Veernala Jayarama Rao

After relocating to Delhi, India, he established a Kuchipudi school, training students including Swapna Sundari, Meenakshi Seshadri, and Vanashree Rao, who later became his wife and dance partner.^[2]

Rao serves on the Expert Committee for Kuchipudi under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD Ministry) and has previously held a senior research fellowship focused on the art form.^{[citation needed]}

He has received several awards, including the Padma Shri (2004), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1999, shared with Vanashree Rao), the Delhi State Award, and the Andhra Pradesh Samman.^{[citation needed]} He also received the Natyaratna Award from the Sanmukhananda Sabha in 2005.^{[citation needed]}