Striking an instant chord with the ‘Jana Sainiks’ and those who joined the JSP here on Thursday, its president Pawan Kalyan said, “Visakhapatnam is very close to my heart, as this is where I have been groomed to become what I am today.”
Walking down the memory lane, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said, “There was a period in my life when I was directionless. I was struggling to find out what I was capable of. Vexed with life and society, I had almost become a recluse. I had sought refuge in spirituality, and packed my bag to Tirupati. I was deeply motivated by the book written by Paramahansa Yoganand, ‘An Autobiography of a Yogi’, and practised Kriya Yoga in Tirupati.”
Stint at acting
training school
“It was my brother Chiranjeevi who had motivated me to do something, and urged me to become an actor. He sent me to Visakhapatnam to be part of an acting training school. That was how my association with Visakhapatnam began,” the JSP chief said. Mr. Pawan Kalyan said he was a shy lad and never believed acting was his forte. He attributed his success to Chiranjeevi and the teacher at the training school, L. Satyanand.
“It was Mr. Satyanand who not only trained me but also developed confidence in me. And many do not know that I staged a number of street plays to get over the inhibitions,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan recalled. “Mr. Satyanand had left a deep impression on me. Almost every play he wrote had a social message, and I enjoyed doing them. They also moulded my mindset,” he said.
Visakhapatnam had a lot of potential, but was not harnessed well. I am amazed by its natural beauty and good natured people, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said. Earlier in the day, interacting with members of Marwari community, he said Visakhapatnam was the only cosmopolitan city in the State, and the JSP would support and work for issues pertaining to people from other States.