With their aspiration for a direct train service between Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry set to become a reality, the Telugu-speaking community in Puducherry celebrating the golden jubilee celebrations of the Andhra Maha Sabha had another reason to rejoice.
Lok Sabha Member of Parliament R. Radhakrishnan said that with the completion of the track doubling work in the Chennai to Villupuram section, the route for the Circar Express running from Egmore in Chennai to Kakinada Port Railway Station (close to Yanam) will be extended up to Puducherry. The celebrations were attended by N. Chinarajappa, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament N. Gokulakrishnan.
Around 700 people from the Telugu-speaking community and other cultural organisations and guests attended the programme.
Mr. Chinarajappa expressed his happiness about the Sabha and its activities and said it had led by example.
Mr. Rangasamy said Puducherry was a place of several languages and people and praised Telugu and Telugu people for the work they had done in building Puducherry. He cited poet Bharathiar who had referred to Telugu as ‘Sundara Telugu’.
Mr. Gokulakrishnan said that several of Puducherry’s freedom fighters including R.L. Purushothama Reddiar, V. Venkatasubba Reddiar and Muthukomarappa Reddiar were Telugu-speaking people.
“The celebrations were a grand success. We were appreciated by other cultural organisations. My father had always wanted harmony between different cultures and this is what was seen here,” said Dr. Nallam V., president, Andhra Maha Sabha and son of Dr. Nallam Satyanarayana who founded the Sabha.
The Bhaskara Kala Samrajyam put up a performance from the mythological drama Sri Krishna Tulabharam in the traditional style.
There were also other traditional Telugu cultural programmes like the Kuchipudi dance.
With one of its enclaves, Yanam, being located inside Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry has more than 50,000 Telugu-speaking people, including a student population of around 5,000.
The Andhra Maha Sabha, founded by Dr. Satyanarayana in 1965 began with ten members. It now has 400 members and is open to all who have a love for the Telugu language and culture.
