"Crane Subba Rao" - one of the most celebrated school dropouts and respected entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh - passed away in a private hospital here on Thursday night and the cremation will take place on Saturday, according to family sources.
90-year-old Grandhi Subba Rao, who established the Virat Crane Betelnut Industries here, began his illustrious career way back in the early 1950s with a capital of Rs 100 given by his father, selling beletnut, arecanut, supari and oils on a bicycle in Guntur town and the villages in the vicinity.
With his hard work and persistence, he built up the Crane group of industries, now worth more than Rs 100 crore, with the main business of betelnut powder situated here and a software company in Hyderabad besides a fruit pulp unit in Odisha.
In an interview given a few years ago, Subba Rao explained why he had chosen crane as a symbol for his products.
"Crane stands in a meditative pose in a pond on one leg, waiting for ages for the worm to surface, and then strikes swiftly when the opportunity arises. That is what an entrepreneur requires - enormous patience, persistence, and perseverance," he said.
In a condolence message, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said Crane Subba Rao's spectacular success as an entrepreneur with no formal education should be a source of inspiration to the younger generation. He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.
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