Hindumitra in Yelamanchili - The countryside.
- Srinivasa Malladi
- Feb 7
- 7 min read
Blog 4: Blog series by Hindumitra Karen Dabrowska during her visit to India
When Dr Srinivasa kindly invited me to Visakhapatnam, I was very excited at the prospect of witnessing rural life first hand in the villages for three days starting on January 16th, 2025. In London there are many attempts at subsistence living with the various councils providing residents with allotments where they can grow fruit and vegetables. But this is not real subsistence agriculture. If something goes wrong they can always take refuge in the nearest supermarket – a luxury people in rural India do not have.
Maybe I have an idealistic view of idyllic rural life. Young people in India are forsaking life in the villages for the larger cities and sometimes moving abroad abandoning their mother land and the parents who loving nurtured them. It seems people like Dr Srinivasa are few and far between. They work abroad so they can finance and run projects for the people back home.
Yelamanchili has a long history. It was once called as ella - majili, which is the border village of Kalinga and Andhra empires. This place was used for the collection of taxes as it is on the border of these areas. Archaeological evidence suggests that Yelamanchili dates back to the times of early Buddhism in India, Jainism and Medieval Hinduism. The Kotturu, Dhanadibbalu, Buddhist and Dharapalem Hindu sites respectively are near the town. Some pre-historic findings were excavated from the surroundings of Panchadharla, Dharapalem and the surrounding hills of the Eastern Ghats. Research work is under way on this excavation. A statue of Lord Venkateswara Swamy, a form of Vishnu, is one of the important discoveries.
For five years, until covid struck in, 2020 Dr Srinivasa ran a successful rural clinic in Yelamanchili aiming to make healthcare accessible. He purchased an old hospital and converted it into a clinic, Hindumitra office and a guest house. He is hoping to revive the clinic and increase Hindumitra activities on the premises which at present are being used for a daily meditation meeting.
Before reaching the guest house we stopped to visit two temples. The first was Venkateswara temple in Upamaka village. More than 300 steps tested my fitness. It was a powerful experience meditating at the top of a hill by the temple: looking down reminded me of how far I had travelled on my spiritual journey and looking out onto the vast horizon reminded me of the long distance I still have to travel.
The second temple was Sri Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Swamy Temple, in Annavaram dedicated to Lord Satyanarayana, an incarnation of Vishnu. Situated on Ratnagiri Hill, the temple was constructed initially in 1891 and rebuilt in 1933–34. It is a major pilgrimage site in Andhra Pradesh and is second only to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in terms of prominence. The temple's unique rituals, attract thousands of devotees.
Remarkably there were few devotees visiting the temple on that evening when we arrived and it was possible to get a good look at each of the deities and say a prayer. On Dr Srinivasa’s recommendation I bought a deepam (lamp) with 365 wicks which I lit and watched burn.
Ancient Hindu texts say that a devotee obtain salvation, wealth, health and can fulfil all their wishes by just lighting a lamp in the month of Karthika masa. Three hundred and sixty five wicks on this day resemble 365 days in a year. For people who cannot light a lamp in front of God every day and cannot perform rituals every day, there is a provision on this day that if they can light a lamp consisting of 365 wicks, it is worth of lighting of a candle every day.
When we arrived in the guest house we were welcomed by Kanaka and her husband Srinu. The couple take loving care of the premises and if selfless service has an address, it is definitely that of the Yelamanchili Guest House. Kanaka can never do enough for the guests. She brews her own delicious special recipe tea and her coffee is excellent. The meals are simple but prepared with love and she is happy when her guests are eating and enjoying the food.
In the morning Dr Srinivasa was kind enough to give me long interview about the work of Hindumitra. He is an embodiment of the saying do not look at ground in front of you before taking the next step. The one who has his eye on the far horizon will find the right road. There are long term plans for the reestablishment of the clinic in Yelamanchili and eventually the setting up of a Hindumitra University, but first and foremost Dr Srinivasa is eager of build up a strong team of trainers and teachers. He is also planning to return to Singapore to work as the nine hour flight from UK to India is too long and too energy draining to be undertaken frequently and he needs to be close to his projects and his family.
