Date:08/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/08/stories/2008070850010100.htm

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The reunion that was never to be

B.V.S. Bhaskar

IFS officer was to take his father to Delhi in August

TERRIBLE SHOCK: Appalacharyulu and wife Subhadra, parents of Venkateswara Rao, at their home in Rajahmundry.

RAJAHMUNDRY: “Nana, I am coming home in August to take you to New Delhi. We will live together happily,” were the words that Vadapalli Venkateswara Rao used over the phone while speaking to his father Appalacharyulu, a few days ago.

The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer was killed in a major blast in Kabul on Monday. His father Appalacharyulu has retired from the Health Department and is living in Lalacheruvu since the last 11 years.

He and his wife Subhadra are living a lonely life in Lalacheruvu housing board colony and were shocked to hear about their son’s death.

Venkateswara Rao, a batch-mate of IAS officer K.S. Jawahar Reddy and IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao, worked in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Washington D.C. and New Delhi. Only two years ago he went to Afghanistan.

“Most of my colleagues are not ready to go to Afghanistan. But we should not fear death,” Rao told his father before leaving for Afghanistan.

UoH product

Venkateswara Rao was born in Narsipudi village of Alamuru Mandal in East Godavari and studied till SSC here.

He did his post-graduation in the University of Hyderabad and was pursuing his Ph.D. in “India’s Relations with Asian Countries.” He married Malathi in 1993 and they have two children, Ankit (12) and Amulya (10).