Hailing from Delhi and making Hyderabad his home, both personally and professionally, Dr. Srikanth Goggi, aka Srikanth Acharya, dons multiple hats, including actor and psychologist. For our special segment of Hyderabond, he takes us through his memorable Ganesh Chaturthi days and his love for the city
Tejal Sinha
It’s finally the season when many of us await welcoming Ganapati Bappa to our house, blessing us with prosperity and happiness for the rest of the year.
What better could it be for us to bring you a memory of how Hyderabad celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi over the years for our special segment of Hyderabond, where our guest Dr. Srikanth Goggi, who dons multiple hats, including that of being a celebrity psychologist, hypnotherapist, professor and corporate coach, has also been known as Srikanth Acharya in the world of Telugu cinema.
Hyderabad holds a special place in his heart ever since he’s been here in the city. Born in Delhi and of course, his father being an Army officer, travelling around due to his postings was an obvious but important part of his life. However, being in Hyderabad, ever since he recalls him to be of a 5-year-old, the city has been his favourite. Why? “No matter where I go, I only find peace when I’m back in Hyderabad,” he shares while in a chat with us. The last posting his dad, he recalls, had was at Golconda. So, his childhood memories were all around Secunderabad!
“The people of Hyderabad have been very friendly,” he shares as he goes on to recall how Hyderabad was a less crowded place with not much traffic. “There was also a lot of place to play outside; there were playgrounds.” But one memory that has always stayed special is none other than the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. “I remember, we used to go to houses to collect chanda (donation) for Ganapati. That was like the best day. We used to go to Dhoolpet, the biggest hub where they prepare the idols. Now, if you see, you find the idols everywhere. We used to organise these grand poojas and every street had their own Ganapati pandal. We’d then visit the Khairatabad Ganesha, whose height just keeps increasing every year.”
Another significance that the city holds for him is, “No matter the religion one belongs to, everyone is one of the same, staying together. I remember, back then during my childhood, not everyone had a TV set in their house. So we all used to go to the neighbours house and watch the shows and films. Unlike these LCD’s, there was this big television box. And again, my dad coming in his bullet with that ‘dub dub dub’ sound gets nostalgic. We had these hero cycles back then.”
The legacy of food like the Irani samosa, chai and hotels has been something that was a must-visit every time his relatives came here. Then weekends were all about Zoo Park, Salarjung Museum, Charminar, Qutub Shahi Tombs and Golconda forts. Getting on the running buses to reach the colleges was again something he can never forget!
On the professional front, he had always wanted to get into acting. But of course things would take time. So, he worked with renowned magician “Shaado,” also known as the Indian Houdini. His growing fascination with human psychology led him to pursue studies in clinical psychology, hypnotherapy, NLP and peak performance coaching. He transformed into an experienced therapist and successful coaching consultant, providing services for celebrities, athletes, companies, NGOs, PSUs and individuals, enriching their lives. He has motivated, inspired and assisted countless individuals through his television talks, coaching, training and therapy. The first Firewalk specialist in Telangana and AP, he has appeared over 2500 times on TV, both live and recorded. His acting career began with the Telugu movie Boy (2019), under the mentorship of Vinay Varma, a renowned theatre artist, actor and casting director. He has also acted in various Telugu and pan-India movies such as DJ Tillu , Atharva, Tyson Naidu, Ismart Illalu, Wedding Dairies, Mr. Venkat Rao, Manmayi, Janaka Aiythe Yenaka and Pushpa 2 (The Rule).
“Vinay Varma played a major role in my acting career. I always wanted to play a psychologist and thanks to him, my debut role was that of a psychologist. At the very age of 14 years, I learned hypnosis. I used to perform these small mmimicries, little bits of magic. Eventually, from my 9th standard, I started doing stage shows, both on magic as well as hypnotism. Then, I developed interest in the field of psychology because I started reading books on personal development, self-improvement, memory training, meditation and these things. My father was instrumental in getting me books on hypnosis. He was my first guru who encouraged me. So that’s how, once I become a clinical psychologist, I have started the institute on his name, GV Gopi Vasdevacharya Institute of Psychology. I have done almost 10,000 plus shows all over India.” He has also had the privilege to work with one of the associates of the renowned magician P.C. Sorcar.
“I did my postgraduate degree at Osmania University in clinical psychology. And I started practicing here in Hyderabad in the different centers and corporate hospitals.” Going ahead, what’s something that he likes and dislikes about the city? While the friendly people that the city has are something he loves about the city, on the other hand, the traffic is something that irks him much.
“Traffic is something that I’ve always witnessed here in the city since the beginning. That’s something that has never changed. There are times people do not give place to ambulances as well.”
But again, talking of well-being, “Hyderabad has got very good technology, infrastructure and highly qualified, dedicated professionals. People here are professional and not commercial. You do have black sheep in this profession as well. But infrastructure-wise, Hyderabad is very good. Here what I feel is this is a world-changing field, mental health. Those days, there were very few referrals to the psychiatrist and the clinical psychologist. There was not much awareness and a lot of stigma around it, which has now changed. Thanks to the media, you people are doing a fabulous job in bringing awareness, writing article and helping people to understand what actually the worth of mental health and well-being is.”
