Vangara (AP), December 23
A pall of gloom descended on this sleepy village, the place where former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao spent his childhood.
The villagers turned emotional when they heard the loss of their ‘Telugu Bidda’
(son of the soil). On hearing the news of his passing away at New Delhi, people and village elders gathered near his house, which they call ‘Gadi’ (a fort like structure) in Telugu.
The Gadi, which is the ancestral house of Mr Rao, has 12 rooms. However, nobody stays there now.
Mr Rao was born in Lakhnapally village in Narsampet Taluk of Warangal district on June 28, 1921, to Ruknabai and Seetha Rama Rao.
He was given in adoption to his uncle Ranga Rao, who was issueless. Pamulaparty Venkata Narasimha Rao, as he was rechristened, shifted to his adopted village Vangara, in the adjoining Karimnagar district, where he spent his childhood.
The tearful villagers gathered near the Gadi to reminisce their happy days in the village during Mr Rao’s stay there. Joleti Komaraiah and his brother Badraiah who are in their late seventies, told UNI that they were very close to Mr Rao’s family. They refer to him as dora (landlord).
‘’Our dora did many good things to Vangara village. He donated his land to build a school building, one hospital, primary health centre and kalyana mandapam. In his land also one electrical sub-station was set up and a Dalit colony was also built,’’ they said.
The villagers said that their dora not only brought the Land Ceiling Act but also gave away his own land. They told UNI that Mr Rao save away 1,150 acres to the villagers, out of his total holding of 1,200 acres.—
UNI
