Veturi Prabhakara Sastry Remembered On His 138th Birth Anniversary
As part of the celebrations, a literary seminar was organised, beginning with floral tributes to the portrait of Veturi Prabhakara Sastry: Reports
NELLORE: The 138th birth anniversary of eminent scholar Sriman Veturi Prabhakara Sastry was observed with academic grandeur at the Annamacharya Kalamandiram in Tirupati on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Dhulipala Prabhakara Krishnamurthy, special officer of the TTD Puranetihasa Project, described Veturi Prabhakara Sastry as a “Pragnya Prabhakarudu” — a luminary of profound intellect who followed a yogic path of discipline and determination.
He said Veturi’s yogic strength and unwavering resolve enabled him to produce an extraordinary body of literary and research work, resolving several complex scholarly texts.
As part of the celebrations, a literary seminar was organised, beginning with floral tributes to the portrait of Veturi Prabhakara Sastry.
Later, Prof. Remalla Venkata Rama Krishna Sastry, retired professor of the University of Hyderabad, delivered a lecture on “Brahmasri Veturi Prabhakara Sastry – A Multifaceted Genius”. He highlighted Veturi’s remarkable contributions as an epigraphist, literary researcher, linguist, yogi, poet and erudite scholar, noting that his versatile genius left an indelible mark on Telugu literary history.
In another session, Dr T. Rajasekhar, representative of the Oriental Research Institute of Sri Venkateswara University, spoke on Veturi’s contribution to the revival of Tallapaka poets’ literature. He said the compositions of Annamacharya would not have come to light without Veturi’s dedicated efforts and that even Tallapaka Timmakka, regarded as the first Telugu poetess, was introduced to the literary world through Veturi’s research.
He praised Veturi’s unwavering determination in bringing the entire Tallapaka literary corpus into the public domain.
Speakers also recalled Veturi Prabhakara Sastry’s invaluable services to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and his extensive research in bringing to light the devotional compositions penned by Tallapaka Annamacharya in praise of Lord Venkateswara.
Earlier in the day, floral tributes were paid to Veturi Prabhakara Sastry’s statues at the TTD Oriental College premises opposite Swetha Bhavan. The tributes were offered by Dr Medasani Mohan, special officer of the Annamacharya Project; Dr Seetaramarao, principal of SV Oriental College; Dr C. Latha, director of the Annamacharya Project; and faculty members.