Date:22/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/22/stories/2008012250590200.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Villagers pitch for Pingali Venkaiah

J. R. Shridharan

‘Tiranga Run will get him his due’

Elders inspiring youngsters to take part in the event
Villagers thrilled by prospect of VIP visit

BATTLAPENUMARRU: The hype and frenzy that Vijayawada is witnessing in the runup to the February 3 Tiranga Run is vividly missing at Battlapenumarru, the native place of Pingali Venkaiah, the architect of the national flag and in whose memory the event is being organised.

But the desire to make the event a grand success is palpable among the villagers. For them, recognition to Venkaiah is recognition to them and to Andhra Pradesh. “When Ravindranath Tagore, who penned the national anthem, can get so many accolades and recognition, why not Pingali Venkaiah?” the villagers question in unison.

“All political parties in the State have utterly failed to pitchfork the contribution of Pingali Venkaiah on to the national scene. Just because he was born in Andhra Pradesh, he could not get due recognition. We hope at least the Tiranga Run would get him his due. Putting his portrait in the corridors of Parliament will be a fitting tribute to the man who designed the tricolour,” felt R. Koteswara Rao, a farmer, when a group of reporters visited the village to sense the mood about the grand event being planned by Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal.

With just two weeks to go for the event, the elders in the village are inspiring the youngsters to take part in it in a big way. “A couple of meetings have been held and the message has already been spread among all the villagers,” said sixty-year-old Sambasiva Rao, who is planning to take part in the run carrying a huge cut-out of Venkaiah.

Mr. Rao said that the village had produced more than 50 non-residents Indians. “They all had their basic education in the high school here. Two Telugu films were also shot here, and they are the Akkineni Nageswara Rao-Vanisree blockbuster ‘Dasara Bullodu’ and ‘Kulaala Krukshetram’ with Daggubati Raja as hero,” he reminisced. Noted Telugu film producer V.B. Rajendra Prasad hails from this village.

The villagers are also thrilled at the fact that high-profile leaders such as Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi would descend on the village on February 3 to lay the foundation stone for a memorial for Venkaiah.