Balivada Kanta Rao

Who was Balivada Kanta Rao?

Balivada Kanta Rao was a noted Telugu novelist and playwright.

He was born in Madapam village in Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradesh, he worked in various capacities as civilian officer in the Indian Navy. He has to his credit 38 major and minor novels, 400 short stories, 5 major plays, host of playlets and radio plays and travelogues. His literary works have been the subjects of doctoral thesis for many scholars.

Many of his novels and stories have been translated into other Indian languages. He won several awards which include Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi, Telugu University Award, Gopichand Literary award, Ravi Shastri Memorial Award and Kalasagar Vishishta Puraskaram. He was the winner of Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award in 1998 by the Government of India.

He incessantly churned out creative pieces of literature for five long decades. But never, not in any instant, did he ever compromise on quality. His own individual qualities of honesty and uprighteousness, compassion and generosity are reflected in his works.