P.S. Lakshmi Rao passed away peacefully after a brief illness, with her daughters and grandson by her side. Mrs. Rao and her husband, Dr. P.V. Rao, were among the earliest Indian families to make Atlanta their home, arriving in 1967. Over the next six decades, she helped build and nurture the Indian American community through her hospitality, friendship, and food. She was also the beloved author of NRI Pulse’s long-running “What’s Cooking?” column. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, July 27, 2026, at Wages & Sons Funeral Home, 1040 Main Street, Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083.
BY VEENA RAO*
When I think of P.S. Lakshmi Rao, I think of warmth. I think of a welcoming home, delicious meals, and the simple joy of bringing people together around food. To generations of Indian Americans in Atlanta, she was a mentor, a gracious hostess, and one of the quiet builders of our community. To the NRI Pulse family, she was our beloved “What’s Cooking?” columnist.
Like so many others, I experienced the warmth of the Rao home, a place where everyone was welcome. I will miss the wonderful meals she cooked for me and my Atlanta family, the bottles of homemade pickles and chutneys she would always pack for me to take home, her excitement over something new she was growing in her garden.
In 1967, Mrs. Rao moved to Atlanta with her husband, the late Dr. Pemmaraju Venugopala Rao, fondly known as Dr. P.V. Rao, when he joined Emory University as a professor of Nuclear Physics. Together, the Raos helped lay the foundation for the Indian American community in Atlanta. They played an instrumental role in the early years of organizations including the India American Cultural Association (IACA), the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, the Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta, TANA, ATA, GATA, Maitri, the Gandhi Room at the King Center, Stars of India at Fernbank, and the Vanguri Foundation of America.
Her home is like a museum of memories of those pioneering days. The basement shelves hold so many of those memories in the form of event brochures, photographs, paintings. A 1975 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an extensive cover story on the Indian community in Atlanta.
She spoke fondly about the time when the community got together enthusiastically about raising funds to build the IACA building. Every weekend, thousands of samosas were made in homes and sold at Piedmont Park.
Cooking was central to her life. For more than five decades, the Rao home was a sanctuary for anyone who walked through its doors. Visiting artists, scholars, writers, students, and newcomers to America all found a place at their table. Dr. and Mrs. Rao were the parent figures to countless young people as they navigated life in a new place far from home.
Mrs. Rao eventually welcomed thousands more into her kitchen through the pages of NRI Pulse. Since the launch year of our print edition in 2006, she faithfully wrote her monthly “What’s Cooking?” column, sharing recipes, traditions, and stories with our readers. Those recipes later became her vegetarian cookbook, Lakshmi’s Table, extending her legacy well beyond our newspaper.
In 2024, we had the privilege of honoring Mrs. Rao at NRI Pulse’s NRIStories live storytelling event. She walked onto the stage with the same warmth and sparkle that everyone loved. She had the audience laughing throughout her talk.
Mrs. Rao’s true legacy lives in the friendships she nurtured, the generations she mentored, the community she helped create, and the countless people she fed—with food, kindness, and love.
Our NRI Pulse family has lost one of its own. I have lost someone I deeply admired and loved.
Thank you, Mrs. Rao, for every meal, every recipe, every conversation, every word of encouragement. Thank you for reminding us that food is love, that friendship is life’s greatest blessing, and that a welcoming home can build an entire community.
I will miss you dearly.
*Veena Rao is the Editor-in-Chief of NRI Pulse.
