From Vangipuram to Virginia

Our forefathers hail from Vangipuram, once a prosperous kingdom on the east coast of India between the rivers Godavari and Krishna, now a part of Andhra Pradesh. The rise and fall of the kingdom of Vangi or Vengi is detailed in a book written by one Sri Avvari Subramanya Sharma of Guntur, and the area known as the kingdom of Vengi is prominently depicted in an atlas of Indian peninsula published by Oxford University Press. It was part of the Kakathiya empire in 1100 AD and came under Moghul empire subsequently.

The Nizams of Hyderabad gifted the area to Reddies for services rendered. The British seized the area for non-payment of revenues and sold the once prosperous principality in the despotic days of the British Raj. Our ancestors faced several challenges to their way of living with these changes. The advent of Islamic fanaticism, a prolonged draught and famine, the advent of a Vaishnavite religion as opposed to a Shaivite one in which our ancestors believed seem to have been deciding factors which led our ancestors to migrate from Vangi seeking pastures more hospitable to their beliefs and affording an adequate means of livelihood. Their scholarship won for them employment in temples and lower ranks of government. They settled in places like Bellave, Nanjangud Mysore, Tumkur and Dharmasthala which were centers of Shaivite religion. Our ancestors have thus demonstrated a spirit of adventure in seeking their fortunes where they can be found while holding fast to their traditional beliefs. They have met challenges to life with boldness and vision. They have not been averse to adapting themselves to new environments and new cultures. Following their footsteps in moving from one region of India to another we have moved from one continent to another—from Asia to America. From Vangipuram to Virginia.