Devulapalli Krishnasastri (1 November 1897 – 24 February 1980) was a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

poet,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and translator known for his works in Telugu literature and

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, ...

. He is known as ''Andhra Shelley''. In 1976, Krishnasastri was honoured with Padma Bhushan, third highest civilian award in India. In 1978, he received Sahitya Akademi Award for his literary works.

Early life

Krishnasastri was born on 1 November 1897 in Ramachandrapalem of East Godavari, India. He was brought up in Pithapuram in a family of court-poets.Krishnasastri
He grew interest in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

while he was in his high school.

Career

Krishnasastri started writing poetry from a very young age. Krishnasastri's works changed significantly after he met

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

at Santiniketan in 1929. Krishnasastri joined

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

in 1945 and wrote a number of plays for it. He also translated Goda Devi's Tamil Tiruppavai into Telugu Keertanaas. Other translations of Tiruppavai are available - but they are all word for word. His translation is unique because he had taken the central idea of each Pasuram, made it into Pallavi and wove around it the rest of the paasuram into anupallavi and charanam(s). They were set to pure

carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is o ...

, even as they were composed, by Amruthavalli Sundaram. The publication with notation, is Orient Longman. He died on 24 February 1980.

Literary works

Some of Krishnasastri's famous works include : *''Amrutha Veena'' (1992) *''Appude Putti Vunte'' *''Aruna Ratham'' *''Badarika'' *''Bahukaala Darshanam'' *''Dhanurdasu'' *''Gorinta'' *''Mangala Kahali'' *''Sri Vidyapathi'' *''Krishnapaksham - Urvashi pravasam'' *''Sharmishta'' *''Vyaasavali - Kavi parampara'' *''Sri Andallu Tiruppavu Kirtanalu'' (1993) * ''Meghamala'' (1996) *''Krishna Paksham'' (The Darkening Fortnight), *''Pravasam'' (Alien Residence), *''Mahati'' (The Veena of Narada), *''Urvasi''.

Films

Krishnasastri entered the film industry by scripting the 1951 Telugu film '' Malliswari''. He gave lyrics to about 160 songs in over 70 films during the 1950s to 1970s. They include '' Malleswari'', '' Naa Illu'', '' En Veedu'', '' Bangaru Papa'', '' Ekaveera'', '' Bhagya Rekha'' (1957), '' Rakta Kanneeru'', '' Bhakta Tukaram'', ''

Karthika Deepam Kartika Deepam () is a festival of lights that is observed mainly by Hindu Tamils, and also by adherents in the regions of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Sri Lanka. Celebrated in Tamilakam since the ancient period, the festi ...

'', '' Gorintaku'', ''

Megha Sandesam ''Meghasandesam'' () is a 1982 Telugu-language drama film, produced and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao under his Taraka Prabhu Films banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jaya Prada, Jayasudha and music composed by Ramesh Naidu. This film ...

'', ''

Sri Rama Pattabhishekam ''Sri Rama Pattabhishekam'' () is a 1978 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed and produced by N. T. Rama Rao under Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner. Based on the ''Ramayana'', the film stars Rama Rao, Jamuna ( ...

''.

Awards

;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named af ...

(in

) * Best Lyricist - '' Seetamalakshmi'' (1978) * Best Lyricist - '' Meghasandesam'' (1982) ;Other Awards *

Andhra University Andhra University ( IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest ...

has conferred the title '' Kala Prapoorna'' (The complete artist) on him in 1975. * He was awarded the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

Award. * Krishnashastri also won the Padma Bhushan Award in the year 1976.

References

External links

*
Krishnasastriyam
is a novel musical interpretation of some songs written by Sri Krishnasastri. Excerpts available at the linked site. * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnasastri, Devulapalli 1890s births 1980 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Telugu-language lyricists Telugu poets Hindu poets People from East Godavari district Indian male poets 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian male writers Tamil–Telugu translators