswaramma.

Genres: Memoir, India, Politics

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Kondapalli Koteswaramma (5 August 1918 – 19 September 2018) was an Indian communist leader, feminist, revolutionary, and writer.

Reviews

[Tejaswini · Rating 5 out of 5]

' The Sharp knife of memory' a memoir by Kondapalli Koteswaramma , originally written as ' Nirjana Vaaradhi' ( An abandoned bridge) is the first autobiography of a Communist woman in Telugu. It was also translated to two other regional languages - Kannada & Malayalam.
I absolutely don't consider this as a book review because doing so implies complimenting / commenting her life for which I'm not capable of. I'm here to just string my scattered thoughts running amok in my mind after reading her tenacious journey. I very well know that this is going to be a meek attempt to present her life here in mere ' black & white ' which has seen hues of extremities.
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Destined to be a child widow at the age of six , thanks to the rationalistic ideologies of her family, she was sent to school & neither shunned nor criticized for her misfortune. Later she is married to Kondapalli Sitaramayya, (then a noted activist of Communist party) despite the stringent opposition by the community towards window re-marriage. Her husband's company fuelled up her already smouldering riveting instincts and made her to join the Communist party.
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Koteswaramma led an incognito life when the party was banned during armed revolt of peasants in Telangana region under the leadership of communists leaving behind her children to her mother. Koteswaramma's life is never a cake walk & fate has denied showing an iota of sympathy on her. She is habituated to taste the bitterness of destitute & distress often. She has witnessed splits in the party parallel to the clamours in her own life.
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Disturbances in marital life of decades of togetherness shuddered her the most. But she has passed matriculation after separation from her husband in Andhra Mahila Sabha & succeeded in getting a govt job too. At this juncture , she has nurtured her neglected literary skills long ago by writing poems, songs , short stories and participated in radio plays & this has become her solace. As she spent most of her life away from her children, she has written ' Amma Cheppina Kathalu' ( stories told by mother) as if imagining telling to them.
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As mentioned in the book , writing autobiography at the age of 92 with poor eyesight & memory seemed as if her tears which were held back these years & brimmed up till then started rolling down and wrote the story of their own. Her son's death in fake encounter, son in law's sudden demise followed by her daughter's suicide -- choked her by not letting to breathe amidst the sobs of each grief dawning on her.
The prose is genuine & honest, much to the dismay it has no trace of self- pity, anger & rancour in telling her profused convoluted life. Translation by Sowmya V B is really good by using Telugu words thereby not losing the original tinge & also I liked the way references & contexts were explained when and where necessary.
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In her last interview at the age of 99 her revolutionary spirits were still being echoed in her words. She lamented about the current political scenario of the country & also the present safety of woman at risk citing the contrary situations in her years of exile.
She had lived a complete life of 100 years & exhaled her last breath reaching the abode of haven in 2018. Facing so many boulders in her restless journey ,Koteswaramma instead of shattering, harbinged hope & that made her to live surpassing all overwhelming odds .

[Bharathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

ஒவ்வொரு பெண்ணும் கட்டாயம் வாசிக்கவேண்டிய நூல். கொள்கைச் சார்ந்து இயங்கக் கூடிய மனிதர்களும் அவர்களுக்குள் இருக்கும் உயர்ந்த அற நெறிகளும், அது சாதாரண மக்களின் அற நெறிக்கு மாறாக இருக்கும் போக்கும், சிலரிடம் இருக்கும் சில கீழ்மைகள் உயர்ந்த நோக்கத்தைக் கேள்விக் கேட்கும் பாங்கும், அந்தக் காலகட்ட அரசியல் சமூக நிலைகளும் நம்மைக் கோடேஸ்வரம்மாவை மானசிகமாக வணங்க வைக்கிறது. வாழ்வின் மீது புகார்கள் இல்லாமல் சுயசார்பு வாழ்கையை அடையளப்படுத்துகிறது
ஆளாற்ற பாலம் :)

[Debjit Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

My north indian bubble coded would have never picked this up randomly at a cafe in Bir but I'm so glad I did. What a woman and what a life. My goodness!

