After Bapu passed away in Chennai on Sunday, his close associates shared their feelings with The Hindu .
“Bapu is not an ordinary person. He is a brand. Nowhere in the world has the handwriting of an artist been widely used as a font (Bapu font). That credit goes only to Bapu,” said Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, noted author and cine actor.
Speaking to The Hindu over phone from Visakhapatnam, Mr. Rao recalled that writers like himself would dream that their stories should go with illustrations of Bapu in ‘Andhra Patrika’. The ultimate satisfaction was when Bapu drew the cover page for books penned by me, he said.
His works are celebrated for their aesthetic sensibility, simplicity, keen observation of life, subtle humour and authentic representation of Indian and Telugu culture and values. His influence on Telugu literature, films, and on canvas is unimaginable. The world has lost an ardent Rama bhakta and “exclusive genius” who influenced religious thought with his paintings. “The government should have honoured Bapu long back with the Padma Vibhushan,” he said.
