Warangal/Karimnagar: Names of WhatsApp groups have interesting tales to tell. A group called ‘Srinivas’ has only members with the name, and with a common bonding factor — all are devoted to Lord Srinivasa, Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala.
‘Srinivas’ has members from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and is spreading. There are 10,000 members in 10 WhatsApp groups.
The group is the brainchild of astrologer and purohit Acharya Srinivas Devagna, of Kaleshwaram of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. The Acharya runs a Vedic school and Annadana Satram at Kaleshwaram.
While one would probably come across persons who have the same name as him and just shrug it away, not the Acharya. The idea of starting a group called ‘Srinivas’ struck him when he came across his cousins — far and near — who all had Srinivas in their names.
How did he gather so many members? “I went back in time, recalled my childhood friends and classmates who all had ‘Srinivas’ in their names and formed the group,” the Acharya says with a smile.
He has funny anectodes to narrate. “In school, we never used to call classmates or persons by their names… we used to call them by their surnames or by their caste. So we had Bongu Srinu, Rangu Srinu, Velma Srinu, Reddy Srinu and Bestha Srinu. In my family we used to call others as Moddu Srinu, Bakka Srinu, Karre Srinu, Potti Srinu and so on to avoid confusion as to which Srinivas we were addressing. They also got habituated and reacted when called by those names.”
The telephone directory also came to the Acharya’s help. “I noticed that more pages were allotted to the letter ‘S’ compared to other alphabets. There I found that many had Srinivas in their names. The telephone department mentioned names under different professions. So we had Doctors Srinivas, Engineer Srinvias, Teacher Srinivas, Carpenter Srinivas, Electrician Srinivas and so on to avoid confusion.”
The Acharya came across more Srinivases while conducting pujas. “Friends and family members called them Kiranam Srinu, Hotel Srinu, Tent Srinu, Dish-cable Srinu and Reporter Srinu,” he said.
In 2019 he started his first WhatsApp group. It grew to 10,000 members after the Acharya formed district committees in the Telugu states.
Around 200 members from Karimnagar held a get-together recently at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Vidyanagar under the leadership of Vootori Srinivas Reddy, admin of the ‘Karimnagar Srinivasulu Group’ along with the Acharya.
“We are proud to carry the name of Lord Srinivasa of Tirupati,” Srinivas Reddy said adding that he decided to go to Tirupati once a year by following a unique dress code, and also extend charity activities to orphanages, old-age homes and those suffering from Thalassemia.
The groups are known for their generosity and take up social causes.
The Karimnagar Srinivasulu group with 3,066 members recently held a blood donation camp under the directions given by the Acharya.
“Group members have to post only memes, photos, clips and messages whichi are meant only to worship Lord Srinivasa of Tirupati, and to carry His legacy forward,” the Acharya said.
The Acharya feels that parents nowadays are not naming their children Srinivas and he is afraid that the name might become extinct. “To carry this movement forward, we will submit a representation to officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to recognise those with Srinivas in their names as the true devotees of Lord Srinivasa and give them and their family free darshan,” he said.
Very soon the groups will hold a massive meeting with a photo of Lord Srinivasa on the dais. “We will also be taking some resolutions,” the Acharya said.
So, the next time you come across a person with the same name as you, start a group.