I was invited to join the daily meditation group. I heard later from Gayatri that the women were very curious about whether I was married and how many children I had but Dr Srinivasa politely pointed out that meditation is a time to still the mind. The meditation group meet every day. As the Sankranti festival was in full swing they were not scheduled to meet today but did so for our benefit. One woman said the group brought her peace in a not so peaceful household and this seemed to be common experience.
We then drove to Gayatri’s ancestral home in Dimili village. It was a modest, well-kept house looked after by her relative who lives next door. Gayatri shared many memories and remembers coming home from school to her mother’s welcome. It was a house of many family gatherings.
In the modest temple a performance of traditional dancing and stick fighting was put on for us. Dr Srinivasa told me not to be over whelmed as the boys and girls lined up outside the temple waiting to welcome us. I received handmade gifts: a card and embroidery as well as a sari. This really touched my heart. Such an act of kindness for a stranger.
The classical dancing consisted of a group performance by a dance troupe all in the same colourful costume and two solo performances by girls especially dressed up for the occasion. The boys were keen not to be left out and staged impressive stick drills. It was a joy to see the children and young adults enjoying bringing the traditional dance forms to life as they sang and danced happy to be delighting the small audience and praising God.
At the end of the performances a variety of sweets (pictured below) laid out on banana leaves which served as a tablecloth were served. The women brought a variety of home-made sweets and there were soft drinks including a shocking light green drink which I could not bring myself to try.
There was an endless photo session as many of the children wanted to have a photo with me. They were disappointed I did not have any photos of London to show them. It was sad leaving the temple and its young performers but we had to make our way to the village of Moola Jampa known for the 1000 year old bronze statues which grace the temple.
Men were dancing round a bronze representation of a tree which had many lit lamps and I had to join in the dance. Followed the tai chi principle of copy the person in front. Thankfully they knew what they were doing. Here, as everywhere the welcome was over whelming, sincere and from the heart. A plastic chair appeared and I sat comfortably enjoying the cool evening air. We then visited Gokivada. In contrast to Moola Jampa all the people in the temple were women clad in light pink saris. They were led in the chanting by another woman of a matronly appearance.
Gayatri was busy taking photos and Dr Srinivasa spoke about Hindumitra and distributed some literature. The devotes were commemorating the birthday of Gayatri’s late father, Dr. B.V.Parameswara Rao the founder of BCT.
With its focus on ‘Rural prosperity for India’s growth’, Bhagavatula Charitable Trust (BCT) is a non-profit, non-sectarian social service organization involved in transforming rural Andhra Pradesh. Established in 1976, its four-decade-long journey has centred on diverse aspects that impact development and enhance the quality of life for people in rural Andhra Pradesh, especially in the Visakhapatnam district. Working with a participatory approach, its integrated rural development programs nurture change agents within villages and create a paradigm for replication both nationally as well as internationally.Founded by Dr. BV Parameswara Rao, (pictured below) BCT has conducted over 100 pilot programs, a few of which have become models for replication across country. These include women's self-help groups, rural banking, wasteland development, development of literacy primers etc. Today BCT continues to focus its energies on education, livelihoods, support to specially abled, agricultural communities and rural entrepreneurship models. I read about Ft Rao’s amazing life of selfless service. (www.bctindia.org/about-us/#OurFounder)
It was very peaceful in the villages. The people were obviously enjoying the festivities and each other’s company, and they were happy we visited.
Back at the guest house Kanaka had prepared another delicious meal. In the night I heard the dogs growling and barking but felt safe and protected not only by the people who so kindly brought me here but by nature and the architect of the universe.
In the next blog I will describe our visit to Bhagavatula charitable trust and return to Visakhapatnam where I took part in the Hindumitra event "World is one family."
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