Visakhapatnam: Andhra University’s famous tea-seller passes away
The Hindu
Many famous personalities like former Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, former RBI Duvvuri Subba Rao and former DGP H.J. Dora were customers of Sankara Pillai
Anyone who would have studied at the nine-decade-old Andhra University since 1960 and till 2020, would not have missed the ‘chai’ served by N. Sankara Pillai.
His tea ‘baddi’ (stall), beside Dr. V.S. Krishna Central Library, was the hangout spot for all those who would spend hours reading books and research papers at the library.
Fondly called as Pillai (79), the ‘tea man’ is no more, as he breathed his last late on Thursday night. It was quite heart-wrenching news for all the old students of the university, as almost everyone knew Pillai.
Serving tea since 1960 at the campus, Pillai once said that he had served tea to many Vice-Chancellors and now famous personalities, who were students during different phases of his life.
The list is long and exhaustive, as they include names such as former Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu, the late TDP leader K. Yerran Naidu, late GMC Balayogi and former DGP H.J. Dora.
Once in an interview to The Hindu, he said that former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao was a regular customer to his ‘baddi’, when the latter was doing his Ph.D. at the Department of Economics in AU.
His claim was substantiated by Mr. Subbarao when he had visited AU a few years ago and had enquired about Pillai.
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