Kodavatiganti Kutumbarao

Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao (28 October 1909 – 17 August 1980), also known as Ko Ku, was an exponent of the Telugu literature in the 20th century. He believed that literature which criticises and enriches human life and ultimately reforms the human thought of its time is the only relevant form of literature. Kodavatiganti Kutumbarao was born in to a middle-class family in Tenali, Guntur district. His schooling until 1925 was in Tenali. He lost his father in 1914 and his mother in 1920, and grew up with his uncle. He was very familiar with village life. His elder brother Venkatasubbiah (out of touch since 1921) was a poet-writer and he was introduced to the literary community early through him. He was introduced to western literature too during this time. His early experiments, at the age of thirteen, included an unfinished thriller and poetry, which he would soon abandon. He married eleven-year-old Padmavati in 1924, before he graduated from high school.