Old Telugu movie songs collection center at your doorstep

A treasure trove of Telugu songs

“Janaranjani”, an audio library named after the popular Telugu songs programme on All India Radio, is all set to offer full volumes of 3,500 old hit songs divided into 72 volumes.

Floated by music lover Goli Lakshmi Prabhakar alias Saibabu, the library has a collection of songs starting from 1931 when the Telugu film industry was in its nascent stage to 2010.

All the film songs were arranged in 72 volumes with 50 songs in each volume.

The “Janaranjani” — audio library grabbed everyone’s attention in just two years after an article was published in The Hindu in 2011 and Mr. Saibabu received calls from different parts of the World.

“Some Telugu people from US, New Zealand and Europe came to Rajahmundry for recording songs of their taste,” he says. Saibabu spends most of his time with vintage gramophone records and thousands of cassettes and compact discs in Janaranjani library. In his library, one can find a handbook ‘Janaranjani’ Part-3 ‘Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi'.

Golden hits

“I divided the period of 1931 to 2010 into three parts and started printing the data of Telugu film songs. First, I brought out the third part starting from 1989 to 2005,” says Mr. Saibabu. The book contains the title of the film, year, banner, producer, director, music director, hero-heroine, songs, lyric writer and playback singers. Except dubbed films, all films released in a year are recorded in the book and the same were collected in the shape of gramophone record or cassette or CD.

Website soon

Mr. Saibabu is all set to start a website by name Janaranjani in which he will provide all the details of 3,500 songs.

“Any one can walk into my library and order for collection of songs of their choice and taste. I will give it in a pen drive or CD format with 48 RPM (which means clarity of song and music with original track),” Mr. Saibabu said.

Contact 9390158999

Music lovers can contact him on mobile no. 9390158999 for getting copy of books in which he published all the details of 3,500 songs with lyric writer, film title, year of release, actors and first line of the song.

In process of transforming tribals...contribution of a teacher

 

 

School teacher, sarpanch transform village

A major transformation has taken place in this tiny village, 25 km from here, thanks to the efforts made by a former sarpanch and a government school teacher.

Snake catchers

Pamulametta, which lies in Jegurupadu Panchayat, is home to 70 families of ‘Yanadi’, a nomadic tribe that migrated from Nellore district about 90 years ago. They used to eke out a living by catching snakes and selling the skin in the market. But, after the Wildlife Conservation Act came into force and made sale of snake skin a punishable offence, they started catching venomous snakes from residential areas and releasing them in the wild.

Helping farmers

At present, the Yanadis are assisting farmers and agriculture officials in catching rats and they go wherever their services are required.Seven years ago, the government started a school in the village, but no student was enrolled as teachers refused to report to school due to difficulties in reaching there. Things changed after Chilukuri Srinivasa Rao, who won the best teacher award twice at the State level, opted to work in the Pamulametta school even after getting a posting in his native place.

Along with the then sarpanch, Y. Devadeevena Kumari, he started reforming the children. He engaged a barber and arranged hair-cut for all the 30 children who grew long hair in line with their family tradition. He also arranged clothes, notebooks and bags from donors.The teacher then brought out the latent skills in some children by making them draw pictures on the walls of the school and made this exercise a part of their curriculum.Within two years, there was a great transformation with the school wearing a clean and green look. Wall paintings were utilised to spread the messages of the importance of education, use of dustbin and abstaining from drinking. For their pioneering work Devdeevena Kumari got Nirmal Puraskar and the teacher and the school won laurels from former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

SHG started

With a vast majority of the men shunning liquor, the village is poised to become liquor-free. Not to be left behind, the women started a self-help group recently and also thrift activity. The school won the Best School Award recently in the district and in the days to come, might win another award from the Government of India.

SBI CASH ROBBERY CASE

Major Breakthrough in SBI cash robbery case by police

The Rajahmundry urban police have made a breakthrough in the robbery of Rs.7.31 crore in cash belonging to the State Bank of India and taken two prime suspects into custody.

