The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Pothana's land identified in Bammera

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Pothana's land identified in Bammera

M. Malleswara Rao

Scholars believe that Pothana gave Telugus his magnum opus from Bammera in Warangal district

Final abode:Saint poet Pothana's grave at Bammera village in Warangal district.

HYDERABAD: A plot of 4.36 acres of land at Bammera in Palakurthy mandal of Warangal district has been identified as one that was owned and cultivated by “Bammera” Pothana, the saint-poet who translated Srimad Bhagavatham from Sanskrit into Telugu.

Scholars have concluded that Pothana was born at Bammera, 32 km from Warangal, in 1450 AD, about 200 years after Rani Rudramadevi, the legendary Kakatiya queen. Pothana's other works include Narayanasatakam, Veerabhadra Vijayam and Bhogini Dhandakam, all religious books.

No traces of house

It was from this place that Pothana gave Telugus his magnum opus. However, there is no trace of his dwelling in the hamlet, which was visited by former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.

Perhaps not knowing about the land which has now been identified, former Lok Sabha Speaker Madabushi Anantasayana Ayyangar laid the foundation for Pothana's memorial 40 years ago on a site a furlong away, scholars say.

The land of Pothana, on which private individuals were carrying out farming activity till recently, has been purchased by the Kakatiya Heritage Trust, an organisation established by lovers of Kakatiya art, literature and architecture, at Rs. 95,000 an acre.

Samadhi?

A dilapidated structure of granite slabs on the land is believed to be the poet's samadhi. An abandoned well on one side, now filled with mud and carved stones skirting its top is said to have been used by the saint-poet. The trust has taken up a programme to make the spot a meditation centre by renovating the structures and building a ‘Pothana Mandir' at a cost of Rs 1 crore.

Trust chairman B. V. Papa Rao, a retired IAS officer, and M. Panduranga Rao, member, said they had submitted proposals to the Tourism Department seeking funds after purchasing the land with their own funds.

They do not, however, want to make it a tourist attraction lest its serenity and sanctity are disturbed.

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