Though the world knows the legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam as a person who hails from Nellore, he has good ties with Rayalaseema and North Andhra. He had done his high school studies in Srikalahasti and joined ‘Sri Venkateswara Arts College’ in Tirupati for further studies. SP Balu is a great devotee of Lord Siva and used to regularly visit the temple in Srikalahasti while he was there. His mother ‘Sakunthalamma’ hails from Nagari of Chittoor district. Balu’s father Sambamurthy studied Sanskrit in Srikalahasti and later settled in Nellore as a ‘Harikatha’ renderer. He used to regularly visit his grandmother’s house and even said he recorded his first song on a tape-recorder in Srikalahasti. Balu said his drawing teacher named Gurappa Pillai made him learn the art of reciting ‘Harikatha’ in Srikalahasti. He conducted several concerts in Tirupati and Srikalahasti after becoming a renowned singer. The concert he conducted near the abode in Tirumala stands memorable.
SP Balasubrahmanyam married Savithri in Simhachalam. Their parents didn’t agree for their marriage, so they got married on 5th September of 1969 in the presence of their friends at the ‘Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy’ temple in Simhachalam. He became a devotee of ‘Narasimha Swamy’ after his marriage as he became extremely successful in films. Whenever he visited Vizag, SPB spent time at the Sivananda Murthy Ashram in Bheemili. SPB also conducted countless concerts in Visakhapatnam. His own production ‘Subha Sankalpam’ was also shot majorly in and around Vizag