[Spandana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ BOOK..
i almost cried what almost...i noticed tears in my eyes while reading some pages...
but still this is history and every one should read... i would recommend to everybody..
even after completion of reading the book is really fascinating and inspiring...
came to know the peoples sacrifice for the justice and for good things...i felt ashamed too for late reading...

[Saikrishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book, i became fan of her.
After reading this book, all the problems i am facing seems nothing compared to her problems.
If you want to gain tons of confident, i recommend this book to read.

Hats off to Kodapalli Koteswaramma.
[]previously i know her as W/O Kodapalli Seetharamaih, after reading this book i know seetharamaih as H/O Kodapalli SKoteswaramma !!!]

[Ipsita · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What happened to his party, which envisioned a day when farmers and workers would progress together hand in hand? That communist Party had now split into seven. Which amongst these seven will establish that equal society we had hoped for? Each May Day, we raise slogans saying,"Workers of the world, unite!" But we never unite ourselves. We fight among ourselves. How , then can the workers unite?"

[Roshini Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The poet, Nanduri had written, “Enki knows the language of flowers.” I thought, “If great people could understand the language of the wind, they would know why our revolutionaries who started the fight died in the arms of this forest without seeing victory.” Thus went the rest of my journey."

I hope I never forget this book and it’s leading lady.

[Sai Praveen Oruganti · Rating 3 out of 5]

ఒక వ్యక్తి జీవితంలో ఇంత విషాదం వుండగలదా ?! ఎర్ర జెండా విప్లవం పట్ల ప్రత్యేక ఆసక్తి లేకున్నా, ఈ పుస్తకం నచ్చింది.

[Sritanikella3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t know much about revolutions but while reading this book it really gave me chills. How much they suffered to eradicate few nonsense. Ok thats one side of story I learned. But her struggle, how much pain a human being can take of in one life. First revolution then her husband left her, has to find her own life. Again studies, living far from kids. Losing kids. Omg, alot to take in. But she stood strong nd survived. One line she said when her husband want to see her again at old age still ringing in my mind, “ok he wants to see me, but doesn’t it matter whether i want to see him or not?” Bravo you broke a vicious cycle. You fought bravely nd you proved that you are a warrior. You live in my heart forever. Johar koteswaramma.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

కొండపల్లి కోటేశ్వరమ్మ గారు తన జీవితం గురించి రాసిన పుస్తకం. ఇందులో బాల్యం నుంచి, వివాహం, అనుభవించిన కష్టాల గురించి. చాలా కాలం తర్వాత చదువుకొనసగించటం, ఉద్యోగం మొదలయిన అంశాల గురించి వివరించటం జరిగింది. చదువరులను అలోచింపజేసే పుస్తకం.

[Prem · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last book I read, Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India, referenced Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, the founder of the People's War Group, and his wife Kondapalli Koteswaramma, the author of this book, her autobiography. Got to reading this right after, and it works well as a companion piece - a short, but revealing look at the complex layers of revolutionary politics. The moral failings, personal tragedies and persistent survival of its leaders and cadre, offer cautionary tales, but also a map of their passions.
The overarching theme here is the history of survival. Seetharamaiah abandons Koteswaramma in an act of infidelity, but she goes on living, raises her children, supports communist/people's movements, engages in cultural activities, works, endures so much grief, so much anger. The prose here is largely unsentimental, a by-the-numbers account (I often skimmed the flood of names and places, and other more monotonous and nondescript passages). But when Koteswaramma lets her emotions through, both implicitly and explicitly, the truth of her singularly painful, yet exemplary life reveals itself.

[Mohammad Rafay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief history on the life and struggles of Communists in India. Tells you about different sections of communists and their struggles for the egalitarian society.

[Pranuthi]

So moving