Shaik Khaja Hassan (15 August 195121 November 2020), popularly known by 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 ...

Devi Priya, was an Indian

Telugu-language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fami ...

poet and journalist known for his

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

. He was a recipient of the 2017

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for his work ''Gaali Rangu'' (English: ''Color of the Wind''). Some of his famous works included ''Adhyakshaa Mannichandi'' (English: ''Pardon Me, President''), ''Gareebi Geetaalu'' (English: ''Songs of Poverty''), and ''Amma Chettu Chepa Chiluka'' (English: ''Mother, Tree, Fish, and Parrot'').

Early life

Priya was born as Shaik Khaja Hassan in

Tadikonda Tadikonda is a village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Tadikonda mandal of Guntur revenue division. It forms a part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. Demographics census, Tadikonda village has po ...

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and with a po ...

, in the southern state 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 ...

in India on 15 August 1951. He studied Telugu and English literature at the

Andhra Christian College The Andhra Christian College or A.C. College is one of the oldest colleges in India located in Guntur Andhra Pradesh. It started in 1885. AC College is part of the education enterprise of the Protestant churches. It admits intermediate, undergr ...

in Guntur.

Career

As a journalist, Priya was known for his political satire including a running piece on current political events titled "''Running Commentary"'' in the Telugu newspaper, ''Udayam''. He later went on to provide the same commentary on local Telugu language news channels. He was also known for his satirical cartoons. A collection of his newspaper editorials was published as ''Adhyakshaa Mannichandi'' (English: Pardon me, President). Per ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', the book is considered one of the most popular books for vernacular language journalists, writers, and politicians. Through his career he had worked as a journalist with Telugu newspapers ''Udayam'', ''

Andhra Prabha ''Andhra Prabha'' - ''Journalism first'' is a Telugu language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The newspaper is one of the oldest running Telugu-language daily newspapers of India. The newspaper ...

'', and ''Hyderabad Mirror'', and the English newspaper ''

The Hans India ''The Hans India'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as in New Delhi. The newspaper was started on 15 July 2011 and belongs to Hyderabad Media House Ltd., which also owns ...

.'' A statement from the Andhra Pradesh government on his death noted him as amongst the state's first and finest political commentators. As a poet, he was noted to bring along a fine balance between 'direct and ornamental' verse in his poetry. He drew from Indian mythology, including epics, for his poetry. Some of his famous works included ''Gareebi Geetaalu'' (English: Songs of poverty), and ''Amma Chettu Chepa Chiluka'' (English: Mother, Tree, Fish, and Parrot)''.'' He was also a lyricist for Telugu movies including the song ''"Jambal Bhari Bhari"'' for ''

Maa Bhoomi ''Maa Bhoomi'' () is a 1979 Indian Telugu-language social problem film directed by Goutam Ghose in his debut. The film is produced by B. Narsing Rao, who also wrote the film with Goutam Ghose. The film is based on the novel ''Jab Khet Jage'' by K ...

'' (English: Our land) and other movies including ''

Raguluthunna Bharatham ''Raguluthunna Bharatham'' () is a 1992 Telugu-language action film, produced by Challa Subrahmanyam under the Maitra Creations banner and directed by Allani Sridhar. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jagapathi Babu, Divyavani, and music compose ...

'' (English: Raging India) and ''Pallaki'' (English: Palanquin). His versatility in themes across his works had him be compared with classical Telugu writer and poet Sri Sri. He had also produced a full-length English language documentary, ''Music of a Battle,'' based on the life of balladeer and activist

Gaddar Gummadi Vittal Rao (born 1949), popularly known as Gaddar, is an Indian poet, revolutionary balladeer, activist and a former naxalite. Gaddar was active in the Naxalite movement till 2010, and later joined the movement for Telangana's stat ...

. He was awarded the

in 2017 for his collection of poems ''Gaali Rangu'' (English: Color of the wind). He also received an

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

award for his documentary film script for saving the girl child.

Personal life

Priya was married and had a son and a daughter. He died on 21 November 2020 at the

Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) is a public hospital located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India and is named after its founder – the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad– and was inaugurated by Princess Durreshehvar It is an Institute under St ...

in Hyderabad after a brief illness. He was aged 69. He was suffering from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and had one of his legs amputated earlier in the month after a

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

infection.

Works

Books

Source(s): * ''Gaali Rangu'' * Running Commentary * ''Aranya Puranam'' * ''Poornamma'' * ''Adhyakshaa Mannichandi'' * ''Inko Appudu'' * ''Amma Chettu Chepa Chiluka'' * ''Neeti Putta'' * ''Chepa Chiluka'' * ''Tuphanu Tummeda'' * ''Gareebu Geetaalu'' * ''Samajananda Svaami''

Movies (as a lyricist)

Source(s): * ''

'' * ''

'' * ''Rangula Kala'' * ''Pallaki''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Priya, Devi 1951 births 2020 deaths People from Guntur district Telugu poets Telugu-language journalists Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu