Chilkuri Sushil Rao

"You are a cynical person,” chief minister Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy said to me with a contemptuous look on his face. Dismissing a question I had posed to him, the former chief minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh chided me for asking what he told on my face was a ‘baseless question’. It perhaps was. But there was a need to ask him. And elicit a response. Not that anyone expects that all politicians give all right answers all the time. They are adept at dismissing questions. Ignoring them. Poking fun at them. Digressing and not giving a direct answer. And attributing motives to the person posing the question. Communal clashes had broken out at Musheerabad in Hyderabad. This was unprecedented. Despite such incidents in the old city, Musheerabad was largely incident-free. But not this time. Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy was chief minister of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh from   December 17, 1990 to October 9, 1992 when the incident occurred. When a communal situa...

When R K Laxman demanded five rupees from me Remembering the legend on his birth centenary  “You have to pay me Rs 5,” R K Laxman told me. Sternly. Firmly. Looking at me straight in the eye. “Of course, of course,” I said reassuring the ‘uncommon man’ as I watched a smile escape his lips. And so, I perched myself on the hand rest of the sofa in which he was sitting. The photograph was clicked. I asked for another click. This time I squatted on the floor. Better.  “Now, you have to pay me Rs 10,” Laxman said. “Because you clicked two photographs when you asked for one!” Laxman said as he guffawed. The world knew his sense of humour. I experienced it directly. No money was paid – needless to mention – it was not expected as R K Laxman was being the best of himself – humorous. We built a rapport because of an incident that had taken place just a few minutes before that. The legendary cartoonist had flown down from Mumbai and walked into my office, The Times of India, Hyderabad ...

                   “Do you know who I am?” he asked. I was amused at the question.  Was I really expected to answer that question?  “Of course. I was there when you performed on stage last night. It was you who was singing for the most part of the concert,” I responded. That, as an answer, should have sufficed. Or so, I thought. “Do you know who you are speaking with?” he asked again. This time, I could notice a bit of amusement on his face. Just what did the question mean. I had spoken to him on the phone from the hotel lobby. He said I could come over and meet him after 45 minutes. After what seemed like hours of waiting – but not wasting time – I rang his door bell. He opened the door. Smiled. It was a warm welcome. He made me feel comfortable. Then I told Kumar Sanu, who was the rage of the country, how his songs from ‘Ashiqui’ were such a huge hit. Obviously, this was the way to start a conversation with the singer who...