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The Pusapati HeritageA gong rang out every hour from the depths of the Fort. Everyone knew what was happening. Another hour had passed, and the Fort around which the people of Vizianagaram lived their lives, would help them keep track. Royalty establishes itself, at least at its inception, by pointing to a legacy of notoriety. In the case of PVG Raju, some of his predecessors began a trend by setting themselves apart. A recognised obligation to the humanity of the people whose lives he was placed in charge of seemed to motivate Maharaja Alak Narayan Gajapathi. This quality was undoubtedly passed on to his children. With a young PVG Raju, the soon-to-be maverick royal, this streak lived on. Who were the Pusapatis whose name and legacy PVG Raju inherited?The Pusapatis are Sisodia Rajputs. The origins of the family began in Odisha and the north-coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh %u2013 known as the Kalinga region. They were one of several feudal chieftain families in the region, however, in the mid-seventeenth century, one managed to set itself apart. Raghunadha Raj aided the Golconda kings in their conquest of the region and earned, in return, the territories of Kumili and Bhogapuram and the title of %u2018Sardar%u2019 of the Golconda kings. A few decades later, his successor lent a helping hand to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb during his successful siege of Golconda in 1686. Here, they earned the honour of displaying the %u2018Zulfikar%u2019 (a double-edged sword) as an insignia on their flag %u2013 the symbol indicating bravery and strength. After this, there was no turning back. As James Grant wrote in his comprehensive %u2018Political Survey of the Northern Circars%u2019 (1772), the political history of the region, the 31