Nagasuri Venugopal

Dr. Nagasuri Venugopal’s writing journey spans five decades. On 10 February 1978, while studying in the tenth class, a short poem written by him was published in Andhra Patrika. As elders felt that publication in newspapers might interfere with his studies, he began using the pen name “V. G. Nagasuri”.

On 9 March 1986, his first published article, “Poetry in the Argument of Vemana”, appeared in the Bangalore edition of Andhra Prabha. The article was inspired by his strong reaction to a critical view of Vemana. He spent several hours studying Vemana’s poems, selecting verses dealing with literature, the poet, the responsibilities of a poet, philosophy and social reform, and developed his own analysis from them.

After completing his M.Sc. in Physics at Sri Venkateswara University, and while awaiting admission to the M.Phil. programme, he worked part-time as a Physics lecturer at S.D.G.S. College in Hindupur. In May 1986, he began research in Solar Energy Physics under the supervision of Dr. V. Sundara Raja, and submitted his research paper to the university in the first week of November 1987.

His interests also expanded into journalism and science writing. On 25 October 1987, “Telugu Newspaper Editorials” appeared as a major article on the editorial page of Andhra Patrika Daily. On 8 December 1987, “Solar Water Heater” was published on the editorial page of Andhra Jyothi Daily under the heading “Vignana Veechika”.

In 1988, Nagasuri Venugopal joined All India Radio and served for 33 years at centres including Goa, Delhi, Anantapur, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Kadapa and Madras. While in service, he completed an M.A. in Journalism and earned a Ph.D. from Andhra University relating to Telugu news channels.

Beginning in 1998, the number of books published by him has crossed 80. More than 50 are his own works, while he has edited more than 25 books. His writing has covered popular science, environment, radio, journalism, television, history, literature and Gandhi, alongside hundreds of articles and columns across these fields.

His writings have been included as textbooks at B.Ed. and M.A. levels. He edited the Physical Sciences textbook for Class 8 in Andhra Pradesh and has contributed writings to institutions including Telugu University, Dravidian University, Sahitya Akademi and the National Book Trust.

After retirement, he has continued research into aspects of Gandhi’s ideas and practices that are relevant to contemporary society. He has worked with many contributors on this subject and has published around nine books so far. His articles and books on other subjects continue to appear as well. He currently lives in Hyderabad.