Madhavapeddi/Gunturi reunions in 2010 and 2012

Once settled in Guntur, we had the opportunity to bond with many of our Madhavapeddi/Gunturi cousins, as they live mostly in Guntur, Hyderabad and other nearby parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Sometime in 2010, we got this idea of organizing a Gunturi/Madhavapeddi reunion in Guntur, to bring the members of our extended families together. We formed an organizing committee consisting of some of our close cousins and all of us worked together to make it happen in Nov 2010, the day before Kartika Pournami. Almost a hundred family members had gathered, having come from far and near. The venue was a nice hotel in Brodipet named Vajrams. The guest of honor was Vijaya's father Sri. Madhavapeddi Satyanarayana Murthy. The agenda included prayer, lighting the lamp, unveiling of Madhavapeddi Logo (designed by our cousin Madhavapeddi Sairam), introductions and sharing of family sentiments. It was a memorable night where we had some family members meeting after twenty or even thirty years and some of them even getting to know one another for the very first time!

The program also included felicitation of Mr. Batcha, who is the distinguished author of the famous book "Brahmana Kodur Vaibhavam". We closed for the night after a delicious family dinner, during which we mingled and enjoyed family time.

Madhavapeddi & Gunturi Families Re-union 2010

During this reunion, many family members suggested that we should plan for the next reunion in Brahmana Kodur, which is the native village for both Gunturis and Madhavapeddis. So after two years, we organized our second family reunion in that village. The venue was Sri Venu gopala Swami temple, for which Madhavapeddis were the family in charge, for many generations.

This time we had close to 140 family members come down from different parts of India and abroad. The location being the village where many of our ancestors had lived, it was most thrilling to be there as a group and share the special experience. The highlights of the agenda were inaugural puja at Sri Venugopala Swami temple, traditional decoration at the venue, MC'ing by our cousin Madhavi, lighting of the lamp by the older members of the family, tribute to departed souls, group introductions (one group per family branch with many many branches being represented), delicious lunch at the priest's quarters, family group picture, sharing of thoughts by the youth, "Who is who?"  family game, village tour and a closing Aarathi at the family Goddess Sri Nagarupamma's temple.

The entire program was a big hit! After the reunion, we received a stream of emails filled with very touching emotional feedback and many family members have since then requested for a regular bi-annual family meet, every time at Brahmana Kodur!!

Madhavapeddi & Gunturi Families Re-union 2012