Viswanatha Satyanarayana

Viswanatha Satyanarayana (b. 10 September 1895– d. 18 October 1976), popularly known as the "Kavi Samraat" (Emperor of Poetry), was a modern Telugu poet.

Born in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Viswanatha was a disciple of the "Tirupati Venkata Kavulu" duo. Viswanatha's style of poetry was classical in nature and his popular works include "Ramayana Kalpa Vrikshamu" (A resourceful tree called Ramayana), "Kinnersani patalu" (Mermaid songs) and "Veyipadagalu" (The Thousand Hoods).

He was awarded the Jnanpith Award and Padma Bhushan in 1970. The citation of Jnanpith read as follows: "As a Poet of classic vision and virility, as a novelist and playwright of deep insight and impact, as an essayist and literary critic of force and felicity, and as a stylist of rare range Mr. Satyanarayana has carved for himself a place of eminence amongst the immortals of Telugu Literature. His ceaseless creativity and versatility have kept him in the forefront of contemporary Telugu Literary Scene."

The parallel "free-verse" movement in easy prose of Telugu literature criticized him as a bigot who hung onto the strict rules of prosody such as "Yati", "Prasa" (rhyme) and "Chandassu" (meter).

"Veyipadagalu" was later translated into Hindi by former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.

Life and times

Viswanatha Satyanarayana was born on 10th September 1895 at Nandamuru in Gannavaram Taluka of Krishna District, in an affluent Vaidik Brahmin family.

His parents are Sri Shobhanadri and Smt. Parvati Devi. He had an elder sister and two younger brothers. He was married when he was 11 years old. Sobhanadri was a philanthropist and a devotee of Lord Shiva. In 1902, he brought an idol of Shiva Linga from Benares and constructed a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Nandamuru. Thus, Lord Sri Visweswara became their family Deity.

After his schooling in the village, Satyanarayana had his early education at the National College, Machilipatnam. He obtained the masters degree in Sanskrit from the University of Madras in 1929. During his stay at Masulipatam, he came under the influence of Chellapilla Venkata Sastry, Pingali Lakshmikantam and Katuri Venkateswara Rao.

Satyanarayana taught in various colleges in Guntur, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam and Karimnagar. In 1961, he retired as principal of Government College in Karimnagar and devoted his time wholly to writing. Even while working as a teacher, he used to engage himself in creative writing of a very serious nature. He began writing at the age of 14.

Works

Viswanatha's literary works includes 30 poems, 20 plays, 60 novels, 10 critical estimates, 200 Khand kavyas, 35 short stories, three playlets, 70 essays, 50 radio plays, 10 essays in English, 10 works is Sanskrit, three translations, 100 introductions and forewords as well as radio talks. Some of his poems and novels have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu and Sanskrit.
* Aaru nadulu
* Amrita Sharmisthan
* Anarkali
* Andhraprasasti
* Beddanna Senani
* Bhramara vaasini
* Bhrashta Yogi
* Chandra guptuni swapnam
* Cheliyali Katta
* Chitlee Chitlani Gaajulu
* Dhanya kailaasam (a drama)
* Dhooma Rekha
* Ekaveera
* Girikumarini Prema Geetalu
* Kadimi Chettu
* Kasmira rajatarangini
* Kinnerasani Patalu
* Ma Babu
* Mihirakuludu
* Nartanasala
* Purana vaira grandha mala
* Sasidutam
* Sri Krishna Sangeetamu
* Srimad Ramayana Kalpa Vrukshamu
* Sringara Veedhi
* Swarganiki Nicchenalu
* Trisulam
* Varalakshmi Trisati
* Vishnu Sarma Englishu Chaduvu
* Visweswara Satakam
* Veyipadagalu

Awards and recognitions

* Title kalaaprapoorna by Andhra University
* Jnanpith award by Government of India

External links

* http://www.vepachedu.org/viswanadha.html
* [http://www.vishwanathasahityapeetham.com/new/about.html Viswanatha Sahitya Peetham]