Acharya Aatreya (born Kilambi Venkata Narasimhacharyulu ) (7 May 1921 – 13 September 1989) was an Indian poet, lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter known for his works in

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, Hy ...

and Telugu theatre. He received the state

Nandi Award for Best Lyricist The following is a list of recipients of the Nandi Award for Best Lyricist commissioned since 1977: Winners References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Award For Best Lyricist Lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of ...

in 1981 for "Andamaina Lokamani" from the film ''Tholikoodi Koosindi''. He is popularly known as ''Manasu Kavi ('').

Life

Athreya was born on 7 May 1921 in

Mangalampadu Mangalam-padu is a village in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Sullurpeta mandal. Transport Road Sullurpet is the nearest town to Mangalampadu. Sullurpet is 13 km away from here. Road connectivity ...

village near

Sullurpeta Sullurupeta is a town in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Sullurpeta mandal and Sullurupeta revenue division. It serves as a gateway to Satish Dhawan Space Centre(SDSC) at Sriharikota. ...

, Nellore district of the Madras Presidency of British India. His birthname was Kilambi Venkata Narasimhacharyulu. He took ''Acharya'' from his birth name and ''Aatreya'' his Gotra name, combined them as ''Acharya Aatreya'' and adopted it as his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

. As a student in Nellore and Chittoor he wrote several plays. He abandoned his studies to participate in

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

and was jailed. After releasing from jail, he had worked as a clerk in a settlement office and worked as an assistant editor of the journal ''Zamin Raithu'' which is based out of Nellore. Athreya married Padmavathi in 1940.

Career

Athreya continued his pursuit for social reform, transformation and universal peace, with his 10 ''Natakams''

lays Lay's is a brand of potato chips, as well as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in the United States. The brand is also referred to as Frito-Lay because both Lay's and Fritos are brands sold by the Frito-Lay company, which has b ...

and 15 ''Natikas'', Athreyahttps://archive.org/details/antyarpananatika018042mbp antyarpana natika which include ''Bhayam'' ( Fear), ''Viswa Shanti'' ( Universal Peace), ''Kappalu'' ( Frogs), ''Goutama Buddha'', ''Ashoka Samrat'', ''Parivartanam'', ''Edureeta'' and ''Tirupati''. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree by

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, also known as Telangana Open University, formerly Andhra Pradesh Open University, is a public university in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. History The university was established in 1982 as Andhra Pr ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, for his contributions to Telugu literature. Athreya made his film debut in 1951. He went on to write over 1400 film songs. In 1989, he published a compilation of his works titled ''Naa Paata Nee Nota Palakali'' ( You would sing my song).''

Death

Athreya died on 13 September 1989.

Partial filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aatreya, Aacharya 1921 births 1989 deaths Telugu screenwriters Nandi Award winners Indian lyricists Telugu-language lyricists Telugu people Telugu-language writers Andhra University alumni Indian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Telugu-language dramatists and playwrights People from Nellore district 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Andhra Pradesh Indian male poets Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian screenwriters