Samethanahalli Rama Rao

Samethanahalli Rama Rao (November 24 1917 - October 5 1999) was a noted Kannada author. He was born in the village of Samethanahalli which is an hour east of Bangalore near Whitefield. He used the pen name Raasa occasionally.

Even though Rama Rao (Rama Raya in Kannada) was a government servant his entire career, writing was his true love according to his autobiography "kOTe mane". He experimented in all kinds of literature like drama, historical novels, biography, poetry and short stories. He has been compared to Samsa for his plays.

Personal life

Rama Rao was born in Samethanahalli village in Hoskote taluk near Bangalore to Srinivasa Rao and Rukminiamma. He was the oldest of six children.

His early life was spent in penury with no structured schooling until he started attending school in Bangalore at London Mission High School. Personal circumstances forced him to discontinue his studies at the end of high school, which he completed at the age of 20 due to many interruptions.

Rama Rao married Pankajakshamma and the couple had six children, four of whom survived. He lived his post-retirement years with his older son and his family in Mysore. He suffered a stroke in April 1999 and was bed ridden until he died on October 5th 1999 from a heart attack.

Career and literature

Rama Rao found a job as a Health Inspector at the state health department, and he held this job till his retirement.

His first work was Bheeshmasankalpa which was received well. That began a prolific literary career which produced short stories, poetry collections, dramas, novels, translations, an epic poem and an autobiography. In the process, he became the first president of the Mandya district Kannada Sahitya Parishat. He was also awarded by the state government of Karnataka for his works.

Rama Rao's literary focus was mainly inspired by the many places that his job as a Health Inspector took him to. He served mainly in the rural areas of Karnataka where he came across remnants of two great empires by the Hoysala and the Mysore Wodeyar dynasties. Many of his works like Shilpasangeeta, Natyamandaara and Nritya Saraswati were inspired by the Hoysalas. A corollary was his deep interest in Jainism which resulted in one of his last works, Attimabbe.

He wrote two historical novels on the Mysore Wodeyar dynasty - Yaduwodeya and Monegaara. Significant and acclaimed departures from his main interests include Shaakuntala (an epic poem), Sri Krishnadarshana (an alternative biography of Krishna).

His dramas were prescribed text books in two of the major universities of Karnataka for undergraduate and graduate courses. The delicious irony was that a high school graduates books were being read by graduate level students.

G.V.Iyer based his Shanthala television series on Rama Rao's dramas.