He was the interpreter of Vinoba Bhave during his land reform movement in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Orissa.

He married outside his caste to Hemalatha Lavanam, daughter of noted poet Gurram Joshua, in 1960 at Sevagram.

[6] He and his wife worked to reform the Jogini system prevalent in Andhra Pradesh through their organisation, Samskar.

[7] Lavanam died on 14 August 2015, due to multiple organ failure at a hospital in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

[1] He wrote a petition to the Andhra Pradesh High Court for the inclusion of an atheist option in the Indian census.