100^th Anniversary of Incomparable Ghantasala’s Birth

by Maanavseva team

The incomparable singer, musician, music director Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao was born on December 4^th, 1922. His evergreen songs and music in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada provide comfort and inspire millions. There is a Ghantasala song for every event, big or small, in one’s life. He was the eldest son of Rattamma and Soorayya of Choutapalli village in Andhra Pradesh.

Maanavseva, a Massachusetts non-profit that serves health and educational needs of the underserved in India, marked this joyous Centenary with a medley of his songs on the evening of December 3^rd at  Sai Temple in Groton, MA. About 200 people attended the event, which also raised some funds for Maanavseva. Many thanks to New England Shirdi Sai Parivar management and volunteers.

Lakshmi Dwivedula of Maanavseva welcomed the audience and thanked them for attending the first in-person Maanavseva event after Covid. Maanavseva did not sit still during Covid. More on that later.

Madhu Chary came up with the idea of singing Ghatasala songs. He assembled a talented team of singers who kept the audience engaged for over two hours with twenty songs. He offered a heart-felt homage to Ghantasala in chaste and lyrical Telugu. There were songs for every occasion and for every person. A person who attended the event said, “Ghantasala’s songs provided a soundtrack to my life. The singers today brought those memories alive for me.” The list of songs is given at the end.

The folks that regaled the audience with songs were Madhavi Achchi, Padmaja Bokkisam, Madhu Chary, Satya Kanakagiri, Vaishnavi Kondapalli, Manasa Parakala, Murthy Parakala, Mallik Paranandi, Aparna Pulya, Sastry Pulya, and Ramakrishna V.  A notable singer was the very young Kalyan Acchi – a sure sign that Ghantasala’s songs will live with us for years to come.

The event was emceed with elan by Smitha Chary, Shree Kagalkar, Radhika Goli, Arun Mulpur, and Sudha Mulpur. They gave the background for each song and stitched together the set of songs into one seamlessly connected flow of music.

There were two brief interludes.

During the first, Sastry Dwivedula of Maanavseva summarized the activities of Maanavseva. During the height of Covid, Maanavseva donated $10K to Association for India Development, Boston chapter. Maanavseva, along with three other organizations, TAGB (Telugu Association of Greater Boston), Big Help for Education, and Sruthilayalu, raised over $55K for Covid relief in India. Oxygen concentrators, PPEs, N-95 masks, Pulse Oximeters, and other equipment was directly sent to people and medical facilities in rural areas and small towns.

Maanavseva also organized cancer screening camps in several villages. Maanavseva has plans to support a school for children who are deaf, blind, or have special needs.

During the second interlude, there was a surprise guest of honor. Dr. Sujatha, daughter of Pendyala Nageswara Rao, the erudite music director for Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil films from 1948 to 1979, told the gathering about growing up just as the south Indian film industry was being formed in 1950s and 1960s. All the famous actors, singers, musicians, producers, and directors lived in T. Nagar neighborhood of Madras (now Chennai) as close-knit friends. Amongst her many well-received remarks, one that stood out was that if Ghantasala was a diamond, her father was the artisan who brought out the diamond’s sheen.

The event would not have been a success without the hard work and excellent results of the audio and video team of Murali Maqtedar, Ramkakrishna Penumarthy, and Surendra Madadi.

The many volunteers who worked over several weeks and during the event are Anvita Akella, Syamala Akella, Arushi Avadhanula, Srinath Avadhanula, Vidya Avadhanula, Madhu Chary, Sashanka Dwivedula, Radha Raman Gargeya, Ram Gurijala, Srinivas Kaki, Koteswara Rao Kandukuri, Sudhakar Madala, Aparna Pulya, Janardhan Sonthi, and Babu Tamisetti.

A vote of thanks to all who made the event possible was presented by Radha Raman Gargeya of Maanavseva.

The event concluded with a prayer and benediction by Aparna Pulya and Sastry Pulya.

As one drove away in the rain after the event, one of the songs “Bhale Manchi Roju, Pasandaina Roju” (What a beautiful day, what a pleasant day) was playing in one’s head, filling one with hope, joy, and gratitude.

Thank you, Ghantasala!

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