This tiny concrete structure at Ramapuram village of Nandivada mandal is the place where thespian Akkineni Nageswara Rao spent his childhood days in the early 1900s. A few buffaloes would be tied in front of the house while the farm area is abuzz with activity all through the year.
Now, after decades, the house, owned by a farmer Chalamala Satyanarayana, looks the same. Satyanarayana inherited the house from his ancestors who apparently bought it from the family of ANR. “Since morning, there has been a steady stream of people coming here, with a fond hope of finding some remnants of ANR’s childhood. “All we could do is take the visitors inside the house and show them around. We also showed them the banks of Budameru canal, ANR’s favourite hang-out. This is where he would go to tend his cattle and he loved spending leisure time here,” says Satyanarayana’s son Ch. Ranga Rao. Kakarala Lakshminarayana, a villager, bought the house from ANR’s family in 1950 and lived there for the next 10 years. In early 60s, family of the present owner acquired the house in a dilapidated condition. “In 1966, we re-built a thatched house at the site, taking every care to retain its original look. This was essential to keep the memories of ANR intact. By owning this plot, we feel having a strong bond with ANR. By changing it into a modern structure, we did not want to break this bond.
ANR visited the village in early 2000 for the last time and had many development plans for his village, they said.
