KESAVA RAO

DASU KESAVA RAO was the eldest son of Mahakavi Dasu Sri Ramulu. Unlike his siblings who were all advocates, he left home soon after his schooling and took up contracts to lay railway lines in Kerala and the Nizams. After making enough money, he settled down in Bezwada to found the Telugu-speaking region’s biggest printing chain in 1896. He was the first to introduce Merganthaler’s type-setting and William Bullock’s rotary printing technology. When there was no thermal power plant in Bezwada, he powered his printing press and illuminated his 21-room mansion by setting up a mini-power plant. For his daughter’s marriage at Bapatla at the turn of the twentieth century, he set up a temporary power house and illuminated the entire area now known as Rangarao Thota. Thousands of people from villages around Bapatla came to see the spectacle. Legend has it that he printed, bound and delivered a 100-page book in one day, an unparalleled achievement in those days. He also wrote a book A Vade Macum of Anglo-Telugu Readers which sold 17 editions. He was known as a benevolent employer and patron of music. He hosted every year the Thyagaraja music festival and both his eldest daughter-in-law Varalakshmi and eldest grand daughter Sita Bai were good musicians. When he died, Bezwada Municipality switched off street lights as a mark of respect this great entrepreneur.