Starting at the age of 12, she was involved in the Indian freedom movement and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
She worked towards improving the lot of women and encouraged them to actively participate in the freedom movement.
Varalakshmamma started her literary career with a series of articles in 1920, under a running title, Maa Chettuneeda Muchatlu, (Chatting in the shade of our tree), published in the Andhra Patrika weekly.
In this column, Varalakshmamma discussed important issues such as education for women, traditions, politics and current trends in various areas.
In these letters, Varalakshmamma discussed issues such as the Sarda Act, divorce law, the khadi movement, non-cooperation, erasing untouchability, unfounded customs, physical exercise, the changes implemented in measurements and weights and microphones.