Anil C.S. Rao

Anil CS Rao (born September 3, 1964) is an Indian artist, poet, writer, and graphic novelist. He currently serves as the administrative assistant at pAdNiL Arts, a UX and UI design firm and works independently on his graphic novel and comics projects.
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 Swaathi.
==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 Foreign 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 in 1981 and pursued engineering at Pratt Institute from 1983 to 1987. In 2008, Rao enrolled in the San Francisco Institute of Architecture to pursue MS in architecture. Rao also holds a Master’s 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 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.”
In 2003, Rao left his IT job and established an LLC, Emma Dress, in Maryland, United States. Emma Dress aimed to manufacture and import women’s garments and accessories made from khadi from India to the United States. In 2004, Rao designed garments in collaboration with students from NIFT Hyderabad, employing local tailors, seamstresses, and business owners to manufacture the garments as per his designs.
Presently Rao works as an administrative assistant at pAdNiL Design LLC in Ellicott City, Maryland, United States. The company provides UX and UI design services wherein Rao assists the company’s CEO, Padmaja Attota, who is also Rao’s wife and a self-taught painter.
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 Howard County, Maryland, United States, with his wife Padmaja and twin boys. He visits his city of birth, Hyderabad, India, during his children's summer holidays. He shifted to the US at 4 and later moved back to India in 2010, thus holding dual citizenship.
==Bibliography==
* Shobha Mirza P.A. (2019)
* Bharathi- Her Theory of Everything (2019)
* The Indian Time Traveller (2019)
* Bright Lights, Big Buddha: A Novel of the Mid 80s (2019)
* Manhattanville & Y2K: Two Short Stories about Indian Engineers in America (2019)
==References==
==External links==
* Personal Website
* 
Category:1964 births
Category:Indian artists
Category:Indian poets
Category:Indian writers
Category:Indian photographers
Category:Indian graphic novelists