Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma | |
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| Born | 23 January 1893 Rallapalli,Kambadur taluq,Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh |
| Died | 11 March 1979(1979-03-11) (aged 86) Bangalore, Karnataka |
| Occupation | Telugu pandit |
| Genre | Composer, Writer, Scholar |
| Subject | Carnatic Music, Telugu, Kannada, Samskrit & Prakrit |
| Notable awards | Sangita Kalanidhi |
| Spouse | Rukminamma |
| Children | 5 |
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| Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma | |
Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma (23 January 1893 – 11 March 1979) was a noted composer of Carnatic music, singer, Telugu literature, teacher and Sanskrit scholar. He was responsible for discovering and cataloguing many forgotten compositions ofAnnamacharya.[1] These compositions revived by Sharma would be sung by successive singers likeS. P. Balasubramanyam andM. S. Subbalakshmi bringing popularity to the songs.[2][3]
Sharma authored prose works likeVemana,Natakopanyasamulu,[4]Ganakale,[5]Sahitya Mattu Jeevana Kale andSaraswatalokamu.[6][7] He also translated 395 (out of 700)Gathas from originalPrakrit intoTelugu language titledShalivahana Gatha Sapta Saramu[8] in 1931. Sharma is the recipient ofCentral Sangeet & Natak Academy Fellowship (1973),Gana Kala Sindhu (1961),Gana Kala Prapoorna (1969), Sangeeta Kala Ratna (1974) andSangeeta Sahitya Asthan Vidwan honours along with an Honorary Doctorate from TTD University,Andhra Pradesh.[9]
Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma was born on 23 January 1893 to parents Karnamadakala Krishnamacharya and Alamelu Mangamma. He was born in Rallapalli village in Kambadur taluk,Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh.[1][2] Sharma and his sister Yadugiramma used to sing religious hymns inside the local fort at Rallapalli.
Sharma arrived in Mysore in 1905 at the age of twelve years and spent a year atParakala Matha under the guidance of Krishnabrahmatantra Swamy. Sharma helped Swamy in bringing out 'Alankara Manihara' - a treatise onAlankara Sastra. After his tenure at Parakala Matha, he went to Pandit Ramashastry inChamarajanagar to learn Sanskrit.[10] Later, in 1911, he married Rukminamma. Sharma lacked formal college or university education, but his proficiency in the traditionalSastras and musical compositions became his main strength. He composed his first Sanskrit composition at the age of 14 years. It was a composition dedicated toGoddess Lakshmi titled 'Jalarashi Balelole'.[11]
While in Mysore, Sharma frequently visitedCarnatic musical concerts by Veena Seshanna, Veena Subbanna, Karigiraya,Mysore Vasudevacharya,Bidaram Krishnappa and Chikka Ramaraya. He repeatedly attempted to persuade them to take him as a formal student of music but was unsuccessful. Finally, Bidaram Krishnappa agreed to teach Carnatic music to him. Krishnappa convinced Sharma not to participate in public expositions of his music in concerts and so on.[2] WhenMuthiah Bhagavatar wanted to arrange a private concert for the rulingMaharaja of Mysore -Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar, Sharma declined it.
Sharma was appointed a Telugu Pundit (a scholar) by SirCattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy, Principal of theMaharaja College of Mysore in 1912 and worked there until 1949. After teaching, he joined theSri Venkateshwara Oriental Research Centre,Tirupathi. The then executive officer ofTirumala Tirupati Devasthanams,Chelikani Anna Rao entrusted Sharma with simplifying the compositions of the songwriter-singer-saintTallapaka Annamacharya. These compositions (orkritis) were stored for centuries in the Tirumala temple Bhandagaram (storehouse) on copper plates. Sharma received the project after his predecessor,Veturi Prabhakara Sastry died. He worked on tuning the songs and helped publish the seventh and eighth volumes of Annamacharya's compositions. Sharma went on to edit nearly 300 compositions and brought out five more volumes of compositions between 1951 and 1956. He also wrote the notation for 108 compositions and 87 of them were published in theAndhra Patrika.
Sharma was closely associated with eminent journalist, biographer and writerS. R. Ramaswamy who learnt for a period of time the subtle nuances of Carnatic music from him. Among his students wereD. L. Narasimhachar,M. Chidananada Murthy,K. V. Puttappa,G. P. Raja Ratnam,M. V. Seetharamaiah, T. S. Shama Rao, B. Kuppuswami,G. S. Shivarudrappa, Banagiri Lakshmi Narasimhachar and M. S. Venkata Rao.
Akasavani: While living in Mysore, he was approached by an All India Radio engineer V V Gopalaswami who built a home radio in his residence. Sharma was requested to suggest a name for the radio. Drawing parallels with Hindu mythology where we hear the will of the gods through only a voice called Akasavani, Sharma suggested the nameAkasavani for the radio station. This was later officially adapted by All India Radio.
Sharma died on 11 March 1979 inBangalore and was survived by three daughters and two sons. On 23 August 2008, his life-size bronze statue was installed inTirupathi. The Birth Centenary Celebrations of Sharma were organized in 1993. A Centenary Souvenir was edited byMedasani Mohan and published by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in 1994.[12]
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