Noted author Raja Rao dies in US at 96

Rao shot to fame at the age of 30 after the publication of his first novel "Kanthapura", which became a cult classic.

Noted novelist Raja Rao, who earned fame for his contributions to Indian English literature, died in Austin, Texas on Saturday. He was 96.

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Rao shot to fame at the age of 30 after the publication of his first novel "Kanthapura", which became a cult classic. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1969.

Born in Mysore on November eight 1909, Rao went to Europe at the age of 19 to do research in literature at the University of Montpellier and at Sorbonne.

He later moved to the US, where he taught Indian philosophy and Buddhism at the University of Austin, his publishers in New Delhi said.