Annamacharya

Tallapaka Annamacharya
This statue is at Dwaraka Tirumala
Background information
Native name	తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య
Also known as	Annamayya pada kavitha pitaamahudu
Born	(1408-05-22)22 May 1408 Tallapaka,Kadapa Dist. Andhra Pradesh
Died	14 February 1503(1503-02-14) (aged 94) Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
Genres	Carnatic music
Occupation(s)	Saint, poet, composer, writer
Instruments	Tanpura
Website	www.annamayya.org

Taḷḷapāka Annamācārya (or Annamayya) (22 May 1408 – 14 February 1503) was a 15th-century Hindu saint and is the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called sankirtanas in praise of the god Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu.^[1] He is the first known composer in carnatic music. Other composers like Purandaradasa came after him. The musical form of the keertana songs that he composed, which are still popular among Carnatic music concert artists,^[2] have strongly influenced the structure of Carnatic music compositions.^[3] Annamacharya is remembered for his saintly life, and is honoured as a great devotee of Vishnu by devotees and saintly singers.^[4]

He is believed to have been the avatar of Nandaka, the sword of Vishnu. He is widely regarded as the Andhra Pada kavitā Pitāmaha (Godfather of Telugu song-writing).^[1]

Personal life

Annamacharya was born on Vaishakha Shuddha Pournami in the year Sarwadhari (22 May 1408) in Tallapaka, a village in current day Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, India.^[5] He was born into a Nandavarika Niyogi Brahmin family. His wife, Timmakka,^[6] had written Subhadra Kalyanam, and is considered the first female poet in Telugu literature. Their son, Pedda Tirumalacharya, and grandson, Tallapaka Chinnayya, were also composers and poets. The Tallapaka compositions are considered to have dominated and influenced the structure of Carnatic music compositions.^[3] Annamacharya lived for 94 years until Phalguna Bahula Dvadashi (12th day after full moon) in the year Dhundhubhi (February 14, 1503).

A statue of Tallapaka Annamacharya situated at the Sarada River Park in Anakapalle, Andhra Pradesh.

Literary career

10-story tall statue of Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya located at the entrance of Tallapaka.

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Annamacharya is said to have composed as many as 32,000 sankeertanas (songs) on the god Venkateswara,^[7] of which only about 12,000 are available today. He is also the author of musical treatise called "Sankirthana lakshanamu".^[1]

Annamacharya considered his compositions as floral offerings to Venkateswara. In the poems, he praises the deity, describes his love for him, argues and quarrels with the Lord, confesses the devotee's failures and apprehensions, and surrenders himself to Venkateshwara. His songs are classified into the Adhyaatma (spiritual) and Sringaara (romantic) sankeertanas genres. His songs in the "Sringaara" genre worship Venkateswara by describing the romantic adventures of Venkateshwara and his consort Alamelu, while others describe the Bhakti of his devotees.

In his later keertanas, he espouses subjects such as morality, dharma and righteousness. He was one of the first few who opposed the social stigma towards the untouchable castes in his era,^[8] with his sankeertanas explaining that the relationship between God and human is the same irrespective of the latter's color, caste and financial status, in his songs "Brahmaṃ Okkatē Paraḥbrahmamokkatē" and "ē kulajuḍainanēmi evvaḍainanēmi". His prodigious literary career earned him a place among the all-time greats of Telugu literature.^[9]

While he enjoyed popularity in his days, his compositions were forgotten for over three centuries. Mentioned in 1849,^[10] they were later found engraved on copper plates, hidden for centuries inside the Sri Venkateshwara temple at Tirumala, just opposite the Hundi, concealed in a very small room. An English translation of 150 of these verses was published in 2005.^[11]

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, also known as TTD, has been endeavouring to preserve the rich heritage of his compositions. In the year 1950, The State Government of Andhra Pradesh created a committee and appointed Dr M Balamuralikrishna as its head. He set music to over 800 compositions of Annamacharya and are still popular among the devotees. He has been the Āsthāna Gāyaka of the Tirumala temple at Tirupati since two decades. He is regarded as a legend in rendering devotional music in classical style, especially the Annamacharya Sankirtanas. He is also an acclaimed poet, singer, and a musicologist.

Shobha Raju is the first recipient of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams scholarship in 1976 to study and set a trend for the propagation of Annamacharya's compositions, and was also chosen as the first exclusive artiste for the propagation of Annamacharya's compositions in 1978. Her first audio album, "Vēnkatēśvara Gīta Mālika" is globally popular among Telugu community. She is the founder of Annamacharya Bhavana Vahini (ABV) www.annamayya.org in 1983, which is located in Hyderabad, India. She has been awarded Padmashri by Government of India, in 2010 in recognition of her efforts to promote Annamayya Compositions.

Famous Compositions

This is a partial list of some of the more famous Annamacharya compositions.

• Note – (చ =Ca; ఛ=Cha; శ=Śa; ష=Ṣ. For more see Romanization of Telugu)

అన్నమయ్య పాటలు (All Annamayya songs lyrics in Telugu Script)

See also

• List of Carnatic composers
• Annamacharya sankeertana

References

http://www.sohamtimes.org/2011/02/ancestors-of-annamacharya/

Further reading

• Jackson, William. 'Religious and Devotional Music: Southern Area’ (1999). In Porter, James; Rice, Timothy; Goertzon, Chris. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. New York & London: Taylor & Francis. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Annamacharya.

• Sri Annamacharya Project of North America
• Sri Annamacharya Project of North America
• Sri Venkateswara Annamacharya Society of America
• Carnatic music