Dear Family members

Manikyam mama was a real gentleman and a straightforward man.
He spoke direct to the point and never afraid to speak his mind.
I have very fond memories of Manikyam mama when we were very young and going to school.
We used to go to Kothapalli for our summer holidays and stay with my grand father and Manikyam mama. Mama used to wait for us in Thorroor with his bullock cart to pick us and take us to Kithapalli. In the cart he used keep sweet mangoes (rasalu) and we usd to enjoy eating them.
At home ( their house ) we used to enjoy the village life , food , culture and their love and adoration. Mama used to take us to family lands where they used to grow leafy vegetables , cotton and other cash crops and they used to have 8 mango trees and 1 mango tree fruit used to be very sweet. He used to bring the food for us to the lands and we used to enjoy.
He taught us swimming there. He used to tie dried Sorakaya around our waists and used to push us into the wells ( mota bai )
He loved us very much and he used to crack funny jokes.
He was a pious man and GOD fearing.
After we went to Guntur for our college studies we lost continuous connection with Mama and other mamas and their families.
My mother and sister and brother Chinna gave us updates about Manikyam mama , Sathi mama and Karthi mama and their extended families when we used to come down to Hyderabad for holidays.

Mama , though I did not meet you often due to our lives outside India we always had respect for who you were and where you were.
Thank you Mama from bottom of heart for all your love and affection and respect to us.

Rest in eternal peace my loving Manikyam mama and praying to GOD to be with your entire family and comfort them and give strength and fortitude to bear this personal loss.
I very well remember the lovely jokes you , my sister and myself had when we met in Hyderabad on 2 or 3 times.
I salute you Mama and I Love you.

Samson

Manikyam peddananna is the eldest brother of my father Kamatam Kanthaiah.
In my childhood days we visited Waddekothapally in summer holidays, It's was our pleasure camp, eating sweet mangos, drinking thadi, drinking pure hot milk in early morning.... all because of peddananna.
I remember how he used to tell us funny stories about his childhood and youth days, I always thought that peddananna has had an extraordinary childhood. Looking back , now I realize that it was not the events in his life that were extraordinary but the way he faced them. He faced the life with intelligence, courage and wit
He was a force of nature; always on the move, busy and extremely hardworking, loving, kind and generous.
Peddananna very much led by example, first up in the morning to feed his animals and make sure everyone was on track to get their work done to the high standard he expected; always busy but always making time for the people around him.
He loved all his children very much especially my sister Vijaya Laxmi akka 
“He was also hugely proud of, and loyal to, his family, friends and relatives.
Any opportunities to escape from the relentless work on the farm were spent with his family and friends. He is very much inclusive with all our relatives; in any occasion if a new person caught in his sight he used to find out the relation with him/them. 
I spoke to Peddanana On 25 December 2020 to greet him on Christmas day….
You left us beautiful memories
                 Your love is still our guide
                 Though we cannot see you
                  You’re always by our side

Greetings to you all in the name our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Manikyam Mamayya is the eldest brother of my mother Karuna, of whom I am the youngest son. My childhood days and into my adulthood, I made very few visits to my maternal native place of Waddekottapalli. But in my childhood days, when we lived in Bellampalli, Manikyam Mamayya used to visit our home occasionally, though the visits used to be very short as he would be busy to go another place, probably related to his agriculture work. But he always used to greet us with a big smile on his face and is very affectionate. At that time, I used to feel that he was a person with very few words. But may be he was like that towards kids. Sweet memories from my childhood include those days, when Jayaraj Bava (The eldest son Manikyam Mamayya) visited us while we were at Bellampalli and spent a few days with us. During my high school days, I also had a chance to visit VijayaLaxmi vadina and Vasanth anna, when they got newly married and were living in Luxettipet. I also had the privilege of Mamayya attending my wedding in 2010 in Jangaon.

Though it is an immense loss to the Kamatam family and all the relatives, I am grateful for God's protection on his life throughout the years and the inspiration Mamayya had been to many around him. I offer my condolences to all my relatives especially all the close family members of Manikyam Mamayya.

May we all meet him again in the Lord's presence.

Regards,
Babloo

My deepest sympathy and condolences to my cousins Jayaraj, Rajarathnam, Gnananandam, Vijayalakshmi, my nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and loved ones. May the Lord continue to strengthen you and comfort you.

My earliest memories of our uncle, Late Mr. Kamatam Manikyam take me back to the early sixties, when we used to live in Khammam. My mother has three younger brothers. The eldest of them was Uncle Manikyam. We used to call him ‘Manikyam Mama’, sometimes ‘Pedda Mama’.

During our childhood, spending time with our grandparents, uncles, and aunts was the most favorite part of our summer vacations. I remember our parents taking us to my mother’s village. We used to travel by bus to Thorrur, where our Manikyam Mama used to pick us up and take us to Waddekothapally, on a bullock cart! Riding on the two-wheeled bullock cart drawn by two handsome oxen was a fascinating experience. The knowledge that my uncle took us on his own bullock cart, drawn by his own oxen gave me a sense of pride! While I marveled at how the oxen responded to my uncle’s calls and gentle prodding, I couldn’t get over the urge to ride the bullock cart myself…

It was during our summer vacations at my grandparents’ house at Waddekothapally that I had a chance to watch Manikyam Mama, and his brothers (Kanthaiah Mama, and Satyanandam Mama) – what they did, and how they lived.

Manikyam Mama was a gentle leader. He was a loving soul, soft spoken, loved to give us nick names, and laughed heartily. He often poked fun at our city-bred ways. He took us to the fields along with him to show us how they cultivated the land, grew tobacco, mangoes, sweet lime, and vegetables. I witnessed his hard work, his passion for agriculture, his genuine love for us, and his tenderness towards the cattle.

I remember a couple of occasions when he visited Khammam to buy a hundred sweet lime plants. He was entrepreneurial, and forward thinking. He stayed faithful to his passion for agriculture, fulfilled his duties toward his parents, siblings, children, and grandchildren. He respected my parents, and loved us unconditionally. I am grateful to Manikyam Mama for his love.

I thank the Lord for Manikyam Mama’s life, his legacy, his love, and for the blessing that he was to all of us.

May his soul rest in eternal peace…

Chitty