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Raja Rao
राजा राव
The philosopher-novelist — the master of the Indian novel in English
Years
1908 – 2006
Known as
Raja Rao — the novelist and philosopher
Birthplace
Hassan, Karnataka
Field
Poets & Writers
“The novel of Bhārat must be written in the manner of the storyteller of the village — with the truth of the spirit.”
— Raja Rao
The Story
Born in 1908 in Hassan, Karnataka, Raja Rao studied in Hyderabad and France before beginning his career as a writer. His first novel, Kanthapura (1938), told the story of a small South Indian village transformed by the arrival of Gandhi's message — a novel that remains one of the great works of the Indian renaissance.
His masterpiece, The Serpent and the Rope (1960), is a philosophical novel of rare depth, exploring the meeting of East and West through the story of a young Brahmin intellectual. The novel, drawing on the philosophy of Advaita, is considered one of the greatest works of fiction of the twentieth century.
He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Neustadt International Prize, and his name is spoken among the greats of world literature. He died in 2006, having written the novel of the spirit that only the tradition of Bhārat could produce.
Core Ideas
Kanthapura
His great novel of the village awakened by Gandhi.
The Serpent and the Rope
His philosophical masterpiece of East and West.
The Philosopher
The depth of Advaita in the modern novel.
The Neustadt Prize
The international honour for his achievement.
The Master
One of the greatest Indian novelists in English.
Why it matters today
Raja Rao is honoured as one of the greatest Indian novelists in English — the writer who carried the philosophical depth of Bhārat into the modern novel. His Kanthapura and The Serpent and the Rope are masterpieces of world literature, and his name stands among the makers of the modern Indian imagination.