Hanumantha Rao demise mourned by industry
The founder of Pragati Offset and a stalwart of the Indian printing industry, Hanumantha Rao, and a “titan” of the printing industry and a celebrated award winning printer has died aged 91.
05 Mar 2015 | 2658 Views | By PrintWeek India
Hanumantha Rao, who was responsible for laying the foundation for much of Pragati Offset's success in commercial print and packaging, passed away on 2 March after a struggle with ill health.
Due to his death, the Mumbai Mudrak Sangh paid a two minute homage to Hanumantha Rao at the start of ifs Printer's Day celebrations on 4 March. Rao was a former president of the All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP) and a highly respected member of the print community.
"He was a titan of the industry and had a huge impact on print. In many ways we see this as the passing of an era,” said president of the AIFMP, Dev Nair.
Rao was born in 1924 and from an early age he was doing everything – from working in the fields to working as a journalist, acting in films with N T Rama Rao to participating in the freedom movement, for which he was jailed for three years.
In 1962 he started his printing unit, Pragati Art Printers with a small letterpress printing machine after which he never looked back. Today, Pragati is one of the well-known printing brand not only in India but the world.
Dev Nair said, "He helped to develop Pragati brand of winning national and international awards."
Kamal Chopra of Offset Printers' Association (OPA) said, "Hanumantha Rao was most popular amongst the people-in-print and his social circles due to his habit of working, selflessly. With his passing away the members of the OPA are distraught due to this inconsolable loss not only to his family but also to the people-in-print in India."
To pay homage to Rao, the offices of the printing units of the members of OPA will remain closed for the first half tomorrow till the memorial services (funeral) are complete.
Rao successfully defended the right of small print firms in India to not just exist but to thrive.
As the editor of PrintWeek India, Ramu Ramanathan said, "I recall the amount of hard work he put in, in trying to upgrade the print firms in the towns and zillas of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; especially the small firms with a single colour or two colour offset press."
Ramanathan continued, "His aim and ambition was to build a print museum that celebrates print in India. He wanted it to be a collection of prints / images and antique machines / types plus unique engravings / etchings and even drawings / illustrations. He wanted a museum that showcases the print-making traditions in India."