Page 81 - Demo

Here, PVG Raju gave people a strong idea of his empathetic side or as some would say his non-confirmist approach. He turned down the compensation from the farmers on the Vizianagaram estate. The amount according to revenue computation was in the area of 50 lakh rupees %u2013 a colossal amount of money in 1949. His friends, while relating this oft repeated story share PVG Raju's words, %u201cThe ryots were associated with the Vizianagaram Samasthanam for centuries. It was a lot of money that they would have to pay me. It would not have made a difference to my life, but would have made a huge difference to theirs%u201d. Till date this deed of his is still recollected by not just farmers and agriculturists but by a cross section of people who know and have heard of the Vizianagaram Samasthanam. It surprises many who can't fathom how a person could give up material wealth, but those who know of the man and his lineage understand and appreciate that he would not have done it any other way.PVG Raju's education had stopped with a BA Honours. Now, with matters at home more or less stable he was eager to continue. Of course, he could not be away for years at a stretch, but certain US universities offered short one-semester courses. This seemed ideal. His hero at that time was Jayaprakash Narayan who had, at the age of 28 also gone to the US to study with great distinction at the University of California in Berkeley.71