Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu (1853 – 30 November 1912)
was a
Telugu dramatist
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
and
playwright from
Bellary
Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India.
History
Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956.
The Ballari ...
. He was known as "Andhra Nataka Pithamaha" and wrote more than 30 original plays.
Early life
He was born in
Dharmavaram town in
Anantapur district,
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 1853 (Karthika Sudha Ekadasi). His parents were Krishnamacharyulu and Laxmidevamma; his family name was Komanduru. He lost his father when he was 16 years of age and the family responsibility fell on his shoulders. After
Matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
, he worked for some time in the Municipal High School and Adoni Taluk Office. He returned to
Bellary
Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India.
History
Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956.
The Ballari ...
and started practising as ''
vakil
''Vakil'' was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of Safavid Iran, denoting the viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term der ...
'' in the Cantonment. He lost his wife soon after marriage and later married Laxmidevamma. He had passed first-grade pleader's examination and F.A. in 1874. He had three brothers and three sisters. His sisters were Pedda Seshamma, Chinna Seshamma and Krishnamma. Pedda Seshamma was the mother of
Bellary Raghava
Bellary Raghava (Telugu: బళ్ళారి రాఘవ; born ''Tadipatri Raghavacharyulu''; 2 August 1880 – 16 April 1946) was an Indian playwright and actor, known for his works predominantly in Telugu theatre and cinema.M.L. Narasimha ...
. His brothers were
Dharmavaram Gopalacharyulu, Venkata Krishnamacharyulu and Seshacharyulu.
Career
During the famine between 1871-73, he and his friends established a society called ''Veera Sangam'', to serve those affected. After the famine, it was converted into a debating society. He initially wrote four short plays which were successful. In 1888, the society was replaced by the famous ''Sarasa Vinodini Sabha''.
Influenced by the success of Kannada dramas staged by ''Rajadhani Nataka Mandali'' in 1881, his brother Gopalacharyulu wrote a drama in Telugu and staged it. It did not make any impact on the public. Having felt insulted, Krishnamacharyulu wrote a drama himself in Kannada ''Swapna Niruddhamu'' and staged it in 1886. The drama impressed the public very much. There was an opinion that the Telugu language was not suitable for drama format. He took up the partly written Telugu drama ''
Chitra Naliyam'' and completed it. He directed the play and took the lead role on 29 January 1887. The play was successful, which helped combat the stigma against Telugu's use in playwrights. He wrote about 29 dramas successively and staged them with success. He introduced songs and poems in the drama. He took his troupe to
Madras and staged his plays in 1891 at
Victoria Public Hall
Victoria Public Hall, or the Town Hall, is a historical building in Chennai, named after Victoria, Empress of India. It is one of the finest examples of British architecture in Chennai and was built to commemorate the golden jubilee of Que ...
.
Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar
Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar (1873–1964), who has been described as "the founding father of modern Tamil theatre", was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipi ...
, inspired by these dramas, established ''Suguna Vilas Sabha''. He wrote about 90 dramas in Tamil and staged them. He was considered a modern Tamil Nataka Pithamaha. He recognized Ramakrishnamacharyulu as his Guru.
Many of his plays were performed by the Surabhi Drama Troupe, the most noted one being
Bhakta Prahlada which was made into a movie, the first Telugu
talkie
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
movie. Ramakrishna Vilas, a theatre building in Bellary named after Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu, was the second theatre building in Bellary. This was later converted into a cinema theatre and renamed as Star Cinema.
[
]
References
Notes
* Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu in Makers of Indian Literature By Ponangi Sri Rama Apparao, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1989.
Complete book online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramakrishnamacharyulu, Dharmavaram
Telugu people
People from Bellary
1853 births
1912 deaths
People from Anantapur district
People from Rayalaseema