Sixty-year-old historian Emani Sivanagi Reddy has for long been a resource of culture, heritage, tradition and archaeology of Andhra Pradesh.
He has written over 88 books and more than 500 articles on history, culture, archaeology, Buddhism and tourism throughout his career in the Endowments, Archaeology and Tourism departments in the state.
His works on Buddhist archaeology and culture in Andhra Pradesh have won him national and international reputation and recognition. “I have dedicated my life to the society. I was a government servant for decades and I have the responsibility to continue my work of sharing information of our past,” says Reddy, who is currently the CEO of Cultural Centre of Vijayawada (CCV).
Emani Sivanagi Reddy has dedicated himself to the cultural heritage of the state through CCV, which was established following bifurcation of the state and is a creative platform for artists from various fields across the state. During his stint with the Endowments and Archaeology departments, Reddy had built over 100 temples and salvaged an equal number of temples from submerged areas at the Srisailam Hydro Electric Project.
The books, Evolution on Building Technology of Early and Medieval Period, Encyclopedia of Indian Temple Architecture among many others have earned him his reputation. He has also explored hitherto untapped cultural heritage across the state. “I have put all efforts into this work throughout my life,” he adds pointing to his books. “There are many ancient structures, idols and other works left unexplored in the state even today,” he says.
Reddy still hunts for prehistoric rock paintings, idols and other ancient works. Recently, he and his associates found rock paintings of lizards, dancing men, hunting tools and geometrical designs executed in ochre at Rukalabanda, a hillock in Anantapur district. Born in an agricultural family, Reddy pursued several degrees in history, archaeology and was conferred with the title Vastusilpavachaspati Vastu Vignani Dr V. Ganapati Sthapati.
It was he who verified the set of stone Buddha footprints found in Kadapa district by an APSRTC conductor and concluded that they belonged to 230 BCE–220 CE. He is now focusing on exploring ancient works that have gone unnoticed in the capital region of Amaravati. Reddy also verifies ancient works found by various archaeology enthusiasts across the state.
