To Myanmar, With Love: Yerra Atchanaidu’s Mission to Keep Telugu Alive

Every year on August 29, Telugu-speaking communities across world celebrate National Telugu language Day in memory of reformer Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy, who championed the cause of spoken and accessible Telugu. While the day is often marked with tributes to great poets, writers, and reformers, it is equally important to recognize the quiet torchbearers of today who ensure the language continues to thrive beyond its native soil. Among them stands Yerra Atchanaidu, a 73-year-old from Visakhapatnam, whose commitment to Telugu has carried him all the way to Myanmar.

Story of Yerra Atchanaidu

Yerra Atchanaidu was born on December 20, 1950, in Burma (now Myanmar). His ancestors hailed from Sontyam in Anandapuram Mandal a suburb of Visakhapatnam district. Like many Telugu families, Naidu’s also migrated to Burma during World War II in search of opportunities. But after the 1966 political crisis in Burma, when conditions for Indians worsened, Naidu’s family returned to Visakhapatnam along with thousands of Telugu-speaking families seeking stability. Yet, his bond with Myanmar never faded.

In 2001, he made a 14-day trip back, reconnecting with the Telugu diaspora and witnessing their efforts to preserve fragments of the language through lullabies, sayings, and oral traditions. A turning point came in 2011 when he visited Burma again to attend the centenary celebrations of the “Andhra Burma Sangam”. There, he was struck to find schools where Telugu was still being taught and students who, despite all odds, remained eager to learn.

The sight of a young student curiously learning Telugu in the evenings deeply moved him. When he asked why the children were so determined, their answer stayed with him: “It is our language. We want to know about our race and culture.” That moment convinced him of the urgent need to create a lasting impact on Telugu language preservation. This conviction pushed Naidu to begin compiling a Telugu-Burmese and Burmese-Telugu dictionary, later expanding his work into a trilingual Telugu-English-Myanmar dictionary with the help of experts.

Naidu’s dedication soon caught wider attention, with his efforts being featured in publications such as Hans Hyderabad, The Times of India, and other regional media. His mission also inspired others, in 2019, he was briefly joined by a Telugu teacher from Hyderabad. However, the teacher soon returned to India after facing difficulties in communicating with Burmese-speaking students, leaving Naidu to carry on the responsibility by himself again.

The Covid-19 pandemic further disrupted his work, halting travel and cutting off his classes for nearly two years. With age also beginning to weigh on him, his journey has become more demanding than ever. Yet, Naidu’s determination has never wavered. Even now, at 73, he is already preparing to return to Myanmar in 2026 with the goal of training local teachers who can sustain Telugu education for future generations.

As we marked National Telugu Day yesterday, the legacy of great reformers shines through in champions like Yerra Naidu, who choose to carry Telugu across borders despite the odds reflects his pure devotion to the language. By keeping it alive in distant lands, he has offered one of the strongest tributes possible to Telugu which deserves to be remembered every National Telugu Day.

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