Ilapavuluri Panduranga Rao (15 March 1930 – 25 December 2011) was an Indian scholar, poet, writer, linguist and orator of

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

descent. Rao played a significant role in the establishment of Indian

civil service exams Civil may refer to: * Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights * Civil disobedience *Civil engineering * Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a m ...

in multiple languages. He also created many creative studies and translations of classical works into Hindi,

and English.

Early life

Rao was born in Ilapavuluru village in Andhra Pradesh. His elder brother, Kameswara Rao, was a musician and musicologist who lectured extensively on Carnatic music. After graduating from university, he taught mathematics and Hindi in Ongole,

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the Ba ...

, Nellore and Rajahmundry. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s call to bridge the many ‘divides’ in the Indian society, Rao decided to study Hindi language at

Nagpur University Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), formerly Nagpur University, is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It is one of India's oldest universities, as well as th ...

. In 1956, he became the first Telugu to gain a PhD in Hindi. His doctoral thesis on a comparative study of

and Hindi drama was among the first comparative studies in the country.

Personal life

Panduranga Rao's flair for poetry and penchant for popularizing ancient Hindu thought found its fullest expression in the 1970s and continued through the later years in Delhi. His residence was a meeting ground of contemporary prominent poets and literary personages. He was ably supported in the organization of these literary events by his wife, Radha, whom he married in 1951. They have six children, of whom a daughter, Kalyani, died in 1977. The eldest son, I. V. Subba Rao joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1979 and later, in 2011, the United Nations; the second son, Raghunath, has been a senior executive with a number of Indian companies including Maruti and

Tata Steel Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group. Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...

and currently works and lives in Chicago; the three daughters, Vangmayi, Anupa and Suvarna, are active home makers and proactive volunteers for

social causes A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...

. Suvarna, an artist, is exploring new ways of using art in enriching daily life. Rao died in New Delhi at the age of 81, after a few years of ill health, on 25 December 2011.

Career

In 1957, Rao started working for the State Government of Andhra Pradesh as Hindi Education Officer. In 1960 he became a regional officer with the Government of India as a regional officer for the Eastern Region of India. This was part of the Central Government Hindi Teaching Scheme to popularize the use Hindi. In 1964, Rao became involved in a study by the Indian Government on creating

in more languages. At that time, individuals taking the exam for India's highest level of civil service could only take it in English or Hindi, putting the speakers of other Indian languages at a disadvantage. Since these other languages were listed as official in the Indian Constitution, fairness dictated that the exam be available in them. Rao joined the language team under the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to study the issue. As the Senior Research Officer (Hindi) and later, as Director (Languages), from 1964 to 1986, he helped the Government shape and implement the new language policy in the civil service examinations. Rao took voluntary retirement from the Government of India in 1986 and joined

Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, a Kolkata-based literary organization was founded on 1975 by Sitaram Seksaria and Bhagirat H Kanodia with the aim of promoting Indian languages. It works for the development of Indian literature through publication of b ...

, Kolkata, a non-governmental cultural organization, as the Director. In 1989, he moved back to Delhi to head another national literary institution, Bharatiya Jnanpith. During his seven years as the Director of this organization and ex-officio member of the selection committee, he coordinated the process of selecting literary works for their annual awards.

Writing

Rao has contributed to the field of comparative studies and has referred to his translations as ‘trans-creations’.His translation of classics of Hindi poetry like Jay Shankar Prasad's ‘ Kamayani’, ‘Aansu’ and Sumitranandan Pant's ‘Chidambara’, Malayalam litterateur, Thakazhi Siva Sankara Pillai's ‘Enippadikal’ enriched literary exchanges and appreciation of literature across Indian languages. He translated Telugu poetry into English and edited an anthology of contemporary

Telugu poetry Telugu literature is the body of works written in the Telugu language. It consists of poems, short stories, novels, plays, and song lyrics, among others. There is some indication that Telugu literature dates at least to the middle of the first ...

for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. In addition to the translations of literary works into Telugu, Hindi and English, he wrote extensively on Indian literary epics, most notably on Ramayana. He authored nearly 40 works covering a variety of literary genres. He was a poet at heart and had composed poems from the age of 17. His prose too had a rare lyrical rhythm and a captivating alliterative style which endeared his works to a large readership.

