Not that Jampala gaaru needs my corroboration but.. yes, it is incorrect
to say beenaa dEvi is bhaagavatula narasimhaaraavu. From an interview I
read long time ago on beenaa dEvi, I thought the couple themselves felt
THEY were 'beenaa dEvi'. In fact, in that interview (actually, it could
be an essay on b.d.), they explain the reason they used a pseudonym. I
believe, when they started writing, sri raavi Sastry was a major
inspiration for them and they wanted to write in his style. At the same
time, they were too diffident and wanted to hide behind a pen name just in
case they attracted raavi Sastry's (they were acquaintaces) ridicule. But
it wasn't long before raavi sastry found out and congratulated them. (I
remember there was a debate on SCIT long time ago - back when I used to
have a positive utility for SCIT - with several people claiming b.devi was
female and an equal number claiming s/he was a male.)
I don't know if the couple collaborated on every thing they wrote but my
guess is at least the _bootu saametalu_ must have come from the
judge-gaaru :-)
Oh, by the way, I vaguely remember they lived in one of the coastal towns
- kakinada or bandar - and not in guntur. am I wrong?
regards,
- rao