HYDERABAD: Former Telugu University vice-chancellor Acharya N. Gopi released ‘Megha Patham’, an anthology of poems written by Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy in Madhapur on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Acharya Gopi said, “Only a few people have the skill of turning their dreams into reality and N.V.S. Reddy is one such person. His resilience and will power helped him wade through a web of crisis. He never lost steam midway in his endeavour to complete his mission. It was a 12-year struggle that finally has come out today in the form of an autobiographical collection of poems. I have observed that NVS was always focused on clarity and there was no confusion in his attitude that was very down to earth. I would term this book as a projection of emotions in a nutshell.”
Chief guest K.I. Varaprasad Reddy, chairman, Shantha Biotech, said, “I don’t think that anyone other than NVS could handle such a mammoth (Metro Rail) project of `22,000 crore. I have known him closely and vouch for his capabilities. Despite all kinds of pressure, he has emerged a winner. His engineering and poetic skills are indeed a rare combination that helped him to make the Metro Rail of Hyderabad a better patch than Charminar”.
Sharing his view on his poetic venture, N.V.S. Reddy said, “I have heard people saying that they were envious of NVS (in a lighter vein). My entire Metro journey right from dealing with the workers, scientists, architects, engineers, politicians, lawyers, religious leaders, activists and residents to bureaucrats, has been interwoven with a romantic and scholarly touch in this book.”
“It is easier to write 2,600 books than to install 2,600 (Metro Rail) pillars. Though I call the Metro Rail my baby, at the end of the day it was teamwork in PPP mode (public private partnership) from conception to implementation,” Reddy said. “I used to write poetry in college. Now 40 years later, I have revived my passion and put all my trials and tribulations, struggles and achievements in a poetic form. This could probably be a case study for students of management,” he added.
