Composers
and Musicians Annamacharya (1424-1503) |
Annamacharya is one of the greatest poets of Telugu and Sanskrit languages.
He was born in the Tallapaka family of poets, music composers and scholars.
He was a Vishnavite and popularized the cult in Andhra Pradesh. He is
also known by the name Annamayya.
Annamayya was born in 1424 A.D. in Tallapaka, a village in Cuddapah district
of Andhra Pradesh. From early childhood Annamayya had a deep interest
in poetry and music. He was also a great devotee of Lord Venkiteshwara.
Annamayya is beklieved to have attained a vision during his teens and
spent the rest of his life composing keertanams and padams on Lord Venkiteshwara.
He is believed to have written 32,000 compositions,of which only 14,000
are available now. They were found engraved on copper plates which were
hidden for centuries inside the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.
He ran away to Tirupati and lived in Tirumala from time to time. Though
he got married, Annamayya drifted towards a full time spiritual and ascetic
life and spent his time propogating the Vishnavite faith. He breathed
his last in 1503.
Annamayya's considered his compositions as floral offerings to God. In
the poems , he praises Venkateswara, describes his love for him, argues
and quarrels with the Lord, confesses the devotee’s failures and
apprehensions, and surrenders himself to Venkiteshwara. His songs are
classified into Adhyaatama and Sringaara samkirtanaas.
Very little is known about Annamachariya’s musical tradition. Only
the literature was preserved , the ragas and taalas used by him are not
known. Unlike many other Vishnavite teachers, he did not have a following
of people who could orally transmit the music.
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