My Dear nEstaM

I cannot really remember when and where I first met Dr. Kidambi Raghunath; I always felt that I knew him all the time. I do remember very vividly when and where I met him the very last time. I was having a meeting with Prof. G. V. Subrahmanyam, Vice Chancellor, Telugu University when Kidambi breezed in with his characteristic presence. This was about 16 months ago. In that meeting, Raghunath garu laid out an elaborate plan on how to improve the interaction between Telugu University and Telugu children in the U. S. That is vintage Kidambi. His love for Telugu as a language and Telugu as a culture is immense. When most of us talk about it, he did something about it.

Kidambi Raghunath garu is best remembered for his lifetime contribution to Telugu Jyothi. He actively sought life memberships from people far and near. He actively sought articles and stories. What he published were always of good quality. More interesting than the articles are his succinct column-length editorials with his characteristic sign-off - "mI nEstaM, ki. ra." In these editorials, he always upheld Telugu values and traditions and deplored the abuse of these values.

Yes, my dear nEstaM, we miss you.