No 5, Glenwood Road, Southboro, is an attractive home with lush green lawns and a lovely interior. This is the home of Mohan and Shama Nanapaneni who played the gracious hosts on a Saturday evening to a reception hosted by Telugu Association of Greater Boston (TAGB) to Tummala Nageswara Rao, Minister for Roads and Buildings, Andhra Pradesh, Sahiti Ghosti Avadani, Medasani Mohan and other distinguished guests. Ranjan Vadlapatla, President of TAGB greeted all the guests with his customary warmth and told Lokvani that the Minister had graciously agreed to specially pay a visit to Boston to greet the Boston Telugu community.

It is not often that one gets an opportunity to listen to a cultural event unique to the Telugu Heritage. Renowned Sahiti Ghosti Avadani Medasani Mohan kept the interest and the enthusiasm of the audience riveted with his wonderful introduction to the subject. Whether it was a narration of Sudama’s visit to Krishna and his symbolic offering of rice as a gift for their childhood friendship, or the greatness of Krishna Deva Raya’s literary and artistic achievements in the Vijayanagar empire, or the great Telugu Pottana poets rendition of his devotion of Lord Srinath in his version of Bhagavatham, it was indeed very special. Medasani Mohan related interesting anecdotes with knowledge and humor. His eloquence in Telugu literature and its articulation enthralled the audience. A rare treat indeed!

Ranjan Vadlapatla introduced Tummala Nageswara Rao and said that at the TANA conference he had extended an invitation to him to visit Boston. He also thanked the association members for the tremendous support. Mohan Nanapaneni who also hails from Khamman spoke on his association with Nageswar Rao and related his experience of setting up a school for children in that region. “I have often believed that Ministers do less and talk more,” he exclaimed, ”but the minister has proved me wrong. He is certainly a man of less words and more action”. “The government has been extremely encouraging and without any bureaucratic hassles we have in a matter of 41/2 months and after a budget of 90 lakhs been able to provide education to more than 1600 children”. He thanked the minister for this enthusiastic support.

The evening was topped off with a sumptuous and tasty Andhra dinner with Shama Nanapaneni playing the gracious hostess. People mingled around freely exchanging pleasantries and commenting on the excellent food. Although Dr. Sri Rayapati Srinivas, Ex ZP Chairman, Guntur (Dist) was to be present on the occasion, he was unable to make it due to health reasons but promised to visit Boston very soon. Krishna Prasad of UNI ads, a close friend was also present.

An informal chat with Tummala Nageswara Rao, Minister for Roads and Buildings, AP.

“I am indeed happy to be here at Boston. This is my first visit to the United States and to hear Medasani Mohan talk about KrishnaDeva Raya and others to such an appreciative audience is truly amazing. TAGB has been very kind to invite me and I am glad I came here. This is a home way from home and you all are responsible for making it so. This is a wonderful country and we can all adopt all the good points of this nation like their discipline and organizational structure. India, I maintain is the best for place for its culture and heritage. But we can balance it well to make it a better place.”

The NRI’s here are very supportive of making a difference in the issues facing India and I applaud them for doing this. I urge them to participate at every level and approach the government on any schemes that they have. We will match it up with our own support. The Janmabhoomi initiative is a scheme taken up by the government to develop the rural areas also.

I have visited the Telugu Association at LA, Detroit and Boston. They are doing a wonderful job in reinforcing the culture here to our present young generation. They definitely have a powerful role and should take up more focused initiatives rather than just have cultural programs and I hope that they will do that also. Thank you all for inviting me here.

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