Galidevara
The Galidevara surname is a Telugu-origin surname from the coastal Andhra Pradesh region of India, with a linguistic interpretation of "Wind God" derived from the Telugu words gali (wind) and devara (god).[^c1] The surname is relatively uncommon and is concentrated in the Konaseema and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, where public records show individuals with the name recorded in the Open/General caste category.[^c2]
Individuals bearing the Galidevara surname have established careers across multiple fields, including medical research, playback singing, business, and sports. In medicine, Chandana Galidevara and Indira Galidevara have published peer-reviewed research in obstetrics and gynecology and general surgery respectively.[^c3][^c4] Sahithi Galidevara is a playback singer in Telugu cinema who won Zee Telugu's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2008 and was a finalist on X Factor India in 2011.[^c5] Sandhya Galidevara earned a PhD in Life Sciences from the University of Hyderabad and published research on entomopathogenic fungi as biological control agents.[^c6]
The surname also appears as a geographic identifier: a body of water known as Galidevara Cheruvu (Galidevara tank/lake) is documented in Peddalingalavalasa village, Srikakulam district, featuring in MGNREGA records for a micro-irrigation desilting project in the 2022–2023 financial year.[^c7] In the business sector, multiple Galidevara family members serve as directors in companies registered in Hyderabad and Bangalore, spanning finance, construction, information technology, and engineering consultancy.