Lifestyle - Kondamudis’

 FAMILY LIFESTYLE - PART TWO - Kondamudis’

Blog Two. Dated January 8, 2026.

Kondamudi Sreeramulu garu and Bhavanamma garu are our Maternal Grandparents. They are also from Tenali, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh. My personal association and intimacy with both of them together was limited to my early years of childhood only. This is due to the sudden demise of the grandmother, when I was six to seven years old. All the same, I have a few recollections of her affection. My mother was the only daughter of them, and I being the eldest son, I should say got the best of love and affection, in addition to special attention from the grandmother. No doubt, I received special attention of all the Kondamudi family members as well. The Prize Dress of a black satin short and a matching white shirt that got stitched by my grandmother adored my wardrobe for a few years. My grandmother also gave me a silver dining plate and a small drinking glass. I still possess the Palakala Glass. She also gave a short gold chain and Murugulu, and they seem to have been used-up by my mother for my siblings. Have recollections of her passing away, since my mother and myself were at her bedside on that day. 

My maternal grandparents had besides my mother (Gnanaprasuna) as the eldest and only daughter; four sons. The eldest of the sons was Kondamudi Gopalaraya Sarma. He stayed with us and our family. Used to be very affectionate. He graduated at Madras and got the Bachelor’s degree in Arts. Was deeply interested reading English and Telugu books and Periodicals. He was also participating in playing in Telugu dramas. He was also script writing Telugu Dramas for AIR ( All India Radio, Madras Center); and it later earned him the place Sub-Editor of Andhra Prabha, a leading Telugu Daily, published from Madras. This experience enabled him to shift his activities and interests to the Cine Field, scripting for Telugu Movies along with the songs. He also had deep interest and knowledge of Astrology. I consulted him on a couple of occasions and was highly impressed with his correct predictions. In fact, he precisely told me the month I would be going abroad for the first time. He used to be very helpful to my mother and assisting her when children were young and unwell. I should say I had good time and affectionate advice from him and his wife.

The second son was Kondamudi Ramalingeswara Sarma. He also stayed with us at Madras, but relatively a short stint. He moved to Hyderabad after his marriage. Worked in the office of the Department of Education as a Deputy Director of Public Instruction. I remember attending his marriage at Hyderabad during the of the Nizam’s Regime. After the States Reorganization in the Nineteen Fifties, we also moved to Hyderabad and used to frequent their house. Naturally, the intimacy developed further, with closer association with each one of the family members and exchanging visits.

The third son, Kondamudi Sadasiva Sarma and fourth son Kondamudi Kameshwara Sarma are relatively young and were two to four years older to me, and as such we were close and friendly. We were playing together on our very short vacation trips to Tenali. In later years Siva and myself were together attending the Morning Sessions at the law college on Tilak Road at Hyderabad. He pursued the Master’s Course in the same college and took the LLM. Unfortunately, he thereafter became ill and departed leaving all of us shockingly.

The fourth son took the Bachelor Degree in Science. Thereafter took the Degree in Automobile Engineering from the newly founded MIT (Madras Institute of Technology). Was employed at the Bhilai Steel Factory. On retirement moved back to Hyderabad, bonding our intimacy and relationship.  His children and our children having moved to America, we met a couple of times in the U.S. Ailing with Cancer, he left us for the heavenly abode at Hyderabad.

Our grandparents had a very palatial site with a large and extensive house, reflecting his aspirational lifestyle. A Manduva Type House. An old style, with a central part enclosed allowing passage from the front house to the rear house; where one could safely dry clothing and food items, and sleep in the open safely during summer. It was on a site of an acre. The house was so large, it used to be fearful to me as a child visiting the place for a short stay with my mother and sister next to me. All the same, conceptually tuned to the extent that I can visualize and can draw even today. Our Maternal Grandfather was also a lawyer; he having qualified in SSLC and a Diploma in Law; such practicing lawyers were called Vakils.  He had varied and diversified interests. His office room used to be 20 X 20ft with a high ceiling of 12 ft high, accommodating himself and his clientele. There were two rooms on both sides of the main office, the one on the right he was using as his office privacy room, and the left side room was the clerical staff. Behind the front three rooms, there used to be another three rooms, the middle and left rooms occupied his legal library and legal records, while the right side room used to be his bedroom. Behind these there were another three rooms, the middle was a family room, right side room was a guest room, while the left room was a storage room. Going further deep through a covered wide passage one could go to the rear house with a large room full of books in shelves and some with shutters accommodating the personal collection of books in Sanskrit, Telugu and English on subjects of his interest inclusive Epics, Plants, World History and places, Vedic literature, Palmistry and Astrology. The ceiling of the room being high it was covered end to end the four walls with photos of places, deities, natural scenes, some hand drawn drawings and paintings, and amongst them the color paintings of the grandparents were also displayed. There was a second room to the left housing his prayer and puja sections. Further down, one enters the dining hall and kitchen storage. Beyond this section there used to be a second kitchen.  The garden was extensive spreading all four directions, with a well for bailing water, while bore pump of the hand operated was in the front.

