In it, he vividly mentions how he suffered beatings from his father and how his mother, residing at her parents’ home (in Tenali) even after getting married and starting a family with her husband, who belongs to Valluripalem of Krishna district, had to face a flurry of insults.
Writing an autobiography and telling my story shamelessly is not a matter to be excused [...]" Gudipati Venkata Chalam was born on 18 May 1894 in Krishna district in India.
Besides this, the manner in which his sister "Ammanni" (Venkata Ramanamma, Dulla) was coerced into an arranged marriage also made him concentrate on the difficulties that women faced in society.
At that time, he was attracted by the preachings of Raghupati Venkata Ratnam Naidu—a social reformer and the founder of Brahma Samaj in Andhra Pradesh.
Chalam stopped wearing the sacred thread (Yagnopaveetham) and started incorporating non-vegetarian food into his diet (Brahmins were strict vegetarians).
After completing his studies in Madras, Chalam joined in a job as tutor in Kakinada and started participating in the Brahma Samaj activities.
About his job, Chalam wrote in his famous book "Musings" (in Telugu language) (Page 72, 5th Print in 2005) as follows: I am a stone, slave of the government, school inspector and for the poor mice like teachers, I am the cat.
The novel Maidanam made an indelible mark on the reader for its free and frank way of expression, the relationship between man and woman disregarding caste and creed.
For example, the film Grahanam opens with a recitation of a quote ``ఎదో ఒకటి నిజమనుకోకపోతే శాంతి లేదు" meaning "There is no scope for peace without agreeing on an ad-hoc truth".
Although Chalam is not quoted in common parlance compared to how often dialogues from contemporary cinema popup in and outside the internet, there does exist a niche audience and readership that can recognize his quotations.