Magic is his mantra for community outreach

Nellore: He is not a commercial magician, but works for community outreach in rural areas for creating awareness on various social issues, superstitions, financial literacy and so on. He has been involved in this herculean task for last 35 years.

Vemulapati Madhava Rao, a native of Pamuru in Prakasam district who settled in Kavali of Nellore district, completed his diploma in civil engineering and worked for some time in PWD department. But, magic was a great passion for him and he had learnt it from local tribal population, Vipravinodulu, who demonstrate this ancient form of art in South India. He finally made it his livelihood as a whistleblower against social injustice and backwardness among rural masses.

“They taught me only basics and I had to finally refine my skills through direct observations from shows of renowned magician BV Pattabhiram. So, I decided to dedicate my life for rural and tribal people for increasing their knowledge levels through my shows. Normally, people get attracted with magic and I made it as a tool to disseminate my ideas,” said Madhava Rao humbly.

He was not confined to the magic in a traditional way but mixed the art with contemporary issues related to exploitation by urban population/traders, financial literacy, protecting and improving groundwater levels, protection of forests. In addition to this he also used his magical skills to create confidence among farmers who were in a panic mode and contemplate committing suicides.

Madhava Rao presents magic shows only in rural areas with the objective to educate local populations and enhancing their awareness levels. He has bagged nine national and nine state awards for his shows from organizations such as Delhi Telugu Academy, Vishala Bharathi Gourava Satkar committee, Telugu Employee Welfare Association of Delhi, Adileela Foundation, Delhi were some among the awards and rewards he bagged for his outstanding concepts. He is recipient of the Rotary International award in Malaysia.

“Many banking institutions such as RBI, NABARD, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank, Syndicate Bank, and others utilized my services in rural areas for propagating government plans and programmes on many topics that prominently include financial literacy and inclusion.

They provided me an opportunity to work closely with these unreached populations through magic shows,” said Madhava Rao. Madhava Rao is supported by many organizations for raising funds. Even at the age of 60 plus he continuous to have the same zeal to play the role of a community catalyst and mobilising community participation play his role of community catalyst.

By P V Prasad