Chilkuri Sushil Rao

I have great memories of Rajiv Gandhi. I covered the last public meeting that Rajiv Gandhi that he addressed in Telangana before his assassination in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991. On May 20, Rajiv addressed two election public meetings in Telangana. Out of these two, the second one was at Peddapalle. From here, he flew to Vizag in a helicopter. From Vizag he took a flight to Chennai and by road went to Sriperumbudur. I’d travelled from Hyderabad to Peddapalle and having attended the public meeting rushed back to office to write the report. But when I put pen to paper, I felt, it wasn’t quite really about what Rajiv said at the public meeting that I should be writing about. How the public reacted to his arrival made more sense for me to write about. A boisterous crowd greeted him. Rajiv had charmed them. I wrote my report starting with the line: “The Grrr of the helicopter in which Rajiv Gandhi arrived was enough for the crowd to go into a tizzy…” The sub-edi...

"I have just come to know that I have won from the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat," the candidate said with a glow on the face. It was a moment of triumph. The verdict was clear. The chosen one had all the reasons to celebrate and be so joyful. But I felt sad. I smiled. "Congratulations! I said softly as tears swelled my eyes. They were not tears of joy. I felt sad. There was grief within me. I looked at the victorious candidate's face again. His joy was complete. The satisfaction absolute. I am talking about Harischandra Heda, who was elected to independent India's first parliament in the elections held in 1952 from Nizamabad. He was elected MP from Nizamabad for three terms in a row and was in parliament from 1952-57, 1957-62 and 1962-67. Heda was a close associate of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B R Ambedkar and many other leaders.  There is more to Harischandra Heda. Even before elections were held in independent India, he was a member of ...

George Fernandez and I were supposed to meet for an interview at Secunderabad railway station. I went to his room and he was taking his afternoon seista. I announced my arrival. He did not open his eyes but asked me to take a seat. I waited for him to get up so that I could ask him questions. “Go ahead and ask,” he said. “Was I supposed to interview a man who was sleeping?” I felt offended and also amused. But after all, he was George Fernandez, a giant of a leader who had a clean slate, having also served as railway minister. Well, if George Fernandez wanted to answer my questions by lying on the cot, closing his eyes and taking his afternoon nap, I reasoned with myself as to why I should have any objection. So, I asked. He answered. Throughout the interview that lasted for more than 30 minutes, the socialist leader did not open his eyes but answered every question without battling an eyelid.  So why could I not wake up a sleeping giant? Firstly, when George Fernandez told m...

Prince Philip is the one to meet. Royalty he is but is not too much of a stickler for protocol. The 97-year-old Duke of Edinburg, husband of Queen Elizabeth of England, caused an accident while driving his car a couple of days ago. He’s back behind the wheels and was photographed driving his car again. I recall the time, I met him when he was in Hyderabad. Music wafted in the air. Mandolin Srinivas created magic as we sat down to listen to him weave magic on his instrument on the lawns of Jubilee hall in Hyderabad .  The concert for the small gathering was organized for Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburg one evening when he was on a visit to the city in  1997. He had come to India with his wife, the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth. While the Queen went about engagements that had been fixed for her, Prince Philip had programmes to attend in three other cities, including Hyderabad. Having some idea about the royalty and the protocol, it was only expected t...

“How about having breakfast together tomorrow?” Chiranjeevi asked me. I jumped at the idea. The one thing I cannot forget is having  'Chiranjeevi dosa' at the megastar's house.  You get it at Chutney's if you ask for it. It is also called a steam dosa. But when it was introduced in Chutney's they got the recipe from the actor himself and named it after him. There was a time I visited Chiranjeevi's house frequently - at least once a fortnight. This was because he used to write a column for TOI and I would sit with him about that. "I'm inviting Sushil over for breakfast tomorrow," he told his wife Surekha one day after our meeting at his residence. “Of course yes,” she said.   Practically every film star who Chiranjeevi is close to has had the 'Chiranjeevi dosa' at his house. I had it with non-veg that he personally served along with it and the taste can get as good as it gets every time I am reminded of it.  Chiranjeevi was on...

Manmohan Singh was coming to town and I had planned to meet him. Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao had done something out of the box. He had appointed Manmohan Singh who was not a politician as finance minister. PV became prime minister in the aftermath of the death of Rajiv Gandhi. Considering that Manmohan Singh had a chequered career as as economist, even having served as RBI Governor and advisor, economic affairs, to Prime Minister V P Singh, Narasimha Rao decided Manmohan Singh would be the right candidate. He had also served as RBI Governor.  Manmohan Singh was coming down to Hyderabad for a visit to attend a closed-door official meeting. But before he got down to business in the city and would become unreachable, I kept track of his arrival from Delhi to Hyderabad. Like all VVIPS, he would stay in the Lake View Guest House. I confirmed it with the staff. The regular flight at Begumpet airport would have landed, I presumed and called up the guest house. "He has not ...

It practically was Chief minister Marri Channa Reddy versus reporter Sushil Rao. It was whether his words could be believed or I could be trusted. Was he right? Or was my report authentic? The question now was about how it could be ascertained. My report, I insisted was factual. Channa Reddy’s contention was that it was not. And so began an exercise to ascertain who was right.  Marri Channa Reddy said spoken something but for reasons I could easily understand chose to deny it. And I was at the receiving end for allegedly concocting a report.  Channa Reddy addressed a meeting of party leaders and workers in Ranga Reddy district. "I am not here as chief minister because of anyone’s mercy,” he had declared at the meeting. Nothing wrong with that. But the timing of his saying that was more important. The manner in which he said was even more important. The context was all the more important. This was sometime in 1989.  There had been some talk that not all...

“Nenu NTR matladuthunna brother (This is NTR speaking),” the voice at the other end informed me.  It was him.  The phone had rung and I picked it up. I’d stayed back late at office on December 31, 1994 and this call came on the direct line. When NTR identified himself on the phone, I was surprised. I was sure it was him but the call from chief minister Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao came as a surprise.  NTR had come back to power in the 1994 elections with a big majority and had taken oath as chief minister for the third time on December 12, 1994.  “Noothana Samvathsara Subhakanshalu,” NTR continued wishing me a happy new year. I wished him back. The conversation lasted for less than 30 seconds. But that set me thinking for the next 30 minutes on why NTR chose to spring a surprise on an unsuspecting journalist to convey personal wishes. But NTR had not actually called to speak to me personally. He had simply called to wish whoever was available at that time...