Here Gandhiji worshipped every Friday

At a time when the Father of the Nation is almost forgotten and sneered at his principles, people of a remote village in Medak district have been worshipping the statue of Mahatma Gandhi every Friday without fail for the last 42 years. With the noble aim of remembering the Father of the Nation and his sacrifices to the nation, the then sarpanch of Kondapur, Venkat Reddy installed the black granite statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the heart of the village way back in 1972. The then Sangareddy MLA and former Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Assembly P Ramachandra Reddy unveiled the statue.

Since then the villagers have been worshipping the statue every Friday. They have even given the task of worship to Lingappa Swamy of the same village. After continuously worshipping for thirty years, Lingappa Swamy has fallen sick and the mantel has been given to his son Adivappa Swamy. Every Friday Adivappa Swamy conducts the worship at any cost. Wherever he is at that time, he rushes back to the village to perform the ritual. In addition, Mahatma Gandhi is also worshipped on the Independence Day, Republic Day and on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2.

During the worship, the sacrifices of the father of the nation are remembered and the principles of non-violence and peace are exhorted. Sizable number of villagers including youth thronged the statue of Mahatma Gandhi every Friday which could be considered a real tribute to the great leader.