Amaravati, Jun 4 (IANS): Prominent Telugu author and Sahitya Akademi awardee Kalipatnam Rama Rao breathed his last on Friday, aged 97 years. He was ailing for some time and passed away at his residence in Srikakulam, due to age-related health issues.

He was the author of several acclaimed stories and books, including Yagnam, and was awarded the Sahitya award in 1996.

Popularly known as KaRa Master, he had established Katha Nilayam, a unique library that emerged as a repository of Telugu books and stories published since the 1930s. Katha Nilayam contains around one lakh published works and is the destination for people looking for Telugu books published over the last 9 decades.

KaRa's death was condoled by a host of leaders and public figures across the two Telugu states. Apart from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, actor and politician Pawan Kalyan, and his brother, Telugu film star Chiranjeevi condoled KaRA's death.