Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma


Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma was a noted composer of Carnatic music, singer as well as a writer. He was a noted scholar in several languages like Telugu, Samkrit, Kannada & Prakrit, and has written books & poetry in these languages.
In 1972, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship the highest honour conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.

Early life and education

Born on 23 January 1893 at Rallapalli village in Kambadur mandal of Anantapur district, he was educated in Sanskrit, Telugu and Music by his parents, Karnamadakala Krishnamacharyulu and Alamelu Mangamma.
After moving to Mysore, he sought instruction from the chief pontiff of the famous Parakala Mutt. Sharma studied Sanskrit and Prakrit languages at the Chamaraja Pathasala; and music with Chikka Rama Rao, Bidaram Krishnappa and Karigiri Rao. Later, in 1911, he married Rukminamma.

Career

Sharma was appointed a Telugu Pundit by Sir Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy, Principal of the Maharaja College of Mysore in 1912 and worked until 1949. After which he joined the Sri Venkateshwara Oriental Research Centre, Tirupathi. The then executive officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Chelikani Anna Rao entrusted Sharma with elucidating the compositions of the great songwriter-singer-saint Tallapaka Annamacharya. These compositions were stored for centuries in the Tirumala temple Bhandagaram on copper plates. Sharma received the project after his predecessor, Veturi Prabhakara Sastry died. He singularly worked on tuning the songs and helped publish 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 the Andhra Patrika. Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma was closely associated with eminent journalist, biographer and writer S. R. Ramaswamy who learnt for sometime the subtle nuances of Carnatic music from the maestro. Among his illustrious students are D. L. Narasimhachar and M. Chidananada Murthy.
Sharma died on 11 March 1979 in Bangalore and was survived by three daughters and two sons. On 23 August 2008, his life-size bronze statue was installed in Tirupathi.

Major works

Birth Centenary Celebrations of Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma were organized in 1993. A Centenary Souvenir was edited by Medasani Mohan and published by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in 1994.