Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapathi Raju III

Vizayarama Gajapati -III laid the basic structure for the cultural edifice of Vizianagaram on which the super structure was raised by his illustrious son Ananda Gajapati (31-12-1850 to 23-5-1897). He was the brightest gem in the diadem of the Royal house of the Pusapatis of Vizianagaram under whose stewardship its cultural hegemony reached a very high water mark. It is observed that ‘he was a prince’, handsome in mien and enlighten in mind a poet and a scholar, an athlete and man-of-letters, a musician, a virtuoso’ He was conferred with the titles of Maharaja in 1881, K.C.I.E (Knight Commander of Indian Empire) in 1887 and G.C.I.E (Grand Commander of the Indian Empire) in 1892. He was twice member of the Madras Legislative Council in 1884 and 1894. He was the perfect example of the saying that a healthy body and sound mind go well together. The Duke of Buckingham addressed him as the ‘Prince Charming’ which was a just testimony to his physical beauty. The celebrated literary giants Tirupati Venkata Kavulu declared that among all the princes they have visited Ananda Gajapati was the wa the only discernng scholar (Emu Juchina rajulandella okra Vizianagaram Maharaju Vetta) . Max Muller’s English translation of Righ Veda (Second Edition); Sabdharadha Sarasvamu’ of Taranadha Tarka Vachaspati and Mushi Muhammad Pachchmia’s ‘Forhangi Ananda Raj’ are only few examples of the numerous works that owed their publication to his munificence. ‘Kanya Sulkam’- the magnum opus of Gurazada Appa Rao (1862-1915) that morning star of Telugu literaryy renaissance was inspired by Ananda Gajapati’s keen interest in the amelioration of the condition of the one of the neglected, sections of the society and was duly dedicated to him. In the words of Gurazada, Anand Galati was a Prince with whom knowledge is an absorbing passion and whose appreciative encouragement of letters, has attracted to his court, literary stars of the first magnitude and inaugurated a brillant epoch in the history of Telugu literature. A host of pundits and poets such as Manda Kameswara Kavi (1821-1892), Baghavatula Lakshminarayana Sastry (1840-1907), Mudumbai Narasimhacharya Swami (1841-1927); Gurazada Srimamurty (1851-1899); Manda Laksmi Kameswara Sastry (1857-1920); Peri Kasinatha Sastry (1858-1918); Kilambi Ramanujacharyulu (1853-1928); K.S.G. Rajamani Setty (1859-1910); Gurazada Appa Rao (1862-1915); Adibhatla Narayana Das (1864-1945) etc; adorned by their cuminous contribution. Music -Carnatic and Hindustani as well as Western and the theatre have found in him an ungrudging patron. Justifiably acclaimed as ‘Abhinava Andhra Bhoja’, Ananda Gajapati Maharaja has become a household word in Andhra country. His culture and refinement, his mercy and benevolence, his piety and devotion, his majesty and sublimity, have made him dear to the hearts of every Andhra even of this generation.