Legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam had a special connection with Vizianagaram which is said to be the birthplace of music and poetry in both the Telugu states. Since the last 50 years, SPB visited Vizianagaram many times to participate in cultural activities and concerts. It is said that he never took a single rupee for any of the concerts, which has earned him the respect of Vizianagaram people.
SPB first visited the town for a concert arranged by JC’s club in 1970 for a fundraiser. In 1996, he accepted the invitation of Rotary Club and conducted the finals of ‘Paaduta Teeyaga’ in Vizianagaram. On the next day, he took part in a concert at the palace to collect donations for ‘Thyagaraja Sangeetha Nritya Kalaniketan’. He came back in 1998 to take the award given by ‘Athreya Smaraka Kala Peetham’.
In 2003, when director ‘Kalatapasvi’ K. Vishwanath was given the ‘Gurajada Award’, Balu attended the felicitation in the capacity of a special guest. He accepted the special award given by ‘Gurajada Samskrutika Samakhya’ in 2017. He attended Ghantasala Birth Anniversary celebration conducted by ‘Kinnera Arts’ in February, 2020 as a chief guest. He used to adore the poetry of great writer Manapragada Seshasai. Balu made Seshasai write a song that portrays the greatness of Vizianagaram during the finals of ‘Paaduta Teeyaga’ in 1996 and sang it.
The chairman of ‘Puvvada Trust’, Puvvada Subbaraju was a roommate to SPB in Chennai. When he was unable to come to the Centenary celebrations of ‘Vizianagaram Music College’, SPB offered his apologies for not making it since he was on a foreign tour. SPB has had close association with Kapuganti Prakash who is the Secretary of ‘Gurajada Samskrutika Samakhya’ in Vizianagaram. He used to visit Prakash’s house every time he came to town. SPB came to know about the ‘Haritha Yagnam’ initiative by the present District Collector Dr. Hari Jawaharlal and lauded his efforts when he visited Vizianagaram recently.
All these instances show his love and affection towards Vizianagaram. He will continue to live in the hearts of people.
