US Telugus honour Veteran Actor Nageswara Rao

US Telugus honour veteran actor ANR

Veteran Telugu film star Akkineni Nageswara Rao has said he is very much impressed by the honour given by NRIs, especially those in the US, in the year of completing his 80 years of acting.

Telugu Literary and Cultural Association (TLCA), the tristate body most of whose members have origins in Andhra Pradesh, honoured the thespian on the occasion of his 89th birth anniversary. Nageswara Rao, who is popularly known as ANR, is formally scheduled to celebrate his birthday early next month in Dallas, Texas.

"Trust in a person is a great thing. Your mind is sacred and your love towards is me unparallelled," he told the audience comprising all age groups, particularly those who are in their late 40s and above. Up to 800 attended the event held over the weekend, when organizers arranged a dinner for all the attendees at the Ganesh temple auditorium-a noted venue for desi programs in New York City's Queens borough.

ANR said he had come to the US at the invitation of various Telugu organisations, including the New York-based TLCA. V Nagendra Gupta, president of the TLCA, said later that when the association had invited the veteran more than two months ago, he accepted immediately.

The thespian spoke about 20 minutes in chaste Telugu and received three times the standing ovation.

On the occasion, TLCA honored many prominent Telugus and others who have been closely associated with the community. All the awards were formally presented by ANR on behalf of TLCA.

"I came here to be honoured but I am glad to honour the prominent people of our community," he noted, and urged the Indian-American community to promote the language and culture of the motherland and pass them to the future generations. (UNI)