Century-old book revived by author’s grandson

Book of phrases and sentences exposes readers to English language in pre-Independence era

A hundred-year-old book has taken on a modern avatar, thanks to a decade-long efforts by the author’s grandson. A Vade Mecum of all Anglo-Telugu Readers, published in 1920, has been edited and released now as ‘A Century of An Epic’.

The book of Telugu phrases and sentences rendered into idiomatic and appropriate English exposes readers to English language in the pre-Independence era. The book was recently released by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

“Some expressions sound funny given the contextual changes over the decades and that is what makes it further interesting,” says Dasu Kesava Rao, grandson of Dasu Kesava Rao Pant, the original author. First published in 1920, it had received such a phenomenal response that it went for reprints every year until 1938. Finding it amid a dusty pile of old books in 2010, the author’s grandson took a decade to refine, revive and reprint it.