According to highly placed sources, a police team went to Kunta on the border of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh from where one of the suspects hails, and also to Bhadrachalam, to establish the antecedents of the second suspect. However, it is learnt that the bundles of currency were carried by miscreants in five to six bags in a Bolero van around in the wee hours of Monday.

In the sensational robbery, miscreants took away Rs. 7.31 crore cash belonging to the SBI after murdering P. Srinivas, employee of Scientific Security Management Services Limited (SSMSL).

Police had come to the conclusion that it was an inside job and interrogated all the 10 employees of SSMSL, including the driver, Pilaka Ramana Reddy. During the interrogation, it came to light that Sai Prasada Reddy, son-in-law of the driver worked as branch in-charge, was absconding from Sunday night. Sai Prasad Reddy had quit SSMSL three months ago. It was learnt that Reddy along with another former employee, Jagadeesh of Bhadrachalam, who was bag-carrier, might have hatched the plan and implemented the same with the help of some outsiders, who are having experience in house-breakings and murders.

Police are also looking into the angle whether Srinivas was killed following a dispute over sharing of the huge cash among the miscreants. The miscreants took all precautions to distort evidence from the scene of offence, but failed to take the cellphone of Srinivas which was found in his pocket. The police tracked the call record and proceeded further with the help of the record to nab the suspects.

Bid to suppress evidence

The police investigation had gone into some important areas, including the knees of Srinivas’ body were touching the floor when he was suspended from ceiling, fingerprints on a chilli powder packet that was left in one of the rooms, iron box, in which the keys of iron safe were kept and the box was cut with the help of gas-cutter and history of prisoners who were released recently on parole or after completion of punishment.

INTERESTING CRIME

Police close to solve Bank heist case

The Rajahmundry Urban police have almost solved the sensational Rs. 7.31-crore robbery case, having taken into custody one of the prime suspects-- Sridhar Reddy -- Kakinada branch in-charge of Scientific Security Management Services Limited (SSMSL), and getting vital information. Another suspect -- Sai Prasad Reddy-- who was removed as branch in-charge of SSMSL, Rajahmundry, is still at large and the mystery will be solved if he is arrested.

In the sensational crime that sent shock waves across the city, robbers took away cash belonging to the SBI after murdering P. Srinivas, employee of SSMSL, who was safeguarding the money, on Sunday night.

Now, the police are focussing on two important aspects of the case -- whether Srinivas committed suicide or was eliminated by the Sridhar Reddy-Sai Prasad Reddy gang and whether the cash was knocked away at a time or in instalments during the last few months. “If these two things are cleared, we can furnish the details of the case,” said SP T. Ravikumar Murthy on Wednesday. It was revealed during the investigation that passion for film production had driven the suspects to commit the crime. Sridhar Reddy and Sai Prasad Reddy, who are cousins, entered into the film field last year and invested Rs.1 crore on their own and borrowed huge amounts from private film financiers. The gang produced a Telugu film- “Ee Prema Lo…” - which is scheduled for release on July 12. When the financiers started pressuring the gang to clear their debt, the duo along with some SSMSL employees hatched the plan to rob the money.

Move to sell Havelock bridge kept in abeyance

The Railway Board’s much-criticised move to sell the Havelock Bridge has been kept in abeyance. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday asked board officials to first conduct a proper review.

Congress MP from Rajahmundry Vundavalli Arun Kumar told The Hindu he he had talked to Union Minister for Railways Mallikharjuna Kharge on Sunday and apprised him of the public sentiment against the Board’s decision to dismantle the bridge and sell the steel.

Build-Operate-Transfer
Mr. Arun Kumar said the State government wanted to lease the bridge’s ownership rights under a public private partnership. He said he would speak to the Union Tourism Minister and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister to take up the Havelock Bridge as a tourism project under Build-Operate-Transfer system.

Robbers pull off sensational heist in Rajahmundry

Cart away Rs. 7.35 cr. after killing security agency employee

In a sensational crime that sent shock waves across Rajahmundry city in East Godavari district, robbers took away Rs. 7.35 crore cash belonging to the State Bank of India after murdering an employee of Scientific Security Management Services Limited (SSMSL), who was safeguarding the money.

