Dega Deva Kumar Reddy is an Indian educationist, film producer, and an entrepreneur. Deva Kumar is an alumnus of Rishi Valley School, a school founded by
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...
in Madanapalle, South India. He founded 'Srujana School' and produced Telugu feature films Ammayi Bagundi and
Manasu Palike Mouna Raagam
''Manasu Palike Mouna Raagam'' is a 2006 Telugu film produced by Dega Deva Kumar Reddy and directed by K. Nagabhushan starring Sneha and Vikramaditya. It was a women-oriented film. It was later dubbed to Tamil in the year 2009 as ''Yen Indha M ...
. He also produced ' Essence of Life' a synergy of five Indian classical dance forms based on Jiddu Krishnamurti teachings.
Influence
Inspired by Jiddu Krishnamurti's teachings, Dega Deva Kumar Reddy popularized Krishnamurti teachings through education, art form, and films.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...
's teachings along with social reformer, author and educationist Manchireddy Sivaram and English educationist and author Eleanor Watts for under privileged children at Pinakini satygraha Ashramam in Pallipadu village,
Nellore
Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...
District of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. The innovative work done at Srujana School was documented in the books A School Under Trees an A Journey With Children - Exploration in Self and Alternative Education Elenor Watts had later written several books based on her work and association with 'Srujana School'. Sivaram had documented his experiences and thoughts on Education in the book 'Sramajeevana Vidya Viplava Kavyam'.
Film career
Deva Kumar has produced two
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 ...
feature films based on Jiddu Krishnamurti's philosophy under Dega Arts banner. Ammayi Bagundi was released in 2004 starring
Sivaji (Telugu actor)
Sivaji is an Indian actor who appears in Telugu films. He won Nandi Award for Best Male Dubbing Artist for the movie '' Dil'' (voice for Nitin).
Career
Sivaji is from Narsarsopet in Guntur district. Sivaji started his stint as an editor in G ...
,
Meera Jasmine
Jasmine Mary Joseph, known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films.
Meera Jasmine won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her role in ' ...
and
Manasu Palike Mouna Raagam
''Manasu Palike Mouna Raagam'' is a 2006 Telugu film produced by Dega Deva Kumar Reddy and directed by K. Nagabhushan starring Sneha and Vikramaditya. It was a women-oriented film. It was later dubbed to Tamil in the year 2009 as ''Yen Indha M ...
with
Sneha (actress)
Suhasini Rajaram Naidu (born 12 October 1981), known by her stage name Sneha, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Tamil film industry and Telugu film industry. She made her debut with Malayalam movie Ingane Oru Nilapakshi. She debuted i ...
in the lead role in 2006. Ammayi Bagundi was dubbed in Malayalam as Manjupeyyum Munpe and
Manasu Palike Mouna Raagam
''Manasu Palike Mouna Raagam'' is a 2006 Telugu film produced by Dega Deva Kumar Reddy and directed by K. Nagabhushan starring Sneha and Vikramaditya. It was a women-oriented film. It was later dubbed to Tamil in the year 2009 as ''Yen Indha M ...
was dubbed to Tamil.
Essence of Life (dance group), Essence of Life
Dega Deva Kumar Reddy conceptualized and produced ' Essence of Life', a dance form inspired by Jiddu Krishnamurti's teachings. Essence of Life was a synergy of five classical Indian dance forms –
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...
,
Kuchipudi
Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...
Odissi
Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Essence of Life was performed in several states in India and received rare accolades.
The Pathless Land
'The Pathless Land' is a Jiddu Krishnamurti International Centre and School in Madikeri, Kodagu district,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, India, promoted by Dega Deva Kumar Reddy. 'The Pathless Land' is modeled after Brockwood Park School, a school founded by
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...
in UK in 1969.
Entrepreneur
Deva Kumar Reddy is founder of Future Organics, a company that produces organic products. He is also the promoter of 'Dega Farms and Eco Constructions' a Jiddu Krishnamurti retreat centre in
Hosur
Hosur is an industrial city located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hosur is one of the municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu. It is located on the bank of the river River Ponnaiyar, southeast of Bengaluru and west of Chennai, the state ...
near
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...