DR. PINNAMANENI NARASIMHA RAOSri Pinnamaneni Narasimha Rao was born in 1914 in

Neppalli in Krishna District ,in family distinguished for socialservice and nationalism. His father, Sri Pinnamaneni

Punnaiah Garu, was a highly respected and enlightened

person, an intense individual who provided pioneeringleadership in the local administrative bodies and banks. On

his mother, Smt. Varalakshmi's side, his uncles were actively

involved in the nationalist movement. No wonder, Sri

Narasimha Rao inherited, even from his boyhood days, a

penchant for social work and dedicated service. Born andbred in an atmosphere of service, altruism and humanism.

It was natural that Dr. Narasimha Rao was later in his life to

devote his professional career to the cause of humanity anddedicate his gifts of the healer's compassionate art in the

service of the suffering and the needy.

Sri Narasimha, Rao had his elementary education at

Vijayawada, and then moved to Madras to do his Interme-

diate at the Madras Christian College. Sri Narasimha Rao

joined the Visakhapatnam Medical College soon after his

Intermediate and graduated in Medicine in 1939.

In 1946, Dr. Narasimha Rao obtained the M.S. Degree

of Andhra University in Otolaryngology, having been the first

to achieve this distinction, which led to his appointment as

the E.N.T. Surgeon at K.G. Hospital, Vizag, and Head of

Department of E.N.T. Diseases, Andhra Medical College.This phaseof his careerwas significant in that itsynchronized

with the development of the E. N.T. Diseases Department as

an independent entity not only in Andhra Pradesh but also

elsewhere in India. In fact, the history of the E. N.T. Diseases

speciality in the South in particular, and all over the country

in general, is the story of Dr. Narasimha Rao's contributionin that field. The contour of the individual's professional life,

thanks to the force of his personality, became the saga of

an institution's growth and evolution in time.

When Dr. Narasimha Rao joiried the Department in

1942 , the faculty was still in its infancy, being looked after

by a surgeon , designated as a lecturer in E.N.T. diseasesand assisted by a tutor. Even way back in 1946, when Dr.

Narasimha Rao became a lecturer, on the retirement of his

master, Dr. Tirumala Rao, the subject continued to have a

low profile and was not yet deemed worthy of postgraduate

specialization. Thanks to Dr. Narasimha Rao's foresight

and initiative, and his zeal and dynamism, the importanceof the subject was soon recognized universally, and steps

were taken to accord it its rightful place as an independent

specialization. The Postgraduate Course in E.N.T. diseases

was thus started in The Andhra Medical College in 1946.

Cr. Narasimha Rao's patience, perseverance and vision

enabled the faculty to grow into a full-fledged discipline notonly in the Andhra Medical College but also in the otherMedical Colleges of the State.

Not merely content with sponsoring and starting this

faculty, Dr. Narasimha Rao went on to give it a credibility andauthenticity by modernizing E.N.T.studies and developing

them on sound lines. Besides his zeal, what contributed to

the growth of this specialization was his academic

earnestness and professional excellence. As a teacher, hewas noted for his great erudition and an ideal temperamentcharacterised by sobriety, balance and urbanity. As acreativeand inspiring teacher he employed the artof facile exposition

which infused ready enthusiasm and aptitude for the

subject among his students many of whom have, years

afterwards, continued to cherish it in their memories withgratitude and reverence.

He has published more than thirty papers in this

specialization challenging the scholar-doctors to explore

new postures. He was the first to form the Association of

Otolaryngologists in India along with fourteen Surgeons of

his fraternity, and then the Andhra branch with its headquarters at Vizag in 1951.

The Medical Council of India, New Delhi has paid a

fitting tribute to his services, when it met recently. "His workin the Council has subscribed, to a great extent, in clarity of

thought, and enabled the council to formulate its policy on

undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. He

has been an ardent advocate of high standard of academictraining and an upholder of the highest standard of medical

ethics in the profession. As an E.N.T. surgeon, he has been

of eminent service to the large number of patients who flock

around him. As a teacher he has rendered yeomans service

Vol. 46, No. 4, Oct.—Dec. 1994 IJO & HNS • 237

Notable Man in ENT—S. Banerjee

and trained a large number of post graduates.If the 40's and the early 50's saw him march ahead in

his profession, as a teacher, researcher, surgeon, counsellor

and guide, the late 50's and the early 60's discovered Dr.

Narasimha Rao was an administrator,academician and

educationist of exceptional professional ability, intellectual

acumen and imaginative leadership. In 1956, he was

elected to the Senate of the Andhra University from the

Graduate's Constituency by a majority which is yet to besurpassed. From the Senate to the Syndicate was an easy

and natural passage for him. During his tenure as a Senator

and a Syndic forthree terms, his guidance and counsel wereof immense help to the successive Vice- Chancellors inshaping the educational policy in general and that of medical

studies in particular. Andhra Uviversity had the benefit of hisexperience as its Vice-chancellor for a brief term, during

which he made a mark in administration. In 1966, he was

appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Osmania University, which

was a befitting gesture of recognition affirming public faith in

his incomparable gifts of academic distinction, objectivityand civility. The starting of the Postgraduate Centre at

Guntur was in no small measure due to Dr. NarasimhaRao's initiative.

He has been an active Lion, having been a Cabinet

Member of the Lions District for some time. He has been

intimately associated with the Red Cross and the St. John's

Ambulance for many years. Currently, he is the Vice-President of the Indian Council of Social Welfare, Guntur

Branch.Even as a student, Dr. Narasimha Rao was a keen

sportsman, having been an active member of his Medical

College Foot-Ball and Athletic teams and as Vice Presidentof the Andhra University Sports Council. His sportsmanship

brought him still closer to the student community in that he

encouraged and developed many student activities, bothcurricular and extracurricular. As the Principal of the MedicalCollege, Vizag in 1960, and of that at Guntur in 1964, he

explored new areas of student involvement such as a)

Students Health Insurance Scheme, b) Students Guidance

and c) Tutorial System. He was for a long time the Vice-

President of the World University Student's Organizationand the patron of the Overseas Students Organization.

Dr. Narasimha Rao has travelled extensively in ourcountry and visited Australia in 1958 as a Visiting

Professor. He retired from Government service in 1968 and

since then has been Professor Emeritus at the GunturMedical College. He has distinguished himself in many a

field and in recognition of his talents and service to theworld of science, he has been elected a Fellow of the

American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of theInternational College of Surgeons.

Advancing years have not found Dr. Narasimha Rao

any less physically active or mentally agile. Even now as

Professor Emeritus, he is liberally dispensing advice andguidance to individuals and institutions that seek his matureviews. Surgeon and Professor, academician and

administrator, socialworkerand humanitarian, Dr. Narasimha

Rao is a multifaceted, fully integrated personality whose

quiet dynamism, intimate knowledge, initiative, perception

and imaginative leadership have been of great service tohumanity. The honour conferred on him by the Andhra

University in awarding him the Golden Jubilee Doctorate

Degree in 1978 and President, Medical Council of India

in 1994 are the humble token of recognition of a life

time service and selfless devotion to academic and publiclife.

Compiled by:

Santanu Banerjee

IJO & HNS . 238 Vol. 46, No. 4, Oct.–Dec. 1994