The heist was pulled off from a private house in RV Nagar in the centre of the city and very close to Rajahmundry Central Jail where the cash had been kept. The security agency was tasked by SBI to load cash in all its 20 automatic teller machines (ATMS) in the City on a daily basis. SSMSL had taken has taken this work on lease from Tata Securities, Superintendent of Police, Rajahmundry Urban, T. Ravikumar Murthy, said The robbery came to light on Monday morning when a security guard -- Srimannarayana of SSMSL -- opened the office and found the body of Pouroju Srinivas (29), an employee, suspended from a ceiling fan, giving an impression that he had committed suicide. The lockers in the office were broken open. He immediately informed his office.

K. Anil Kumar, DSP, Crime along with Clues team and Dog Squad reached the spot around 12.30 p.m. and brought down the body of Srinivas. The police personnel found a serious injury on his neck, apparently caused by a sharp edged weapon. The criminals took all the precautions to evade detection. They first covered all the surveillance cameras and then sprinkled chilli powder on the premises to make it difficult for sniffer dogs to trace their route. Police have launched a massive manhunt and sent the body Srinivas for post-mortem. The SP said that it is sheer negligence on the part of the SSMSL that they kept the lockers containing crores of rupees in a private house without proper security and without prior information to the police. SBI Chief Manager. K. Chittibabu also described it as a grave lapse on the part of the security agency and added that the SBI had insured the cash.

According to initial information, police believe that it is an inside job and have begun interrogation of the staff of the security agency.

Public pressure puts the brakes on railway plan to sell bridge as scrap

Pressure from the public and political parties has forced the Railway Board to keep in abeyance its decision to sell as scrap the 116-year-old bridge across the Godavari here.

Only last week, local MLA R. Suryaprakasha Rao of the Congress issued a statement that he was informed by the General Manager, South Central Railway, of the Board’s decision to dismantle the historic Havelock Bridge and sell the steel as scrap through auction.

Stoutly opposing the decision, political parties have even chalked out a plan of agitation. An all-party meeting, which was not attended by representatives of the ruling Congress, set July 1 as the deadline for the Andhra Pradesh government to make a statement that it would take all steps to protect the bridge.

In the absence of official confirmation, different versions are doing the rounds about the Railway Board’s plans vis-à-vis the bridge. According to one version, the Railways are keen to hand over the bridge to the State government. In a letter to N. Srinivas, president of the Rajahmundry Chamber of Commerce and member of Zonal Railway Consumers Committee, Principal Chief Engineer, Works Division, South Central Railway, Secunderabad, has said: “The Ministry of Railways has decided to hand over the old railway bridge across the Godavari to the State government on fulfilling the conditions of payment by the State government. The State government is yet to accept the terms advised by the Railway Board.”

In April 2010, Vundavalli Arun Kumar, Congress MP, appealed to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in Parliament that the Havelock Bridge be converted into an integrated tourism development project. Following this, the Municipal Corporation of Rajahmundry passed a resolution offering to pay Rs.10 lakh as deposit for handing over the bridge. On its part, the State government agreed to pay Rs.1 lakh per annum to the Railways for a 50-year lease. When contacted by The Hindu , Additional Divisional Railway Manager Subbarao, said he had no information about any move to auction the bridge.

Havelock Bridge back in focus again

"National monument status for the grand old structure has been a long-standing demand"

Will the historic Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock Bridge across the Godavari be declared a national monument? The issue, which has been hanging fire for long, has come to the fore again, as Union Minister of State for Railways Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy is going to inspect the bridge on Saturday.

Timeline
For those who have little knowledge about the bridge, a look at the timeline presents some interesting facts. In January 1897, a survey was undertaken in the Godavari Basin to explore the possibility of constructing a bridge across the river by British Chief Engineer F.T.C. Walton. Five acres of land was identified between Kovvuru and Rajahmundry, where water flow was less. A local contractor was tasked with executing the project under the direct supervision of Walton.

