Desamante matti kaadoyi, desamante manushuloyi (A country is not made of land; a country is made of its people) are lines from Telugu patriotic song Desamunu Preminchumanna written by celebrated Telugu poet and social reformer Gurazada Venkata Apparao. These lines aptly describe reality of any city, especially Visakhapatnam — the biggest city in present Andhra Pradesh. The city gets its character from successful professionals who brought recognition to Visakhapatnam by excelling in their endeavour to make the society a better place to live.
The coffee-table book Visakha Sikharalu (Peaks of Visakhapatnam) is an attempt to provide a brief profile of all the people who provided the distinct social character to the city known for its resilience. All the 45 stalwarts featured in the book were either born here in Visakhapatnam District or migrated from elsewhere to settle here and make it their karma bhoomi.
Geographically Visakhapatnam city is surrounded by several peaks in the mountain ranges of Eastern Ghats and each peak houses an institution closely related to the social fabric of the place, guiding the people to desired goal. A lighthouse guides ships in the sea situated on the northern end of Visakhapatnam on Dolphin’s Nose — one of the peaks of the mountains rising from the Bay of Bengal, along which the city is located. The other peaks house a film studio, Simhachalam Nrusimhaswamy Temple, IT SEZ Park at Rushikonda, a Buddhist stupa at Thotlakonda and a tourist destination on Kailasagiri. Drawing a simile to these peaks, Visakha Sikharalu author M. Yugandhar Reddy features 40 great personalities of international and national fame in their own fields.
A former journalist, who had worked in several Telugu dailies, in the north Andhra Pradesh districts for three decades briefly described the life and work of people from fields as diverse as religion, cinema and sports. Some of those worth mentioning are that of environmentalist and former bureaucrat E.A.S. Sarma, who along with his wife are still active in preserving the environment and heritage of the city, vociferously protesting against any wrong-doing.
Others include the first Mayor of Vizag D.V. Subba Rao, also known for his eminence in the judiciary and a cricket administrator, whom residents held in high esteem till his death recently. Kandukuri Krishnamurthy — popularly known as Sivanandamurthy — a Godman with a simple living, who had a large following all over India finds mention in the book. A revolutionary writer and member of Virasam — Chalasani Prasad; Jansangh leader P.V. Chalapathi Rao former State BJP President and cricketer Y. Venugopala Rao, who played for Indian team are some of the prominent citizens, who find a place in the book. It’s been designed such that any lay man gets an idea about the people, who shaped the destiny of Visakhapatnam over the past 60 years.
It has interviews of cinema personality Puri Jagannadh, sculptor and painter of international repute Satyanarayana Patnaik; theatre personality B. Venkata Appala Naidu, director and actor S.K. Misra — who won several Nandi awards and A. Prasanna Kumar, a columnist and retired professor in Political Science. Several Tollywood heroes, like Pawan Kalyan and Ravi Teja, in the last two decades have been trained and mentored by one person Satyanand, again from this City of Destiny. A chat with these personalities made an interesting reading. A city is also known by the best practices that are being adopted worldwide. One such example is Kongara Ramesh, a progressive organic farmer who has grown mangoes of more than 100 varieties without pesticides or fertilizers. An attractive cover and crystal clear photographs are added attractions for the book.
Visakha Sikharalu
By Mallampati Yugandhar Reddy
Price : Rs. 300; 186 pp
Contact: 9848382508
