Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy:

Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy was a linguist, writer and a revolutionary whose vision was way ahead of the times. His knowledge came as a blessing to the common man who could take the pleasure of emotions through literature owing to its simplification. 

Ramamurthy’s childhood was bereft of joy and comfort. Born in Parvatalapeta, Srikakulam, he lost his father at the tender age of 12. Survival was a burden. The emotional and financial baggage was weighing him down.

Amidst all struggles, he continued his education. At his sister’s place, he studied privately and passed matriculation. Following that, he began his professional career as a teacher in Gajapati Maharaja School and continued teaching for 55 years. 

Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy in Telugu:

Gidugu was a pedagogue and historian. His penchant for language made him reach the roots of it and understand the philosophy of language. But he was utterly distressed by the esoteric nature of the Telugu Language. Let alone a common man, even he, as a linguist, couldn’t read the ‘sasanas’ and had to read a number of imported books to comprehend it thoroughly. 

This made him launch a movement to simplify Telugu language and transform it into vyavharik bhasa (medium of communication) in schools and colleges. He even worked dedicatedly towards extending the reach of the language to the Savaras, a tribal community thriving on the borders of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. He prepared lexicons which became extremely popular.

Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy’s unwavering spirit to bring about a revolution in the arena of language, gradually diluted the opposition of the orthodox sanskrit scholars and paved the way for the acceptance of the common spoken language as the medium of education.

Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy’s unflinching determination earned him the nickname of Pidugu(thunderbolt) and a permanent space on the page of Indian history.