The First Years

Sri Rayalu, eldest son of the legendary Telugu poet and writer Sri Viswantha Satyanarayana, was an auto-didact in classical Telugu literature and the Vedas and was a traditionalist. He was nevertheless quite tolerant of the radical departures which took over Telugu letters from the mid 1800’s on wards. His stewardship marked TELSA as a forum for small gatherings, often addressed by literary scholars, poets, dramatists, nearly all traditionalists, and an odd assortment of eminent visitors from other fields. Many of the men of letters were dedicated followers of Sri Satyanarayana and offered deep insights into his work.

When there was no visiting luminary, it often fell to local writers and Sri Rayalu himself to enliven these gatherings with their own offerings. Murali Chanduri was one of those. But the difference between their worldview could not be greater. Murali garu is an atheist and an iconoclast, irreverent of classical literature so suffused with religion, yet respectful of their poetic beauty wherever he could find it and he is totally preoccupied with contemporary concerns and the human condition. But in an odd twist, as he was leaving for India in 2006, never to return as it turned out sadly, Sri Rayalu and his wife Mrs.Kamala both asked Murali garu to take over TELSA and do with it what he would, but keep it going. Thus began the second and continuing chapter of TELSA.

Change of Guard

Just as in the first 8 years, we continued to hold literary gatherings where we have lively proceedings which in the most recent times have begun to inspire first-time writers. We have had these sessions as stand-alone events, as part of our camps in the woods or cook-outs in local parks attracting larger gatherings. We have also held many events showcasing local talent in drama, dance and music in the last 16 years. Many of our child participants are today young adults out of college, working or pursuing professional careers.

School Adoption

After extending a helping hand to over 425 rural high schools with various kinds of assistance we have decided to add one more approach to the package of initiatives we have been pursuing. We would pick two or three schools with a leadership firmly committed to the welfare and education of their students and adopt such a school for substantive physical and educational infrastructure building. The hope is that such a project, if successful, could be a source of transformation within a rural community and also lead to others adopting a somewhat similar approach.

As our first school, we selected Murikipudi in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh after we were convinced that we found a willing and competent partner in Mr.Karimulla Ghantasala, Head Master, Zilla Parishad High School. Mr. Karimulla impressed us when he completed an 11 page village survey and drew a conceptual developmental plan for the village in collaboration with his colleagues and select students and sent it with an application for bicycles for students of the school as required by us. Many others chose not to send the bicycle application because we made the survey and the plan, a requirement to consider them for bicycles.

Since then, he has reinforced our initial judgement during our multiple personal visits and phone conversations with his cost-saving efforts and diligent execution of the projects we funded. His willingness to go the extra mile has saved money in several projects.

Projects Completed

We have carried out the following projects at the school, so far.

• Making 2 classrooms of 8th grade into Digital-ready Classrooms for digital instruction using edutech software
• Wifi equipment and monthly fee for the school
• Spoken English classes with one full time teacher
• Distribution of re-usable sanitary napkins to girl students at school
• Construction of classrooms for expansion of school
• School Library and books
• Painting the school
• Repairs to the school’s building and electrical systems
• Fans in class rooms
• Benches in classrooms, chairs and tables for staff as needed
• Two sets of uniforms for 600 students
• Installation of a solar power plant to meet the school’s power requirements
• Installation of a water treatment plant with a chiller to provide clean drinking water
• Provision of snacks to students who are taking extra-classes after school hours.

Service for Literature, Drama

During pandemic, with outdoor activities restricted, we conducted “Rachayita tO mukhamukhi” (రచయితతో ముఖాముఖి) program on YouTube that introduced various story writers to the audience of Telugu story lovers. The uniqueness of the events is that the writer reads the selected story in his/her own voice and answers the questions on the story from audience and TELSA moderator.

TELSA, as part of 21^st anniversary celebrations in 2019, performed Gayopakhyanam (గయోపాఖ్యానం) drama by local talent and also gave a forum to “Inversion”, an English play written by Aditya Putcha. 

TELSA conducted competitions for Telugu stories, plays and poetry, and awarded considerable sums as prizes to encourage writers.