Page 186 - Demo

(a lake in Vizianagaram) and consecrate it in a temple so that she could constantly protect and bless the people of Vizianagaram.Sirimanothasavam is the main festival celebrated for the Goddess annually on the immediate Tuesday after Vijaya Dashami The devout people of the area celebrate this festival with great spirit. PVG Raju never missed the procession and would always be seen sitting silently on the ramparts of the fort sharing the joy and energy of the people of Vizianagaram. However, that year during the Ammavari Panduga, the Sirimanu %u2013 the tall tree trunk on top of which the priest sits, strangely wouldn't move. Normally, the procession winds its way from the temple to the fort thrice and the Goddess showers her blessings on the townsfolk and the royal family, but this year the wheels jammed. It had never happened before %u2013 atleast amongst those with a living memory. People of a superstitious sort were very disturbed that something could happen to their Raja Saheb. On that fateful evening, it started with a call to the Waltair Club in Vizag from his caregiver. He called up PVG Raju's wife (she was out) saying that Raja Garu was very sick and she had to rush home immediately because he was semiconscious. He was rushed to the hospital by his wife and son Monish. He died around midnight or a little past midnight with four children and his wife around him. They bore him back for the last journey to the Fort at Vizianagaram in an ambulance %u2013 a sombre and silent cortege of people, that included many close family friends and well-wishers. It is a curious thing - the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up dead, never to wake up again. And yet it is always a 172