TIRUPATI: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has said he will pen a book on the life of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly called as NTR, based on his personal experiences with the actor-turned-politician, after his retirement.The CJI will retire on August 26 after a tenure of one year and four months as the chief judge of the Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice was speaking as the chief guest at the centenary celebrations of the thespian and TDP founder-president ‘NTR’, jointly organised by NTR Sata Jayanti Utsav Samiti (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana), founded by former Union minister Daggubati Purandewari and Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, and Nandanam Academy at SV University auditorium here on Thursday. “Though NTR made an immense contribution to cinema, he was never awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award or Padma Bhushan. He deserved them more than anyone else. In fact, conferring these awards on NTR would have added to the reputation of those awards,” he said.
The CJI urged the State government and leaders, irrespective of party lines, to initiate measures in getting NTR the due recognition at the national and international levels. He also suggested the government to hold year-long Telugu Language and cultural festivals across the State as part of the centenary celebrations of NTR. “I fall short of words to describe the grandeur and the legacy of NTR. He left behind an eternal footprint in the hearts of Telugus, be it in politics, or cinema. I am doubtful that if I am qualified enough to speak about NTR, who is an ineffable personality,” said Justice Ramana.
“I admired NTR and had an opportunity to work with him during the early stages of my career. In the 1982 elections, I participated indirectly, but never indulged in direct party politics,” he recalled.He also recalled that he had argued on behalf of NTR in a case filed against him in the High Court in 1988 while he was a junior lawyer as directed by his seniors. “NTR was implicated in a false case and nobody from the law fraternity dared to take up the case. It was a black mark on the judicial system,” the chief justice noted.
Purandeswari said as part of the centenary celebrations of NTR, a year-long fete will be held in 12 centres across the two Telugu states. The samiti felicitated prominent figures G Damodara Naidu (literature), VR Rasani (theatre), Dvender Pillai (dance), G Balakrishna Prasad (classical vocal), M Sudhakar (mrudangam), Sakam Nagaraja (social service), G Jagadish (orthopaedics), V Vanaja (cardiology), Alladi Mohan (general medicine), G Venkataramana Raju and G Chengalrayulu (agriculture), N Muktheswara Rao (Retd. IAS), Amudala Murali (Avdhanam), V Uma, C Bhuvaneswari Devi (education) and SP Subramani (temple architecture).