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education trickled down very far into the following century of the Pusapati legacy. The first educational institution started by Maharaja Vijayarama III was a middle school inaugurated on the third of March in 1857. In 1860, the Sanskrit school had started. The middle school grew into a high school and then by 1879 it had become a college affiliated to Madras University. The Sanskrit school had also developed into a college, producing many eminent scholars. The %u2018Jagannada Vilasa Sabha%u2019 was founded in 1874, creating an impetus for fine arts, particularly drama.In 1864, Maharaja Vijayarama III Gajapathi, was granted the personal title of Maharaja and allowed a personal salute of 13 guns. After this, the Zamindars of Vizianagaram began styling themselves in his fashion. He died in 1879 and his son, Ananda Gajapathi Raj III succeeded him. He was a scholar and polyglot, fluent in many languages such as English, French, Sanskrit, and Telugu. During his reign, education literature, music and the performing arts thrived. Vizianagaram came to be known as the foremost centre of erudition and culture. The celebrated litterateurs Tirupati Venkata Kavulu declared that among all the princes they had visited, Maharaja Ananda Gajapathi was the truly discerning scholar and was acclaimed throughout the Telugu-speaking world as Abhinava Andhra Boja.In the words of Gurajada Apparao, %u201cAnanda Gajapathi was a Prince with whom knowledge is an absorbing passion and whose appreciative encouragement of letters, has attracted to his court, literary stars of the first magnitude and Maharaja Ananda Gajapathi Raj, Abhinava Andhra Bhoja Image Courtesy - Anil Relia Collection, Ahmedabad, India37