Speaking

He was closely associated with many religious leaders who recognized his ability to convey complex religious ideas in simple language. The head of

Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Sri Kanchi Monastery or the Sarvagna Peetha, is a Hindu institution, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near a temple dedicated to Goddess Sri Kamakshi (Durg ...

, one of the oldest Hindu monasteries established by Adi Sankara around 482 B.C., honoured him with the title of ‘Kavi Ratna’ (‘Gem among poets’). Panduranga Rao lectured for a number of years at the

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

as well as Ramana Kendra. He accompanied and translated the speeches of Sri Satya Sai Baba of

Puttaparthi Puttaparthi (IAST: ''Puṭṭaparthy'') is a municipality and district headquarters of Sri Sathya Sai district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Puttaparthi mandal of Puttaparthi revenue division. The original name of Put ...

from Telugu to Hindi when Baba was touring northern Indian states.

Awards

He was honoured by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Madras Telugu Academy, Anuvad Parishad and the Hindi Academy. He was conferred the title of ‘Kavi Ratna’ by Jagadguru Shankaracharya of

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

List of works

# Andhra Hindi Roopak (1961, Nagari Prakashan, Patna) # Chaturvimshati (1971, Navjeevan Book Links, Vijayawada) # Chidambara (1972, Andhra Pradesh Book Distributors, Hyderabad) # Sri Kamakshivilas (1974, Shankar Academy of Sanskrit Culture and Classical Arts, New Delhi) # Kanneeru (1974, Andhra Pradesh Book Distributors, Hyderabad) # Kaamaayani (1974, Andhra Pradesh Book Distributors, Secunderabad) # Sant Tyagaraj (1975, Andhra Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi, Hyderabad) # Baba ke saath das baarah din (1975, Sri Satya Sai Seva Samiti, New Delhi) # Suradasa Kavita Vaibhavam (1976, Yuva Bharati, Secunderabad) # Women in Valmiki (1978, Andhra Mahila Sabha, Hyderabad) # Aditya Hridayam (1978, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati) # Aadi Anaadi (1978, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati) # Geetamritam (1978, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati) # Vishnu Sahsranamam (1978, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati) # Lalitha Sahasranamam (1978, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati) # Meera Madhuri (1980, Sri Goda Grandhamala, Musnuru) # Ramayana Paramartham (1980, Yuva Bharathi, Hyderabad) # Sahasradhara (1980, Vishwa Adhyatma Samaj, Delhi) # Art of translation (1980, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi) # Indian Poetry Today (1981, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi) # Madhura Kavi Potana (1982, International Telugu Institute, Hyderabad) # Upanishadsudha (1982, Yuva Bharati, Hyderabad) # Baba Fareed Suktulu (1982,Yuva Bharati, Hyderabad) # Satya Shati (1982, Sri Satya Sai Seva Samiti, New Delhi) # Tulasi Manjari (1983, Sri Goda Grandhamala, Musnuru) # Iham Param (1984, International Telugu Institute, Hyderabad) # Sri Sahasrika (1985, Akshara Bharati, New Delhi) # Gurajada (1990, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi) # Ramayan ke Mahila patra (1990, Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi) # Thoughts on Ramayana (1990, Akshara Bharati, Kolkata) # Voice of Vision (1990, Akshara Bharati, Kolkata) # Ram Katha Navneet (1991, Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi) # Mettuku Pai Mettu (1995, National Book Trust, New Delhi) # Mana Prasiddha Punyakshetralu (1996, National Book Trust, New Delhi) # Swantantra Udyama Geyalu (1997, National Book Trust, New Delhi) # Yagnavalkya Maharshi (1999, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati) # The Universe that is God (1999, Jnana Pravah, Varanasi) # Valmiki (2000, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi) # Aatmananda Lahari (2003, EMESCO, Hyderabad) # Anudina Ramayanam, (2003, Telugu Akademi, Hyderabad)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, I Pan 1930 births 2011 deaths Scholars from Andhra Pradesh Oratorians 20th-century Indian linguists Telugu poets People from Krishna district Malayalam–Telugu translators