Historian and writer Dr Anand Raj Varma passes away

Noted historian Dr Anand Raj Varma passed away in the early hours of Thursday. He was 86. He is said to have died of a cardiac arrest.

Hyderabad: Noted historian Dr Anand Raj Varma passed away in the early hours of Thursday. He was 86. He is said to have died of a cardiac arrest.

Anand Raj Varma studied BSc and MSc in Botany at Osmania University and began his career in teaching and went on to become the principal of Anwar Ul Uloom College in the city. He also designed curriculums, and anchored an Urdu television game show Quizline for almost seven years on ETV Urdu.

---

He had a passion for the Urdu language and spent a major part of his life nurturing this fascination through literary articles. Over the years, he has written several history and education books among which was ‘Hyderabad: Mohalle, Gali aur Kooche’. The book was an amalgamation of local history of 30 localities in the old city which he also translated into Urdu.

Dr Varma was also a long-time contributor of articles on Hyderabad’s history and culture in ‘Telangana Today’.

In a statement, Vedakumar Manikonda, Chairman, Deccan Heritage Academy recalled his long association with Dr. Varma and said, “he is also the inspiration for many historians. His demise is a great loss to Hyderabad. His association and crusading zeal will continue to inspire us.”