The house constructed by the legendary writer and social reformer Gurajada Appa Rao in Vizianagaram nearly a century ago, should be taken over by the government and converted into a museum to perpetuate the memory of the great poet, said Telugu writers, representing various literary associations.
The indifference of Telugus towards the proposed sale of the house to a private party was ‘unfortunate’. The 150 birth anniversary of Gurujada, who was a contemporary of Rabindranath Tagore, was celebrated on September 21, 2012. Gurajada, who has made his mark as a writer at the world-level, doesn’t even have a memorial at the place of his birth, said writer Rama Theertha, speaking on behalf of the other writers.
He said that the State government could use part of the Rs.5 crore, announced by it during the 150 birth anniversary celebrations, to buy the house from the great grandchildren of the writer and convert the old building into a memorial. On the contrary, if the legal heirs sell the house to a private builder the century-old building, the construction of which was supervised by the great writer himself, would be lost forever.
“State’s neglect”
Mr. Rama Theertha said that Gurajada had taken personal interest in the construction of the house, which was next to the house where he had spent a greater part of his life. It was unfortunate that he died of some illness soon after the ‘grihapravesam’ of the new house. The government had conducted the 150 birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in a grand manner. Telugus had failed to get at least a postal stamp released in honour of Gurajada. It was all the more unfortunate that the works of the great poet were neither translated into English nor were published in Telugu by the Central Sahitya Akademy.
Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Botcha Satyanarayana, who hails from Vizianagaram district, should take special interest and strive for conversion of the house into a memorial on the lines of that in Tamil Nadu for poet Subramanya Bharathi. The lack of a memorial for Sri Sri, another great poet from Visakhapatnam, was also indication of the neglect of the government. Writers Adapa Ramakrishna, Chalasani Prasad, L.R. Swamy, Arunji and Kosana were present.
