Draft:Anil C. S. Rao

Anil C.S. Rao
Anil CS Rao (born September 3, 1964) is an Indian artist, poet, writer, and graphic novelist, engineer, and architect.

Rao is a widely recognized artist, and his artworks are exhibited in the United States, Europe, and India galleries. He is known for his graphic novels and publications in English and Telugu. He has been featured in several leading international and national media publications and magazines, including The Times of India, The Gazette, Pune Mirror, The Hindu, Debonair Magazine, and Telugu newspapers such as Eenadu and Swathi.

What sets Rao apart from other artists and graphic novelists is that he has no formal training in drawing or painting - and for his exhibited artworks and graphic novels: he does all his artwork utilizing 3D and photo editing software - utilizing 3rd part render scripts in the 3D program to create the cartoon effect for the artwork in his graphic novel work.

Early life and education
Rao was born on September 3, 1964, to Dr. CVG Krishna Rao MD and Dr. Kusuma C Rao MD. His grandfather, CVH Rao, was a notable Indian journalist who authored the two books Civil Disobedience Movements in India and India's Case For Freedom (1945). He was born in Hyderabad, India, and moved to the United States at 4. He graduated from the Boys’ Latin School of Maryland a year early in 1981.

In 1980 - after graduation from the Boy's Latin School of Maryland - he travelled to Bombay, India to seek admission at the government FTII - only to be turned away due to a closure caused by the Institute's proximity to the Pune Ashram of Osho - which was annexing many of its students into its fold.

His father CVG Krishna Rao's elder brother - Hindi film producer CVK Sastry - found work for him in the interim as an apprentice to Bombay cameraman Dharam Chopra - and after waiting 6 months for the Pune Film Institute to reopen - decided to call it quits to return to his native Maryland to pursue his college studies at the University of Maryland - and later Pratt Institute in New York - where he completed a BEng in Electrical Engineering in 1988.

In 2008, Rao enrolled in the San Francisco Institute of Architecture and completed an MS in Architecture. Rao also holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from National University with its main campus in La Jolla, California.

Career
Rao began his career in 1988 as a field engineer at FONAR Corporation, a New York-based medical imaging devices manufacturing company. During the years 1989 to 2004, Rao worked as an engineer specializing in computerized traffic signal systems, fiber optic and copper-based WAN/LAN Network design, and COMM systems for several private consulting firms, including Metropolitan Transportation Authority (City of New York), the City of Alexandria (Metro Washington DC), the State of California (CALTRANS), and the Washington DC utility company Pepco. Rao has also worked as an IT professional for consultants to the government of Washington, DC, and the US Federal Bureau of Land Management headquarters in Denver, Colorado, on the Y2K “bug.”

Khadi "Homespun" from a New Perspective:

Around 2003 - he started an LLC in The States in 2003 - the ‘Emma Dress’ - the aim of which was to manufacture and import “khadi” (homespun) cloth-based woman’s garments along with indigenous Indian accessories into The States from India. Specifically, the “khadi” was sourced in the small-scale silk mills in the village of Pochampalli outside Hyderabad.

In 1991, he had attempted part time study at FIT in the Fashion District of Manhattan NYC while employed as an engineer by the City of New York  - but due to lack of time given a full-time daytime job  - and hence - lack of the repetitive practice in sewing and draping muslin to create patterns to sew from - in this trade he concluded only hundreds of iterations would yield marginal progress - he found himself in the failure zone towards the end of that initial semester - and decided it best to ‘abandon ship’ at that juncture in time.

More than a decade later he resurrected this interest from his younger days - and in 2004, he did in fact design garments himself and in collaboration with NIFT Hyderabad students - and employed local Hyderabad small-scale businesses - tailors, seamstresses, etc. - to manufacture them to his specs. All the materials for the accessories were also local to Hyderabad - including black pearl necklaces, silver surfing themed jewelry, etc.

The ultimate plan was actually inspired by his readings of the Mahatma Gandhi and EF Schumacher - to rent a small stall or store on the Boardwalk at Ocean City, Maryland during summer months in America - and return to his place of birth in India - to work on new designs the rest of the year.

Unfortunately, because of bad logistics - and unfavorable import quotas in place by the United States’ government customs authorities - the business was shuttered after a year of struggle to stay on course.

Rao is a poet and a painter. His poetry work shows the vast diversity and scope of contemporary life. His work is unique to digital media since he reverse-engineers digital photographs and scanned artworks to create paintings. His art is renowned for its ability to transcend cultures and generations through the universal symbols of spirituality juxtaposed with a sensual motif. His artwork is frequently inspired by several narratives, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. His works are exhibited in the United States, Europe, and India.

Rao is also a published author of several graphic novels. During his MFA, he wrote his first thesis, “Bharathi- Her Theory of Everything.” In 2012, three of Rao’s novels were featured in the top 17 graphic novels and comic books released by FHM.

Rao lives in ​Anil CS Rao lives in Hyderabad India - his wife and twin high school age boys in Ellicott City Maryland.