Chandrakanth Rao

Counting the colors in my rainbow

Today is July 27th 2026, the day that marks my sixty-sixth year on this beautiful Earth! What an opportune time to recollect my story  – amidst one of the most talented group of people that I ever met – my high school buddies! Let me begin my story at the point in my life when I met them first.

In 1973, I walked into the beautiful school campus on the Light House hill – Aloysius ! My parents had migrated into the city from their traditional temple town home of Udupi due to employment of my father in Colgate MNC. With typical middleclass aspirations of a nuclear family, their hopes were set high on their first born – me,  and for them, my admission into the prestigious much sought after school ‘Aloysius’ was a dream come true –  and as for me, I had dreamed of joining the school on the hill because it was then, the only school with a school bus!

From a girls majority school, I suddenly fell amidst a bunch of boisterous boys- ragged into taking the test of fire! I found myself getting all the attention for all the wrong reasons – partly because of the district 7th standard exam rank fresh against my name, and partly due to my near pious upbringing at this convent school – St Gerosa!

The God given gift of “grasping, retaining and reproducing on the exam papers” skill, commonly identified as “being a good student” brought me high marks, prizes and appreciation from the strict group of school masters, and again, attention for the wrong reasons from the boys in class – as the guy who was “too perfect – too studious”! With a troubled heart within, and a dogged genial smile on the outside, I slowly began making friends with my firebrand buddies – I was even voted highest in the school DSPL Elections and I’m sure, over time, I won a place in the hearts of the precocious but highly talented bunch of classmates! The school life ended on a high note with three of us, Vinay Prabhu, Raviraj and I having our photos on the front page of newspapers as State Tenth standard rank holders.

The State Rank was a celebration of the moment, but it lingered on, putting an added pressure on me of continued performance. While it would be ideal for a rank holder to take the Science route towards a career through IIT or IIS or AIIMS, I took the contrarian path of Commerce and eventually, got to face and clear one of the toughest exams being then taken on a self-study mode, Chartered Accountancy. In the meanwhile, I graduated in Commerce with an eventual campus life in Aloysius College, again there, ending it on a high note with the “Aloysian All Round Progress” Award.

I got mentored into practising the profession of Chartered Accountancy under the guidance of one of the most respected CAs of those days in Mangalore – Mr S S Kamath of the firm Messrs Kamath and Rau. Over the last four decades thereafter, my CA practice has grown in Mangalore under the Partnership firm name ‘Rao and Basri’.  Playing the role of an assurance professional and tax consultant has been quite challenging in the tumultuous world of trade and business, where the entrepreneurs fight their battles for survival, profit and progress. Treading the ethical middle path,  the respect and appreciation from my clients and the business community have come my way in immense measure over the years, which I have valued more than than the financial rewards the profession has given me.

Like what seemed that good things were “arranged” by destiny for me time again, I got a wonderful life partner in the traditional “family arranged  marriage” mode. Born into a successful business family in Bombay, she came as a perennial source of energetic enthusiasm into my life and complemented my interests in culture and living a good life. We have all these years, lived alongside my parents’ home until they  left us  to their heavenly home a few years ago. Over time, two boys came into our life, the elder son qualified as a Chartered Accountant specialising in IT Consulting and is now Director of Ernst and Young and living with his chartered accountant life partner in Bangalore. Our younger son graduated in Law from Symbiosis Pune and has started testing waters as practising Advocate in Mangalore.

Outside my consulting practice, I have been having an interesting community life by associating myself in various leadership positions in organisations like the Kanara Chamber of Commerce, the Mangalore chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Rotary Movement and the Carnatic Music Groups. I have contributed in various professional groups like the Delegation Visit  to Niti Aayog, Delhi, Chartered Accountants Institute visits to Beijing, Singapore and Middle East and the Rotary Exchange Program visit to USA. I have been gifted by God with a musical ear and voice, and I have been trained in Carnatic Vocal music. Though no longer a music performer, classical music has given a great dimension to life  and has helped me appreciate art and culture deeply in life.

In hindsight, my story may sound like the story of a ship that was built with great finesse but remained anchored in safe harbour all the time without testing true waters outside of home. Many a time my close confidantes have said that I have not performed to my fullest potential, but I feel I have consciously done that to enjoy life in an even manner. I feel destiny too has been kind in rewarding me all the good things in life in an even and steady way! By being a sincere friend, philosopher and guide to the business community, an honest mentor to my CA students and to my sons, an enthusiastic member of my family  for enjoying everything good in life in the right measure, and a positive go-to person to my friends, I feel it has been a blessed life!

Thanks Loy, who egged me into putting down to words my story, and thanks DEAR1976 Friends of the Golden Reunion, for creating this opportunity to host this story! Looking forward to seeing you all in person soon – to hear more stories from each one  of  you and celebrate the flowers that have bloomed in their unique way in the Garden of life! I feel blessed counting colors in my Rainbow of Life!

CA Chandrakanth Rao bcraoca@gmail.com