VIJAYAWADA: NAALO...Naatho... YSR (Within me...With me, YSR ) is a flow of thoughts bound in the form of a book, written by YS Vijayalakshmi, wife of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. In the book, Vijayalakshmi explains the life and times of the legendary leader and the turn of events in the aftermath of his death on September 2, 2009. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will release the book on July 8, the 71st birth anniversary of YSR. Perhaps, this is one of the rarest of the rare occasions, where a book written by the wife of a former Chief Minister is released by their son, in the capacity of a Chief Minister.
In the preface, Vijayalakshmi wrote, “I understand what the world knows about YSR, but in this book, I have written some facts about the great leader, which the outside world doesn’t know.” The book gives an inside account of how YSR had handled various responsibilities... as a son, father, brother, husband, son-in-law, fatherin- law, friend, leader... and how he used to mingle with them with ease.
The book is sprinkled with anecdotes of YSR’s life —his marriage at an young age, the circumstances then, how he earned the name ‘the poor man’s doctor’, his entry into politics, leadership qualities from student days, compassion towards the poor, his political life, education of children, their marriages, worship of God, Praja Prasthanam, his affection towards YS Jagan, YS Sharmila and YS Bharathi — and the complex situations that arose after his demise and the incidents that took place till Jagan took oath as Chief Minister.
“This book is an account of YSR’s life and his political journey and how he is still alive in people’s heart with his welfare schemes. His life was an open book and was dedicated to the Telugu people,” Vijayalakshmi wrote in the preface.