Sundarayya Vignana Kendram (SVK) was established in memory of Com P Sundarayya in 1988. It is conceptualised to serve as a premier research centre, with a well equipped library and other related facilities to help scholars in their pursuit of knowledge. In this manner, it is intended to take forward the ideals of Sundarayya, a towering personality of Indian communist movement. SVK today functions from two locations – from Baghlingampally, where it was originally started and from Gachibowli, to cater to the growing intellectual needs of the city and the younger generations.
The SVK boasts of a multilingual functional library, with more than two and half lakh books in Telugu, Urdu and English. These books consist of rare collections, some of them belonging to Sundarayya himself and the rest eminent donated by writers, acedemics and other book lovers. It also consists of some rare manuscripts in Urdu language. Along with undertaking the task of carefully preserving these valuable treasures, we are in the process of modernising the library by digitising the books in order to make them available online.
The library is also supplemented by reading rooms with almost all the dailies and magazines made available to the students and general public.
Apart from running the library and reading rooms, today, SVK has expanded its activities by running a clinic to cater to the health concerns of the public, it also operates a generic medical shop and a diagnostic lab. The SVK is running of chain of generic medical shops throughout the state of Telangana. Periodic dental and medical camps are also conducted under the auspices of the SVK. It also organises medical camps in remote tribal areas during rainy season.Through these activities the aim is to ensure that quality healthcare is provided at affordable prices, much less than the usual rates prevalent in the market.
SVK also hosts a software training centre, Neo Cursor, where training is provided to youth at nominal costs.
There is also a film training school run from the SVK Gachibowli campus, in order to train youth in the different crafts of film making with a low fee structure. An animation and multimedia training centre too is run from this campus.
Apart from these activities, as a contribution to the wholisitic development of youth, we are facilitating the running of a swimming pool, trekking centre and a sports complex where coaching is given for football and hockey from our campus. These days when sports coaching has become a costly affair, SVK is committed to ensure that no one is denied of sporting facilities because of their economic conditions.
In these days of rampant commercialisation, where exhibiting art has become impossible for artists without economic means, SVK opens its facilities for talented and emerging artists to exhibit their art peices without unduly bothering about the costs.
There are auditoriums, meeting halls, and other spaces to enable people to come together, discuss and exchange their ideas. Many mass organisations, social forces and political parties regularly utilise these facilities.
These pursuits of SVK offer spaces for artists and social activists, in sharp contrast to other similar facilities offered elsewhere, in this world of unbridled commercialisation. The aim of the SVK through all these activities is to nurture scientific, rational and democratic spirit among the youth of the country and attract them to the ideals of social service and egalitarianism.