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Spreading Annamayya’s word
S. NAGESH KUMAR
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Annamayya’s keertanas delight audiences in UK, Kuwait.
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Annamayya composed 32,000 sankeertans in praise of Lord Venkateswara of which only 12,000 are now available
Literary great Paying tribute to the saint poet.
Tallapaka Annamacharya, the fifteenth century saint composer, has been eulogised across the length and breadth of India just as he serenaded Lord Venkateswara with his vast volume of creative work.
Going beyond the country’s shores, the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD), which has rendered yeoman’s service in propagating the composer’s work through its now famous Annamacharya project, organised his 600th birth anniversary celebrations at Birmingham in the UK and in Kuwait last month.
Befittingly, these celebrations began in Tallapaka, birthplace of Annamayya, on May 3 with TTD Chairman Bhumana Karunakara Reddy and Executive Officer K. V. Ramanachary in attendance. It was preceded by a unique Dalitha govindam programme where the chief priest of Sri Vari Temple and others conducted kalyanam while Dalit couples sat alongside on the stage.
The TTD also held meetings and seminars in Karimnagar, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Varanasi and Naimesaranyam and plans events at Kharagpur, Raipur, New Delhi, Rishikesh, Dehra Dun, Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar and Nagpur.
The earliest known vaggeyakara (composer) of South India to compose devotional songs or sankeerthanas, this grandsire of simple poetry was born in 1408 at Tallapaka village, now in Rajampet Mandal of Kadapa district and lived till the ripe old age of 95.
The traditions he established were followed by a number of saint composers like Tyagayya and Kshetrayya.
It is now well-recorded that Annamayya composed 32,000 sankeertans in praise of Lord Venkateswara of which only 12,000 – engraved on copper plates - are now available.
Ever since it launched the Annamayya project in 1978 with a view to propagating the tatwa and mahatwa of Lord Venkateswara, the TTD has been striving to preserve the rich heritage of Annamayya’s compositions that were written in chaste Telugu.
Apart their immense contribution to Telugu language, what makes Annamayya’s works universal and timeless is their message against social and economic inequity and superstitious beliefs. Using the vast creative literature of the Tallapaka poet, the Annamacharya project seeks to inculcate Madhura Bhakti and Saranagati to Lord Venkateswara, amongst the public.
It has decided to record all Annamayya keerthanas over a period of five years apart from erecting a 108-feet high statue at Tallapaka.
A galaxy of artistes including Shobha Raju, Sobha Naidu, Simhachala Sastry, Madhusudhan Rao, P. Ranganath, Dwaram Laxmi, Rama Prabha, Saradha Reddy, Seshulatha, S. Umadevi and Maddali Usha Gayatri took part in the Birmingham programme. Annamacharya Project Director Medasani Mohan explained the relevance of Annamayya keerthanas to the European Telugu audience present at Stourbridge Town Hall in Birmingham, a city close to Stratford-on-Avon, birthplace William Shakespeare.
President of European Telugu Association (ETA) Dr. Rajasekhar Reddy said ETA was taking all steps to introduce the great saint-poets of Andhra to the European audience, especially Telugus. TTD Chairman Karunakar Reddy said Annamayya’s contribution to literature, music and bhakti philosophy was comparable to that Shakespeare and Wordsworth.
Mr. Ramanachary said the TTD planned to conduct Annamayya sapthaswara geethalapana programmes not only in India but in other countries too with the cooperation of non-resident India organisations like ETA.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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