Andhra Pradesh: Post-retirement, CJI to write a book on his association with NTR

Year-long birth centenary celebrations of NTR inaugurated

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana has hinted at plans to write his autobiography post-retirement, with a sizeable portion of it allocated to his admiration for and association with the former Chief Minister of the combined Telugu States the late N.T. Rama Rao.

Speaking after formally inaugurating the year-long birth centenary celebrations of NTR at a function organised by Nandanam Academy here on Thursday, he recalled several anecdotes from the day he had enrolled himself as an advocate till the late 90s, all of them linked to the matinee idol-turned-politician. Referring to those in the political and legal spectrums identifying him as ‘NTR’s man’, Justice Ramana said he had always felt proud of such a reference, amid thunderous applause from the audience.

Referring to his association with NTR right from the latter’s formative days as a politician in the early 80s, Justice Ramana recalled how his proximity with the top leader helped him gain access to the TDP’s internal meetings, even while maintaining a safe distance from the political developments.

NTR’s daughter Daggubati Purandeswari, who presided over the event, called Tirupati as the ‘Karma bhoomi’ from where her father launched his political career. She also observed that NTR had a lot of faith and reverence to Sri Venkateswara, and hence the decision to kickstart the series of events from here.

A group of scholars led by noted litterateur Medasani Mohan performed ‘Avadhanam’ themed on NTR. Justice Ramana later felicitated prominent personalities like G. Damodara Naidu (literature), V.R. Rasani (theatre), Devendar Pillai (dance), Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (classical vocal), M. Sudhakar (Mrudangam), Rashtriya Seva Samithi and Sakam Nagaraja (social service), G.Jagadish (orthopaedics), V.Vanaja (cardiology), Alladi Mohan (general medicine), G.Venkatramana Raju and G. Chengalrayulu (agriculture), former bureaucrat N. Muktheswara Rao (administration), Amudala Murali (Avadhanam), academicians V. Uma and C. Bhuvaneswari Devi (education) and ‘Sthapathi’ P. Subramani (temple architecture).