Sri Rama Rao Gandikota
| Sri Rama Rao Gandikota | |
|---|---|
 Cdr. G. Sri Rama Rao in the Indian Navy | |
| Born | 6 April 1942 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Retd. Indian Naval Officer, Philatelist, Numismatist, Musician |
| Years active | 1967 - 1993 (Indian Navy), 1948 - present (philately and numismatics) |
| Known for | Philately and Numismatics on Music and Indian Navy |
| Spouse(s) | Ramalakshmi Gandikota |
| Children | Prasanthi Ganti, Vijai Gandikota |
| Parents |
|
| Family | Laya Gorty (niece) |
| Awards | 5 Limca Book of Records, 4 Asia Book of Records, Gold Medal APEX 2014 philatelic exhibition, Vijayawada (2014)[1] |
| Website | sriramarao.com |
Sri Rama Rao Gandikota is a retired Commander in the Indian Navy, a music lover and exponent of Carnatic music, a philatelist and a numismatist. He was born on April 6, 1942 in Andhra Pradesh India. He is one of the directors of Visakha Music and Dance Academy and lives with his wife Ramalakshmi Gandikota in Visakhapatnam, India.[2]
Naval and coast guard career
As a naval officer he was trained in missile warfare by the Soviet Navy as part of an Indian Contingent sent for training to Vladivostok.[3][4] Following that he served in the "Killer Squadron" where he was the first person in the history of the Indian navy to fire a missile from an Indian naval warship. During that exercise he served on INS Nirbhik, a Vidyut class missile boat. He was part of the missile boat group sent to attack Karachi harbor that effectively ended the 1971 Indo-Pak war. INS Nirbhik was diverted just before the operation to provide rescue support to the sinking warship INS Khukri.
Philately, numismatics and music
Since childhood Sri Rama Rao has had an interest in music, stamps, coins and currency. Today he is one of the most well known philatelists and numismatists in Andhra Pradesh with a number of local, state, national and international awards. These include 5 Limca Book of Records (India) and 4 Asia book or records.[5][6][7][8][1][9][8][10] Sri Rama Rao was instrumental in the planning, design and photographic contribution to the development and release of a special folder of stamps on Indian Musicians on September 3, 2014 in Visakhapatnam. On that occasion he was felicitated by the Chief Postmaster General of Visakhapatnam and the vice chancellor of Andhra University.[11]
In 2013 Sri Rama Rao was honored by Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna with the traditional shawl placed on his shoulders for his achievements to philately and numismatics in music and stated in his visitors book, "He is doing a great service to music".[12][13] In 2014 Sri Rama Rao was invited to exhibit musical stamps and coins on the occasion of the release of the commemorative stamps on Indian musicians in Visakhapatnam. Over 1200 school students visited this philatelic and numismatic tribute to music.[14] Sri Rama Rao was invited to deliver the inaugural lecture demonstration at the 2014 Madras Music Festival by the Madras Music Academy and conduct an exhibition of rare stamps and coins on music.[15] He delivered this lecture on December 16, 2014 to the wonder and amazement of audience from around India and the World on the variety of stamps dedicated to music, their history from the earliest to modern times and the variety of such stamps.[16]
On February 7, 2016 Cdr. G. Sri Rama Rao participated in the international fleet review as part of the veteran Indian naval officers and sailors contingent. He also setup an exhibit of stamps and coins on the Indian navy and music at the Visakha Museum on the invitation of the Indian Navy.[9][8][10]
After his retirement from the Navy Sri Rama Rao studied music at the Andhra University and earned his diploma in music. For a few years he accompanied his wife in Carnatic vocal recital concerts in Andhra Pradesh.
Family
His wife Ramalakshmi, daughter Prasanthi and son-in-law Ramkishore (Vice President Aura Semiconductor) are actively involved in his care and they hope his experience and efforts will also help other victims of spinal cord injuries.[17] Notable Telugu actress Laya Gorty is the niece of Sri Rama Rao Gandikota.
References
- 1 2 "'Stamp' of recognition for rare collection". The Hindu. 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Home". Sriramarao.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ Rakesh Krishnan Simha (2015-11-03). "Missile boats: Making waves, causing shock and awe | Russia & India Report". In.rbth.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ Rakesh Krishnan Simha (2016-01-11). "How the Indian Navy used Russian to hoodwink Pakistan | Russia & India Report". In.rbth.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Amazing Collection Of Covers Of Musical Post Offices". Asiabookofrecords.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Unique Collection Of Musical Coins". Asiabookofrecords.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ Radheshyam Rudravajhala (2013-11-28). "సంగీత ప్రపంచంలోని ప్రముఖులపై స్టాంపులు, కరెన్సీ, నాణాల ప్రదర్శన". Radhemadhavi.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- 1 2 3 Share on FacebookShare on Twitter (2016-02-01). "Vizag's gunner to display rare navy stamps at IFR". Times of India. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- 1 2 "IFR stamp expo from Feb. 4 to 8". The Hindu. 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- 1 2 Lakshmi, Sri (2016-02-10). "Stamp Expo Attracts Huge Crowds". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Indian Philately Digest : News : September 2014". Indianphilately.net. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Reviews". Sriramarao.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Feast of music". The Hindu. 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ Jeevan Jyoti (2014-09-04). "Rainbow Stamp Club: 'Indian Musicians' stamp release functions at many places". Rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "The Music Academy Madras | December Music Season | Music Conferences & Concerts". Musicacademymadras.in. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Finding music in stamps and coins". The Hindu. 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ "Home". Sriramarao.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.