<p>He has autographs of famous personalities, which he started collecting from 1947. <br /><br />He took this up as a hobby after he got the autograph of C V Raman. C V Raman had come to the University of Allahabad to preside over the Indian Science Congress. <br /><br />Rao, who was living in Allahabad then, was a volunteer at that conference and wanted to meet him. “The opportunity came when our landlord, a South Indian, invited C V Raman over for breakfast. I was thrilled and purchased a new autograph book. Then I met him and got his signature,’’ he recollects. <br /><br />Rao has autographs of renowned national and international scientists because of his association with the Indian Science Congress. His collection also includes the signatures of political figures like Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vallabh Pant, V K Krishna Menon and S Radhakrishnan and cricketers like Vijay Hazare, Vijay Manjrekar, Polly Umrigar, Vinoo Mankad, E Prasanna and others. He also got an opportunity to meet Indian and foreign cricketers as cricket matches used to happen in Kanpur. He admits that his father encouraged him to cultivate the hobby to a great extent. <br /><br />As Rao’s father had a transferable job, the family soon shifted to Lucknow. But Rao continued his association with the Indian Science Congress. “I got an opportunity to meet Jawaharlal Nehru at one of the conferences. I requested him to sign my book. He politely refused to do it but asked Indira Gandhi to sign it. She happily signed and asked me to become a member of the Indian Science Congress,” he laughs. <br /><br /> He fondly recollects his encounter with Field Marshal K M Cariappa in Lucknow. “I introduced myself as a Kannadiga. He was happy seeing a Kannadiga in Lucknow. After a formal conversation, I requested him to give me his autograph. To my surprise, he had written his name in Kannada. I was greatly moved by his patriotism,” he says. <br /><br />“I always carried these autograph books wherever I went. They bring back memories as they are associated with beautiful moments. Though these autographs were signed nearly 60 years ago, the writing is still clear and the ink is bright,” he says proudly.<br /><br />Interestingly, Rao was also into aero-modelling when he was a teenager. “When I was 13-year-old, a relative of my friend had brought a wooden aircraft which could fly. Fascinated by the object, my friend and I started collecting and building a number of aeroplane models, which could fly,” he explains<br /><br />What does he think about the current trend of autograph collection? “I feel the trend is still there, but youngsters are not that serious about it. I always made a formal conversation with the person before requesting him or her for an autograph. I had maintained a separate book for the purpose. Now, I see youngsters taking autographs of celebrities on a piece of paper. Nobody knows where that piece will be after a few days,” he adds.<br /></p>
<p>He has autographs of famous personalities, which he started collecting from 1947. <br /><br />He took this up as a hobby after he got the autograph of C V Raman. C V Raman had come to the University of Allahabad to preside over the Indian Science Congress. <br /><br />Rao, who was living in Allahabad then, was a volunteer at that conference and wanted to meet him. “The opportunity came when our landlord, a South Indian, invited C V Raman over for breakfast. I was thrilled and purchased a new autograph book. Then I met him and got his signature,’’ he recollects. <br /><br />Rao has autographs of renowned national and international scientists because of his association with the Indian Science Congress. His collection also includes the signatures of political figures like Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vallabh Pant, V K Krishna Menon and S Radhakrishnan and cricketers like Vijay Hazare, Vijay Manjrekar, Polly Umrigar, Vinoo Mankad, E Prasanna and others. He also got an opportunity to meet Indian and foreign cricketers as cricket matches used to happen in Kanpur. He admits that his father encouraged him to cultivate the hobby to a great extent. <br /><br />As Rao’s father had a transferable job, the family soon shifted to Lucknow. But Rao continued his association with the Indian Science Congress. “I got an opportunity to meet Jawaharlal Nehru at one of the conferences. I requested him to sign my book. He politely refused to do it but asked Indira Gandhi to sign it. She happily signed and asked me to become a member of the Indian Science Congress,” he laughs. <br /><br /> He fondly recollects his encounter with Field Marshal K M Cariappa in Lucknow. “I introduced myself as a Kannadiga. He was happy seeing a Kannadiga in Lucknow. After a formal conversation, I requested him to give me his autograph. To my surprise, he had written his name in Kannada. I was greatly moved by his patriotism,” he says. <br /><br />“I always carried these autograph books wherever I went. They bring back memories as they are associated with beautiful moments. Though these autographs were signed nearly 60 years ago, the writing is still clear and the ink is bright,” he says proudly.<br /><br />Interestingly, Rao was also into aero-modelling when he was a teenager. “When I was 13-year-old, a relative of my friend had brought a wooden aircraft which could fly. Fascinated by the object, my friend and I started collecting and building a number of aeroplane models, which could fly,” he explains<br /><br />What does he think about the current trend of autograph collection? “I feel the trend is still there, but youngsters are not that serious about it. I always made a formal conversation with the person before requesting him or her for an autograph. I had maintained a separate book for the purpose. Now, I see youngsters taking autographs of celebrities on a piece of paper. Nobody knows where that piece will be after a few days,” he adds.<br /></p>
