VISAKHAPATNAM: Champion of Telugu short stories and recipient of Kendra Sahitya Academy Award Kalipatnam Rama Rao (97), popular as Ka.Ra Master, breathed his last at his residence in Srikakulam Friday. His death is an irreplaceable loss to the Telugu literary world, for, his contribution to its evolution, enrichment and survival is unmatched.
Kathanilayam library, the one-stop centre for Telugu stories, is a standing testimony to his love for the language. Born out of his ambition to preserve Telugu literature for generations to come, Kathanilayam is the most significant contribution anyone could have ever made to the cause of the Telugu short story.
Ka.Ra. Master believed short stories reflect complex human relations and life in a way that is at once arresting and thought-provoking. After having worked in the district court as a reader in the copying department, typist in the receivers’ office at Kotauratla and as a clerk in the staff royal engineering company, he joined the Naval Armaments Depot for a salary of Rs 80 per month in 1946.
He quit the comfortable job as he couldn’t find time to read and pen stories. Following his marriage with Lakshmi in 1948, he took a teacher training course and later joined St Anthony School in Vizag as a math teacher for Rs 40 a month and worked till his retirement in 1979.
“Aa ‘Lekkala Master’ (math teacher) later became popular as ‘Kathala Master’,” says former UPSC member and V-C of AKNU KS Chalam. Rama Rao Master used to offer free coaching in maths to poor and backward students. “Ka.Ra master had even written a short story on maths,” Chalam recalls.
Ka.Ra Master was friends with literary greats of the time such as Raavi Sastry, Balivada Kanta Rao, and Puripanda Appala Swamy. He was initially active in the Visakha Rachayatala Sangham and later joined Virasam along with Chalasani Prasada Rao. Kalipatnam Rama Rao was born to Bhramaramba and Perraju at Murapaka village in Laveru mandal on Nov. 9 in 1924.
Yagnam, an anthology of short stories, won him the Kendriya Sahitya Academy Award in 1995. He also won the Telugu University award in 1987, State Cultural department’s Hamsa award in 1986, Lok Nayak Foundation Award in 2008 and many others. He was presented with an honorary doctorate by Potti Sriramulu Telugu University in 2007.
After the death of Raavi Sastry, he published a book every year in his memory for four years. During the same period on the suggestion of writer Rachapalem Chandrasekhara Reddy, he set up Kathanilayam to make it a literary hub of North Andhra.The cash awards he received were spent on building the two-storied Kathanilayam in Srikakulam in 1997.
He even took up digitisation and had completed 12 lakh pages! About one lakh pages are still pending. “Rama Rao master did not have a house of his own. Still, he wanted to build Kathanilayam with his own resources. He never accepted donations from political leaders and depended on contributions from literary organisations,” recalls writer Attada Appala Naidu.
“At times, he used to go door-to-door with bags to collect books. Rama Rao Master visited most places for collecting books in both Andhra and Telangana,” Naidu says. Ka.Ra began his collection with Dhidddubatu Kathalu of Gurajada Appa Rao. He spent every penny he earned from his writings on literature. Rama Rao master brought literary recognition to Srikakulam “mandalikam”.
He made Chikkolu (Srikakulam) the go to address for short stories through his Kathanilayam, Naidu says. His eldest son Subba Rao is now managing Kathanilayam. Ka.Ra Master was not only a writer, he also groomed several short story writers, remembers Prasad, whose family was associated with the master.
His anthology Yagnam was made into a feature film with Bhanuchander in the lead. Kalipatnam Master authored about 200 short stories. He had great command over north Andhra slang and his writings reflected the culture of the people. Notable among his works are Kalipatnam Rama Rao Kathalu (1974), Yagnam, Chaavu, Jeevadhaara, Sankalpam, Kalipatnam Rama Rao Kathalu (1986), Katha Kathanam, Yagnam Tho Tommidi, etc.