Life and Mission of my Father—Dr. C V Narasimha Reddi

August 6

Today would have been my father’s 91st Birthday. My father’s birthday on August 6th is observed as “Public Relations Education Day” every year, since 2008. This is a tribute to his valuable services in the field of Public Relations Education in India.

My father dedicated his entire life to education. Education, hard work, social service, discipline, and character were the pillars of his success.

He believed education and learning is a lifelong process.

My father started as a clerk on daily wages, rose to the position of Director, Information and Public Relations Department, President Indian Public Relations Society and authored thirty-five books on Public Relations, Journalism and Communication. He was born in a small village to a lower middle-class farming couple, and he reached a place in his life where he had contentment in his career. That gave him immense satisfaction.

After retiring from Govt Service, my father joined Osmania University and AP Open University as an Academic Consultant. He taught Public Relations at Bhavan’s College of Communication and Management. He was the first national lecturer in Public Relations at the University Grants Commission.

The Faculty of Communication, University of Canberra, offered my father their Vice-Chancellors Scholarship to visit their university on a research project “Public Relations; A Comparative Study of Australian and Indian Public Relations.”

My father endeavored to visit Universities in the United States for taking up teaching assignments particularly in the field of Public Relations in a developing country. In 1995, 2005 and 2018 he came to the US, gave lectures on Public Relations at Texas Christian University, North Carolina State University, Boise State University, San Jose State University, and Minnesota State University. He interacted with the Public Relations Society of America about the functioning of their professional body.

My father’s visit to the US had the following six objectives:

1. Teaching Public Relations
2. Interaction with Public Relations Faculty of Universities
3. Study of Public Relations Education in America
4. Study the art of PR Profession in America
5. Study of Public Relations Society of America as a Professional Body and
6. Visit places of interest and study the land and people of America.

My father did accomplish all these objectives.

He was a principled person who worked with devotion and commitment to succeed. As a family, we derive a lot of strength from his legacy.

Ramesh Chamala