Suddala Hanmanthu was a noted Indian poet of the mid 1900s. He wrote songs like ''Palleturi pillagada... pasulagaase monagaada...'' (from the movie

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 ...

Early life

Suddala Hanmanthu was born in Paladugu village, Mothkur mandal. Later, he moved to suddala village of Gundala Mandal in

Yadadri bhuvanagiri district Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District, is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The administrative headquarters is located at Bhuvanagiri Town. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Nalgonda, Jangaon, Siddipet, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Ranga ...

Telangana State Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35, ...

in India.

Career

Suddala Hanmanthu's poetry inspired the people of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

to participate in the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

-led peasant struggle against the oppressive rule of feudal lords and the

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. Along with his contemporary leader Gurram Yadagiri Reddy, a famous communist leader, he fought against Doras and Gadi's rule. This struggle was known in Indian history as the

Telangana Rebellion The Telangana Rebellion popularly known as Telangana Sayuda Poratam (Telugu : తెలంగాణ సాయుధ పోరాటం) of 1946–51 was a communist-led insurrection of peasants against the princely state of Hyderabad in the r ...

. His themes were freedom from the bonded labour known as ''Vetti Chakiri'', democracy, liberation, equality and communism. His

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 ...

folk song, ''Palletoori Pillagada'', mobilised the people of his region. It was included in the movie, ''

'' (1980). The movie ''

Rajanna ''Rajanna'' is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language period action film written and directed by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film is produced by Nagarjuna, and starred him, Sneha and child artist Baby Annie. The film is partially inspired by Razakar movem ...

'', starring

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

is inspired by Sri Suddala Hanumanthu's life.

Personal life

Suddala Hanmanthu was married to Janakamma and his son

Suddala Ashok Teja Suddala Ashok Teja (born Gurram Ashok Teja; 4 April 1954) is an Indian poet and lyricist known for his work in Telugu cinema and Telugu literature. He has written lyrics for over 2200 songs. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for th ...

is a contemporary

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

. He earned fame for his

songs and was awarded the

National Film Award for Best Lyrics The National Film Award for Best Lyrics (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) to a lyricist who has composed the best song for films produced within the Ind ...

in the year 2003. They also had another two sons and a daughter. Famous Telugu actor

Uttej Uttej is an Indian actor and screenwriter who works in Telugu films. He won the Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian for the film ''Chandamama'' (2007). Personal life Uttej was born and brought up in Nalgonda district. He is the nephew of note ...

is his grandson, son of his daughter.

References

Telugu poets Indian male poets Telangana Rebellion Poets from Telangana Living people People from Nalgonda district 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian male writers Year of birth missing (living people) {{India-poet-stub