SP Balasubrahmanyam, the legendary singer passed away recently. Millions of his fans across the nation mourned naturally.
Had the family appealed to the government of Tamilnadu to allocate some land for his final rites, it would have certainly done considering the stature of SPB. But the family members didn't do that. They have opted to rest the mortal remains in their own farm house far from Chennai.
Similarly, when YS Rajasekhara Reddy breathed his last, the final rites were performed only in his own land at Idupulapaya. The family members didn't appeal for any government land.
But the recent Gitam controversy in Vizag is raising many discussions. The final rites of MVVS Murthy aka Gitams Murthy was performed in government land though he had many own lands elsewhere.
It is known that Nandamuri Harikrishna was also given a government land in Telangana for his final rites though the family is well off and equipped with their own lands. Same was the case with NTR earlier. The prime government land close to Hussein Sagar was allotted for his final rites and the family members those days didn't deny the proposal, though they had enough of their own lands.
The greed of wealthy people is a bigger curse to society. They don't want to lose their own lands for the final rites of their fathers. They want everything that their fathers earned. They cannot sacrifice their real estate dreams.
Sometimes, it feels like advising the celebrities to learn lessons from the families of SPB and YSR. They know the value of public property. There are many such role model families but here I mention only two, to make a point.
Usha Chowdary
