Dr Somaraju Suseela, a prominent social activist, well known entrepreneur, president of Social Cause and member of Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, passed away early this morning in Hyderabad after brief illness. She was 75.
A noted Telugu writer, Dr Suseela has millions of fans and has garnered a special place in the world of Telugu literature, being one of the rare women writers who wrote humour. Amiable, generous, intellectual and passionately committed to the Hindu cause, Dr Somaraju Suseela has truly left a void in the many public and private spheres of life that she had graced.
She also had the distinction of being the first woman in AP to get a Ph D in Chemistry and also the State’s first woman entrepreneur. The first woman Scientist entrepreneur headed the Bhagyanagar Laboratories, started by her in the year 1974.
Apart from managing the Unit, Dr. Suseela she devoted her time to a whole range of social activities. She was an active member in various organizationssuch as Indian Women Scientists Association, Chairperson – All India Manufacturers Organization etc. She encouraged budding entrepreneurs and has addressed them on various occasions in Institutes like NIMSME, Small Industry Service Institute, NIRD, NIN etc, as a Guest Speaker. She also conducted a National Conference for Women entrepreneurs at Tirupathi in the capacity of Convener and participated in various National Conferences for entrepreneurs giving valuable contributions through her paper presentation.
She was an active member of Voluntary Service Organizations. She served as prant sampark pramukh of Rashtra Sevika Samiti till 2014. She was an active member of “Aparajita Seva Samiti” a and “Rani Rudrama Devi Trust”. As President of the voluntary intellectual group Social Cause, she has organised innumerable sessions that contributed significantly to the right social narrative.
She worked as Vice-President of Tirumala Tirupati Samrakshana Samiti and President of Lioness District 324 – C2.
Dr. Suseela participated in numerous television shows and radio talks and spoke on various topics like women empowerment, education, entrepreneurship development etc. She contributed many short stories in Telugu weekly magazines on a variety of topics.
A very popular writer who presented familial and social issues with sensitivity and humour, she authored and translated many books:
Chinna Parisramalu – Pedda Kadhalu describing the present status of Small Industry in our country viewed from the point of an entrepreneur.
“Illeramma Kathalu” a biography of a small town girl. “Padha Darshini Sri Rama Katha – a translation of series of lectures on Ramayana by Smt. Lakshmi Bai Kelkar in Marathi to Telugu.
“Dharma Vijayam” – translation of Mahabharata by Prof. Sindhu Navlekar in Marathi to Telugu. “Deepasikha” – a collection of short stories in Telugu and Biography of eminent scientist Dr. Y.Nayudamma. She has also written a biography of the noted scientist Dr Nayudamma. She is survived by her husband Sri Ranga Rao Somaraju and two children.
