Nanduri Venkata Subbarao F.A.,

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

, B.L. (16 December 1895 – 29 May 1957) was a famous

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. His famous works include ''Yenki Patalu'' (an anthology of songs on and by a woman called Yenki). He was born in Vasanthavada in

West Godavari district The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded ...

to Chinna Bapanna's parents. His father was village ''Karanam''. He was closely related to Basavaraju Apparao, but considered his guru. After primary education at

Eluru Eluru ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the List of municipal corporations in India#Andhra Pradesh, 14 municipal corporations ...

, he joined in Kakinada for College studies. Failing in some examinations, he was encouraged and shifted to Chennai. He passed his F.A. and joined Madras Christian College. He worked as a teacher for some time and succeeded in obtaining Bachelor in Law. He practiced law from 1926 onwards in

. But his main ambition was poetry which he continued till the last days.

Enki Paatalu

Subba Rao conceptualized the idea of 'Enki Paatalu' during his student days at

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

in 1917–18. He used the local dialects of Godavari and Visakha areas in his poems and received mixed criticism among his peers and friends. The first edition of 'Enki Paatalu' was released in 1925. After a long gap of 27 years, the second edition was released with some new songs added. The poems left an indelible mark on the Telugu language and literature. 'Enki' and 'Naidu Bava' are the main characters of the Enki Paatalu. 'Enki' is a washer-woman who is in deep love with 'Naidu Bava'. The central theme of the poems is the love and romance between them. One of the most famous Telugu singers, Parupalli Ramkrishnayya, set tunes to Yenki Paatalu for the first time. Nanduri always used to sing his songs in the same tunes. Eminent writers and thinkers like Adavi Bapiraju, Sri Sri, Chalam, Devulapalli Krishna Sastry adored 'Enki Paatalu'. They gained public popularity due to the radio and music concerts.

References

Telugu poets 1895 births 1957 deaths Writers from Krishna district 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Andhra Pradesh Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers {{India-poet-stub