TELUSA Project - Andhras Abroad after 50 years of India' Independence

PALANA (nparinand@cas.org)
Wed, 9 Apr 1997 11:42:03 -0400 

   OK Chy. Prasad!

   I buy it! Hell with all Govts.

   I have 2 sincere questions now:

   1) Sentimentality: How do you convince that Central Govt. to treat all
		      languages equally?
		      Chy. Nyayapati Vasu already said it.
		      Could writing memoranda help?

   2) Individual/Team Efforts: I am now interested in Telugu
			       Scholars/Scientists/Artists/Philanthropists
			       outside of India. Biographies/Biographical
			       accounts of several of them are floating around.

			       What I suggest is - taking this 50th Independence
			       Anniversary as a chance, why don't we publish a
			       booklet. Are you there Kalisapudi garu.

			       To start with, Sri Jampala gAru started
			       (also ended when he ended his managing
			       editorialship) a series on those accoplished
			       Telugu Persons in the TANA patrika. Biographies
			       of famous Telugu Scholars/Scientists were
			       published. Similarly the America Bharati of ATA
			       covered some biographical sketches of Telugu
			       personalities in the US. US English News papers
			       like the India Abroad and News India Times cover
			       the biographies/achievements of noted Telugu
			       individuals. Souvenirs of Telugu Associations
			       (TANA, ATA, and local) time to time cover
			       biographies of several famous Andhra Biddalu
			       (like one of the TANA souvenirs I saw - on Sri SV
			       Rama Rao - painter/artist). All of us can collect
			       these biographical sketches by identifying these
			       accomplished people in our communities.

			       Let us then publish an issue.

			       In fact, I started a sereis on the SCIT 3 years
			       on Geniuses of Andhra Desa.
			       Sri Jampala saw that and encouraged me to
			       concentrate on those in the US. He even used to
			       force me (wake me up from my lazy prostrations)
			       to write for TANA patrika. Then I was interested
			       more on those accomplished in the US.

    If we don't talk about our own people who have accomplished a great deal,
    who will talk. Sri CR Rao garu is now past 70. I saw Sri PS Rao gAru at NJ a
    couple of weeks ago - Parinam S. Rao is know for his pioneering work on free
    radical involvement in ischemia/reperfusion injury of the myocardium. He had
    a stroke unfortunately and is confined to the wheel chair now. Sri Pemmaraju
    Venugopala Rao has done tremendous service to the theatre arts in the US and
    in fact was the founder of Telugu Bhasha Patrika (that was his brain
    chaild). The ATP man, Sri Yellapragada Subbarao, has become a house-hold
    legend among chemists, biologists, and biochemists throughout the world.
    Sri Raj Reddy of Pittsburgh is no match for another intelligent scientist in
    his own field. Sri Sistla Sree Rama Chandra Murthy has come up with another
    set of 700 kIrtanas and had already published 1100 Haridasa Sampradaya
    Kirtanas. Sri Tirumala Krishna Desikachary is not only a follower of potana
    in his poetry writing but also came up with an excellent Telugu Software
    called Potana. Sri Vemuri Venkateswara Rao garu, a scientist at work is a
    lover of literature and a writer during breaks who came up with a 2 volume
    Telugu-English and English-Telugu Techinical/Scientific dictionaries. Sri
    Veluri Venkateswaragaru, a nuclear scientist by profession, has the greatest
    indifatiguable tenacity of helping the poor, downtrodden and the least
    fortunate in India - thinks always about the India Literacy Project and does
    work accordingly. Sri Nori Dattatreyudu, a famous physician of New York, is
    also popular for his service to the human kind. Smt Varanasi Usha is a well
    known toxicologist who has been doing excellent work in the field.

    There are many unsung great Andhra people in the US alone. Similarly, one
    can collect biographies of legendary people in Canada, UK, Europe,
    Australia, South America, and other parts of Asia.

    One man can not do this. I tried to collect the biographies. I called
    people. Most of the times I get positive replies. Some times, those famous
    people, want to be in the dark. We have to bring them out on to the media.

    I always remember a story happened at the Andhra University as nerrated by
    my dad: Padmavibhushan Prof. Mamidipudi Venkatarangayya was being honored
    with an honorary doctorate and Dr. Sundararamarao was reading the citation.
    Sundararamarao said "By honoring Prof. Venkatarangayya, we are honoring
    ourselves."

    This is a life-time chance. By honoring our own famous Telugu persons here
    in the US and outside of India, we honor ourselves.

    We talk a lot of things on TELUSA and SCIT. May be it is time that we do a
    constructive project that everyone remembers and we enjoy doing it too.

    Any suggestions?


    --pAlana

    Disclaimer: Opinions are mine only.