Rao is connected with "raayuDu", "raayalu". Adopted in modern times by
status-conscious Telugus from the cognate titles of the Maratha
nobility of the Holkar kingdom to the North. Possibly introduced by
18th-century Muslim rulers (prior to the ceding of circars to the
French and then the English) as a honorific title, again following the
neighboring Maratha practice. (Rao saheb, Rao bahadur, etc.)
Pantulu=Cognate form of panDitulu? Cognate with Pant (Marathi as in
Datto Pant, also found in UP(?) Govinda Ballabh Pant?)
Bapa Rao