Our grandfather was considered as well informed and knowledgeable, well versed in Sanskrit, Telugu and English. He was authoritative and was a founder of Tenali Sanskrit College. Saints and seers such as Kalyananda  Bharati Swamy, Haridwar Swamy (Raju garu), and others from Madras and Bangalore used to visit him, stay with him and discuss with him, seeking information and solutions on the understanding of Indian epics, culture and adaptation with changes in times, habits and the impact on Hindu evolution. In a lighter vein , I should say, my Maternal Grandfather was stated to be an atheist in his youth and teens, but turned out to be a staunch believer and devotee, after he had serious ailment with no proper medical treatment being available, those days. The change in attitude was set, after my grandmother took an oath to take him to Tirupathi Venkateswara Swamy on his being cured of the disease; and to his own surprise got completely cured thereafter.

Our grandfather’s mastery on the English Language and legal knowledge was considered so good that the Judges of the local Munisif Court and Sub-court used consult him before delivering the decisions on Court matters. He was a senior lawyer with a good reputation as a gentle natured man, but authoritative in his speech. Incidentally, my Paternal and Maternal Grandfathers used to be opposing lawyers in many court cases of the local bar. We were fortunate to have him with our parents during his last days at Hyderabad. This helped me in seeking his help in editing the English of the Doctoral Thesis. He obliged saying he will edit the language part and not versed with the science part. On completion of the reading, he said only mistake, pointing to a wrong usage of the verbose only at one place. He further said that he could not gauge the deep interest and abilities on the research and development activities that were undertaken from scratch to the state of establishing an independent research laboratory for Rock Mechanics.

 

Our grandfather had no brothers. He had his sisters , Bhattiprolu atthayya (Lopamudra’s mother), Gudavalli atthayya (Suri’s grandmother), and two others Kavammagaru staying with him, and the youngest Vajrammagaru in an independent house behind his own house. Our grandmother had only one brother, Yaggyanarayana garu ( Prasadamgari father) who used to own books shop on Rashtrapathi Road, Sec’bad, and was residing in Moulali region.

Our grandfather’s legal proficiency enabled him to amass apart from the earlier described, had an independent personal garden that I visited a couple of times with him and also arable lands that are not familiar to me. I am mentioning these, being aware of the disposal of his belongings, both movable and immovable, before moving to Hyderabad, and opting to stay with his second son, and purchasing the Hardikarbagh houses. No doubt he later moved to his own independent house in Vidyanager and moving again to spend the last days with our family at the Hyderguda House. In 1965, when I left on the Invitation of Sheffield University for Postdoctoral assignments with the University and the Safety in Mines Research Establishment of UK, he was ailing, and could not see him and missed him on my return. To the extent I could go by the memory lane, I have tried to include a good account.

In closing I have to write two incidents that happened at the Maternal Grandparents residence. These incidents are etched in my mind permanently. The first is when I was May be less than five, could be four. I was running from one of the front rooms to the rear area and tripped hitting a KATTHIPETA that made me fall with a deep cut on the right leg. The leg bleeding did not stop, and was rushed to their doctor, Khaja Narasimha Rao, who cleaned the wound and put stitches in his private hospital; and still have the stitch marks.  

The second accident at the same house was when grandma was in bed. This was may be when I was five or six. Both happened when we were only on short visits to their house. In the second incident, I was asked to fetch the house keys from one of the rooms at the rear. They told me that they are besides a door and hung on a nail. I went to the door. Could not reach the keys bunch. To reach, scaled the door using the slightly protruding wood designing the door, put my arm across the top of the door as support and reached the keys bunch and dropped the keys on the flooring below. But unfortunately had to fall down having encountered an unpleasant and unexpected bite in the arm pit from a red scorpion resting on the door top. Being in tender years the pain was so intense I was taken for treatment and was injected to give relief. Suffice it to say, with these two accidents, the accidents in life began, only to face many more in later life, accepting as they came.