The Bungler

This Telugu classic in included in Masterpieces of Indian Literature, compiled by the National Book Trust, India. Written shortly before the political decolonization of India in 1947, when all values were simmering in a cauldron, Gopichand created a unique character: Sitarama Rao jolted the Telugu readers. Heir to a feudal order, the anti-hero is lost in theoretical thinking and cannot cope with the harsh realities around; he goes mad and kills himself. Admirers have compared his madness to that of King Lear and Hamlet; while critics carped on the novel’s echoes to Gorki.

This is the first psychological novel in Telugu literature. It is symbolic, selective and representational in treatment, and poses social, political and spiritual issues in a haunting manner.