The entire consignment of cement needed was brought by ship from England and workers were sourced from Europe and Punjab. A total of 54 spans were laid in an extent of 23,000 square feet. The British government sanctioned an amount of Rs. 50,40,457 for construction of the bridge. The actual expenditure incurred was only Rs. 46,89,849. The morality of the contractor deserves special mention. He had returned the excess amount of Rs.3,50,698.

Governor of erstwhile Madras State Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock opened the bridge to train traffic on August 6, 1900. The Madras Mail between Madras and Howrah was the first train to run on that day.

After serving the Indian Railways for over a century, the bridge was abandoned. When I.K. Gujral was the Prime Minister, president and secretary respectively of the Andhra Kesari Yuvajana Samiti Y.S. Narasimha Rao and Veerla Ravibabu undertook a fast demanding that the bridge be declared a national monument.

Later, when Congress came to power in 2004, MP Vundavalli Aruna Kumar and MLA Rowthu Suryaprakasa Rao took up the issue at the government level. Jakkampudi Rammohana Rao, who was then R&B Minister, took the initiative to make the bridge a tourist spot. The municipal corporation, during the tenure of M.S. Chakravarti as Mayor, passed a resolution expressing its willingness to take up a beautification project. It had even expressed its readiness to pay some amount as lease to the Railways. Later, when Anam Ramnarayana Reddy was Minister for Information and Tourism, Mr. Suryaprakasa Rao took up the issue with him. Mr. Ramnarayana Reddy visited the bridge along with Mr. Aruna Kumar and Mr. Suryaprakasa Rao.

The Minister had then said that the Railway Ministry had agreed to hand over the bridge to the Tourism Department on an annual lease of Rs.1 lakh. Consultants were appointed to construct a pedestrian pathway to enable tourists take a stroll. The Minister had even told the Assembly that the Havelock Bridge would be handed over to the government for maintaining it as a national monument.

It is now up to Mr. Suryaprakash Reddy to make the dream project come true.

Delta ryots express adoration for ‘Apara Bhageeratha’

The ‘Apara Bhageeratha’ of Krishna and Godavari delta region of the state, Sir Arthur Cotton, continued to get the same adoration and affection of thousands of farmers of East and West Godavari districts, which was again and again witnessed on his 210th birth anniversary on Wednesday. Overwhelmed by a deep sense of gratitude for his invaluable contribution to the irrigation system in the region, people from different walks of life joined the celebrations as a thanks-giving gesture.

The engineering prowess of Sir Arthur Cotton during the 1850s had given an everlasting boon to farmers of the delta, which are called rice bowls of Andhra Pradesh. Born on May 15, 1803, the ‘Apara Bhageeratha’ had a museum and some 3,000 statues all over East and West Godavari districts. The tomb of Cotton’s daughter, who died during the construction of the bridge, due to snakebite, and was kept near Chitrangi guesthouse in Rajahmundry is in a dilapidated condition.

The Irrigation Department celebrated the occasion at its office at the barrage at Dowleswaram, which he built in 1852 against odds to herald prosperity and green revolution in the Godavari delta region. The Engineers Federation undertook service activities across the district.

At Dulla village, Kanda Bhaskar Reddy performed Abhishekam to Cotton’s full size statue in the village with milk and paid rich tributes along with hundreds of farmers. During the function Mr. Reddy said that the imposing barrage at Dowleswaram, with two head sluices on either side and several under sluices, stands testimony to Sir Arthur Cotton’s vision. However, he expressed his dissatisfaction over not having any documentary on Cotton at his historic Museum in Dowleswaram for display for the benefit of visitors. He also pointed out that the guesthouse on Bommuru hilltop, the place where Sir Arthur Cotton took rest during the construction of work was also neglected on the grounds of owning the responsibility that means whether it should be owned by Tourism or Information or R and B or Archaeology or Engineering Head Works Department of Dowleswaram.

On the other hand, Lieutenant Murthy Jasti of River Bay Resorts distributed sarees to wives of Laskhars who are working in Irrigation Head Works at Dowleswaram and the bust size statue of Cotton was inaugurated in the Irrigation Circle Office by the Engineers.