Dasaradhi Rangacharya (24 August 1928 – 7 June 2015), also spelled Dasarathi Rangacharya, was an Indian poet and writer in the Telugu language. He participated actively in the Telangana armed struggle against the rule of the

Nizams Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

. His writings incorporated the lifestyle of the people of Telangana under the rule of the Nizams. He was conferred with Kala Ratna award in 2001.

Personal life

Dasaradhi Rangacharya was born on 24 August 1928 in

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

(in present-day

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

). Upon being expelled from school, he moved to

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

for further education. He was married to Kamalamma and had a son and two daughters. His brother,

Dasarathi Krishnamacharya Dasarathi Krishnamacharya (22 July 1925 – 5 November 1987), popularly known as Dasarathi, was an Indian Telugu poet and writer. He held the titles ''Abhyudhaya Kavi'' and ''Kalaprapurna''. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poet ...

, was also a writer.

Career

Dasaradhi started working as a teacher during 1951 to 1957. Later he moved to Hyderabad and worked between 1957 and 1988 in the

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

Division.

Writings

Dasaradhi incorporated the lifestyle of the people of Telangana under the rule of

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

in his novels, and he became a great writer in Telangana. He came into prominence after his trilogy novels (), () and . He wrote them in the

Telangana dialect Telangana Telugu, (Telangana slang or Telangana yaasa) often referred to as Hyderabadi Telugu () is a dialect of the Telugu language. It has its own history, spoken mostly in the Indian state of Telangana. This dialect, which is spoken in the H ...

against the counsel of his peers. These are considered "rarest of the great novels produced in Telangana" on the account of

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

and lower

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

present in then Telangana region. ''Chillara Devullu'' was published in 1969 and was adapted into a 1977 Telugu movie by the same name–. Other novels that he wrote include (

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

), (

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

), (), , and among others. "Maya Jalataru", "Sara Talpam" and "Ranunnadi Edi Nizam". He translated the four Vedas into the

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

. He wrote his autobiography under the title ().

Awards

Dasaradhi was conferred with Kala Ratna in 2001 by the government of

United Andhra Pradesh United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Death

Dasaradhi died on 8 June 2015 in

Yashoda Hospitals Yashoda Hospitals is a chain of hospitals based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It has branches in Somajiguda, Secunderabad, Malakpet, and in HITEC City, Hitec City. All of its branches are National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcar ...

Somajiguda Somajiguda is a Commercial Centre of Hyderabad located on either sides of Raj Bhavan Road. It started as a residential locality but slowly transformed into a modern business centre in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is a hub of commercial activit ...

and was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

by the

Government of Telangana The Government of Telangana also known as Telangana Government, is the governing authority of the state of Telangana in India. It consists of an executive, a judiciary and a legislative. The state government is headed by the Governor of Tel ...

References

External links

Dasaradhi Rangacharya's writings
(in Telugu) at

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasaradhi, Rangacharya Indian male poets Telugu poets 1928 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Telangana 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian poets Writers from Hyderabad, India Recipients of the Kala Ratna