The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Direct descendent to see it all

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Direct descendent to see it all

P. Samuel Jonathan

Octogenarian Ghantasala Seethamahalakshmi the sole survivor of Pingali Venkaiah’s immediate family is enthusiastic to participate in the event

Ghantasala Seethamahalakshmi

MACHERLA: She was born in 1922, a year after her father Pingali Venkaiah designed the tricolour at the Congress Working Committee in Vijayawada. Much water has flown under the bridge since then and the memory of Pingali Venkaiah had all but faded. But, 86-year-old Ghantasala Seethamahalakshmi will live on and be part of the excitement at the prestigious Tiranga Run, being held in Vijayawada on Sunday to recapitulate the glorious contribution of her father to the nation.

The sole survivor and direct descendent of the great patriot, Seethamahalakshmi is living peacefully with her second sonin Macherla. An ardent devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba, she spends most of her time in devotional musings.

She looks frail, but the octogenarian shows a remarkable presence of mind and memory as she recollects the memorable times she shared with her father.

``My father never sought power, fame and recognition. He spent his last days in utter penury in a thatched roofed house at Chittinagar in Vijayawada, while my mother spent years at a ‘satram’. But we had never knocked at the doors of anyone. I am happy that at least now efforts are being made to recognise a true son of the soil and I thank Vijayawada Member of Parliament L. Rajagopal,” she said.

On Thursday, she received a formal invitation from the MP to grace the Tiranga Run along with the members of her family.

Interesting fact

She was forced to come out of oblivion ten years ago, when two women declared themselves as Venkaiah’s daughters and tried to seek Government aid. “I could not take it any longer. It was an insult to my father’s legacy and I decided to put up a fight,” she recollects.

“I want the statute of my father to be installed in the Parliament, lessons on his life to be introduced in text books and request the Government to award Bharat Ratna,” she signs off.

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