Here
is a glimpse of my humble ‘Autograph Collection’ of childhood. The above
autographs are of some prominent cricketers like Nawab of Pataudi, M.L.
Jaisimha, Abid Ali, Govind Raj, freedom fighters like Konda Laxman Bapuji,
Panuganti Pichaiah, scientist and author Mahidhara Nalini Mohan Rao, musicians
like Emani Shankara Sastry, M.L. Vasanta Kumari and dance artists like
Yedavalli Rama, Kamala Laxman and L. Vijayalaxmi.
For
a brief period of about five years in my childhood, I took interest in
collecting autographs. All the signatures were collected during my school
vacations when I visited my parents at Kothagudem. As my father was at the helm
of affairs in conducting the sports and cultural events in the town it was easy
for me to approach and seek autographs of all visiting Ranji Trophy cricket
players, other sportspersons, and artists of music and dance. Some of them may
not have been prominent performers on the national level but were visitors of
great importance to our town. Subsequently, in my youth, I became a shy person
and discontinued this hobby.
In
remembrance of the hobby and the good old days, I am presenting a few
autographs from my collection. I used to proudly show them off then, and after
so many years I am doing that once again!
