Damerla Venkata Ramana Rao (DVR Rao) never gave up on life. Born on August 25, 1936 fondly called ‘Nani’ by those close to him, Rao remained an active citizen activist even during his failing health and always wore a smile.
A resident of Baner’s Pallod Farms, his bungalow ‘Damini’ was his pride and joy, built out of his idea of a house surrounded with green cover, this was a place where he welcomed everyone to be part of his ever growing family in Pune.
Born in Guntur, Rao studied in Rajahmundry and later joined IIT Kharagpur to study electrical engineering. After passing out from IIT Kharagpur, he joined the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) of the Indian Army and served for 21 years. He joined Tata Motors in Pune in 1980 and became a consultant after working with the firm for 13 years.
Rao’s website mentions about Shesh who he married in November 16, 1964, in Hyderabad. It states “Ours is an arranged marriage. I never believed in seeing a lot of girls and rejecting all but one. After one totally misinformed disaster of unfortunately having to say no to a young lady, I was very careful to meet only the young lady to whom I will say yes. The only occasion I experienced ecstasy was after seeing Sesh.”
He got associated with Active Citizen in 1991. What followed was his passion to do the right thing in the right way made him the president of Aundh Vikas Mandal (AVM) and later the president of National Society of Clean Cities (NSCC). He was also the president and zone chairman of the Lions Club of Erandwana and part of the PPI (People’s Political Party of India).
{{/usCountry}}He got associated with Active Citizen in 1991. What followed was his passion to do the right thing in the right way made him the president of Aundh Vikas Mandal (AVM) and later the president of National Society of Clean Cities (NSCC). He was also the president and zone chairman of the Lions Club of Erandwana and part of the PPI (People’s Political Party of India).
{{/usCountry}}Swapna, Rao’s younger daughter, said, “He complained of a backache that kept him awake the whole night and was admitted to Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in the morning of March 21 where he suffered three massive attacks. Doctors managed to revive him during the first two, but had to put him on ventilator after the third attack. He was due for his chemotherapy on March 22 for his treatment for cancer.”
Rao has written several short stories, technical articles, and three novels Sunita, Through The Glass Ceiling (on corporate world) You Can Make A Difference (on public governance). He is survived by his wife Shesh, two daughters Dipika (elder) and Swapna, and two grandchildren Sharmeila (Dipika’s daughter) and Rahil (Swapna’s daughter).
He was a Gentlemen, and an activist at par, a person who cared for the city, his heart was in the right place. He was someone who got people got together. He drafted the letter for us to sign, two days ago... He was still active, his mind was always there…, a very close friend and elder brother. As president of NSCC, he worked hard to see Pune can become green, clean Pune, the environment was clean. At his age, he was always ready to do any work. Hats off to him.