Even at the ripe age of 82 and in fragile condition of health, his day starts with a brief morning walk. Once back in his living room at his modest home, he picks up a book from one of those numerous ones sent by his family members and friends. Reading and writing are his two obsessions and he continues to do so, while recuperating from bad health and post COVID-19 complications.
This summarises Varavara Rao, the revolutionary poet, teacher, journalist, advocate of alternative people’s movements and intellectual.
Arrested on August 28, 2018 in the Elgar Parishad case, he was given medical bail on March 6, 2021, and it was only a few days back, considering his deteriorating health condition, that the Supreme Court granted him permanent bail on the same grounds. Love for literature and writing, irrespective of the language, had come to him quite naturally in his childhood, as being last among the 10 siblings (five sisters and four brothers), he was surrounded by books and publications. All his brothers were into some kind of writing.
