A Father’s Light: Memories of Mr. AV Ramana Murthy- A Tribute by Dr. AVS Suresh

They say light behaves both like a wave and a particle—a mystery of physics my Nannagaru, Mr. AV Ramana Murthy, seemed to live out every single day. In the classroom, he could be stern as a laser beam; at home, gentle as moonlight.

The Boy from Nowhere

Born in a tiny village where schools were miles away, Nannagaru (that’s what we call father in Telugu) walked dusty paths with borrowed books and unshakable resolve.

“Suresh, education is the only inheritance no one can steal from you,” he would say in Telugu, adjusting his tape-mended glasses with a half-smile.

I once found his old scholarship certificates tucked inside a wooden box, next to his first physics textbook. The pages were so worn that formulas had been retraced in pencil. When I asked him why, he said softly, “Sometimes, Suresh, you write something so many times, it becomes part of your soul.”

The BARC Letter That Stayed Folded

Long before my brother Prakash and I were born, he had a golden ticket—an offer from BARC, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. A dream job, a life in Mumbai, financial stability.

But family came first: siblings’ weddings, education for nephews and nieces, medicines for his mother. One evening, holding that letter under the stars, he whispered to himself, “Like the stars in Ursa Major, one must hold position to keep the family constellation intact.”

So, he stayed back. Not because he lacked ambition, but because his strength was sacrifice. Instead of skyscrapers in Mumbai, we grew up in a humble village homes filled with books, chalk dust, and stories of resilience.

Durvasa and the Gentle Rain

To his students, he was “Durvasa”—the angry sage. His booming voice could rattle glass beakers:

“Physics is not a game! You are touching the language of the universe.”

But when a student struggled, his thunderclouds would dissolve. He’d sit next to them and ask gently, “Cheppu ra, em ardham kaaledu?” (Tell me, what didn’t you understand?) Then he would explain refraction with village metaphors: “It’s like your ammamma bending to pick spilled rice.” Suddenly, physics wasn’t terrifying; it was home.

The Philosophy of Enough

Money never defined Nannagaru. His salary was divided into neat piles: food, books, family, others. Luxuries rarely made the cut. “There’s always someone who needs this more,” he’d insist.

As a child, I sometimes felt embarrassed. Later, as Dr. Suresh, I realized what it meant when strangers stopped me:

“Your father paid my exam fees.” “He sponsored my brother’s coaching.” “He bought my books—I am an IAS officer, Director etc etc today because of him.”

That’s when I understood: his true wealth ceaton was in the futures of his students he stitched together- not what he passed in real estate or FDs

Humor in a home

For all his seriousness, he had a mischievous streak. At dinner, he’d crack the same joke:

“Never teach centrifugal force to someone who just fell on a curve!”

We groaned; he laughed hardest.

Once, he attempted to teach quantum mechanics to a 10-year-old neighbor using marbles and a bedsheet. The marbles rolled everywhere. The girl declared, “Uncle makes physics too complicated.” Crawling out from under the sofa, he sighed, “Even Einstein would fail with this audience!”

The Final Lesson

When blood cancer arrived, he faced it with a physicist’s calm. “Light has traveled billions of years to reach us, Suresh. I got seventy-two good ones. That is no small journey.”

At his last rites, students arrived from every corner of India (prbably globe for few of them). No invitations, just word of mouth. They came with gratitude, with stories I had never heard. Even in frailty, he was still “Sir.”

Eternal Illumination

When Andhra University created the “Shri AV Ramana Murthy Award for Excellence in Optics,” it felt just right. Optics was his subject, but clarity was his gift—he helped others see their own potential.

The boy from a remote village who studied under a kerosene lamp, in the vadrevu satram, with scholership of "dussara bullodu movie", became the man who lit thousands of lives. His influence still reflects in every classroom, refracts in every career, and travels forward at the speed of love.

Acharya Devo Bhava. Pitru Devo Bhava. In Nannagaru, we brothers and entire family found their truest meaning.