अन्नामाचार्य

आरंभिक जीवन

अन्नामाचार्य का जन्म बैशाख शुद्ध पूर्णिमा (तदनुसार ९ मई १४०९) को भारत के आंध्रप्रदेश राज्य के कड़प्पा जिले के एक गांव में हुआ।

जीवन की प्रमुख घटनाएं

His meeting with Purandara Dasa in Tirumala. Once when Purandara Dasa visited Tirumala he heard a great old man singing his composition in front of the Almighty Srinivasa. He at once approached the old man and said that the song was composed for practising music. At the same time, Sri Sri Vyasaraya of the Vyasaraya mutt intervened and introduced the great old man as Talapaka Anammacharya to Purandara Dasa. This is one of the major event in the history of Music where two great souls met each other and paid due respect to each other.Purandara Dasa is revered as the Father of Carnatic Music who formulated the music as it is today. The composition Sri Annamacharya sang is like Padumanabha Paramapurusha

संकीर्तन

An ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati, AP, Annamacharya (also known as Annamayya) successfully composed more than 32,000 sankeertanas (Carnatic compositions) in the Carnatic music tradition. Though a great feat in itself, it still falls short of the estimated 475,000 sankeertanas composed by Purandara Dasa(known as the 'Father of Carnatic Music'). While enjoying popularity in his own days, his compositions were forgotten for over three centuries for some inexplicable reason. They were later found engraved on copper plates, hidden for centuries inside the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.
Annamacharya 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 Venkateshwara. His songs are classified into the Adhyaatma (spiritual) and Sringaara (romantic) sankeertanas genres.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has been successfully endeavouring to preserve the rich heritage of his compositions. The sustained efforts of dedicated scholars and musicians during the last thirty years have also helped revive their popularity among the Telugu people.
The sankeertanas engraved on copper plates were found in the Tirumala temple just opposite the Hundi, concealed in a very small room. It is said only 12,000 of the 32,000 sankeertanas were found. No leads have been available to trace the remaining sankeertanas. Some personnel involved in deciphering the plates say that the people of those days could have melted the copper plates for personal use.

लोकप्रिय संस्कृति

The telugu film "Annamaya" was based on his story. It was released on 13th May 1997. It starred Nagarjuna Akkineni as Annamacharya. The cast included RamyaKrishna, Suman, Mohanbabu. It proved to be a massive hit-probably an epoch making movie in Telugu industry. The film was directed by ace veteran K.Raghavendra Rao who is considered as one of the most influential directors of the Telugu Film Industry. The tunes composed by M.M. Keeravani topped the charts for a long period. The audio of this film has had the greatest sales to date in Telugu Film industry. This film also received many Awards including a national award. It was produced under VMC banner. The film undoubtably left an indelible mark in the audience. His sankirtanas are very popular amongst Carnatic singers and connoisseurs, especially in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The programme, LakshaGala Sankirthanarchana, some 160,000 people sang seven Annamayya keertanas in Hyderabad, creating a new Guinness record on May 10, 2009.

व्यक्तिगत जीवन

अन्नामाचार्य का देहान्त ९५ वर्ष की उम्र में फाल्गुन बहुला द्वादशी (23 फरवरी, 1503) को हुआ। उनकी पत्नी तिम्मक्का भी कवयित्री थीं जिन्होने 'सुभद्रा कल्याणम्' नामक ग्रन्थ की रचना की। उन्हें तेलुगु की प्रथम कवयित्री माना जाता है। अन्नामाचार्य के पुत्र पेद्दा तिरुमलाचार्य भी प्रसिद्ध वग्गेयकारी (कवि) थे।