HINDU story

when my first book, kolla mangaram and few others realeased in the midst of people, Hindu news paper carried a report on friday may 6th 2005

FULFILLING MISSION

One for the common man

K.V.S. Madhav

Kandukuri Ramesh Babu's write-ups are based on the lives of unsung heroes and the values for which they strive despite odds

HIS SMILE SAYS IT ALL: Kandukuri Ramesh Babu with Ilaiah. - Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

Hyderabad: Chicken shop owners of the twin cities and neighbouring districts dote on this commercial artiste. They would not start their business without his painting of the chicken's head! Trust a man to be known by his work and this chicken painter is popular as `Kolla' Mangaram!

Gudikada Chinna Ilaiah lives next to the Ganesh temple near the Secunderabad railway station.

This common man repairs flat tyres, slips into a khaki shirt and controls traffic on the busy road - even the dreaded rodeos of RTC dare not break the rule when he is around - and survives on tea, all of 60 cups a day. Ilaiah (64) eats once a week and urges people not to tell lies, whatever is the desperation.

"These are people without visiting cards, without bylines. They live in anonymity, unseen, unheard and fade away unsung. I want to give them their well-deserved place under the sun, that too when they are alive. The happiness in their eyes seeing their names and stories in print is immeasurable," says vernacular journalist, Kandukuri Ramesh Babu.

Babu captured the lives of ordinary men and women in his series of write-ups in a vernacular daily and brought out the stories in a book form and aptly named it `Kolla Mangaram Mari Kondharu' (Kolla Mangaram and a few others).

"He is the catalyst for my book," says Babu.

Kolla Mangaram died in a road accident and his wife's appeal for compensation was in the court.

"Based on my write-up, I was asked to endorse his credentials for clearance of compensation. I hit upon the idea of the book and wanted to give the first copy to the judge. It was readied, but the hearing got postponed. Mangaram's father received the first copy and was reduced to tears."

If highlighting the lives of the commoners as they were in all the greys and rainbow colours was a job earlier, it is now his mission.

"There is something beautiful in every person. Peel the veneer and there is much to write about. The values for which they strive for despite the odds and tragic undercurrents in life make great stories. All we need to do is listen," he says. "They are so large hearted that they would recommend others whom they thought were more deserving. It took all my persuasive skills to make them agree."

Having moved to a regional television channel, Babu continues his tryst with the common man anchoring the programme, `Oka saamanyudi autograph' (A commoner's autograph).