Pithapuram Colony: cultural hub of the city of destiny

The colony comes alive in the evenings especially the road leading to Kala Bharathi

Pithapuram colony off the Maddilapalem crossroads is a busy locality with the National Highway No 5 passing by it. As one enters the lanes and by-lanes of Pithapuram silence takes over and one gets lost in the stillness that pervades the area most of the time. The colony comes alive in the evenings especially the Maddilapalem road leading to the Kala Bharathi Auditorium, the cultural hub of the area.

It was originally called Journalists Colony as the Town Planning Trust (TPT) of yesteryears (which subsequently graduated into Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority) allotted sites for print media reporters and some of the remaining houses built by TPT were given to other applicants in general category. The distinct identity of being the media colony is maintained with the presence of offices of media houses and publication centres. The media street is bright with lights on and lively until 2 a.m every day. In the neighbourhood of the media square in the silence of the night one can hear the sounds of the machines rolling out newspapers and the paraphernalia of packing and dumping into the waiting transport for reaching the readers far and near.

Another happening place in the area is the Kala Bharathi Auditorium, a cultural hub, always teeming with life in the evenings.

Apart from the ‘rasikas’ who converge there to attend cultural shows, the youth of the area land up there in the evenings to enjoy the hot masala stuff, fast foods, hot jilebis and the hot chaat and noodles. A long row of push carts lined up to the auditorium caters to the floating population. But for the Kala Bharathi, the colony would have gone into sleeping mode from 8 p.m.

Pithapuram VUDA Colony Residents Welfare Association president K.Vijaya Kumar said that life in the colony is a comfortable experience. Life is peaceful in the colony. The presence of Maddilapalem bus complex and CMR Shopping Mall is of immense benefit to the residents.

Dr.K.Sujatha, a noted medical practitioner, says that the Rytu Bazaar caters well to the colony residents. Further, all commercial complexes are at a stone’s throw. The colony has a park which is being developed by the Association. Walking track for senior citizens, tree plantation and fencing of the park are the programmmes undertaken, says Vijay Kumar.