Telugu Talli (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: ''Teluɡu Talli''; ) is the female
personification
Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...
of
Telugu people
Telugu people ( te, తెలుగువారు, Teluguvāru), or Telugus, or Telugu vaaru, are the largest of the four major Dravidian ethnolinguistic groups in terms of population. Telugus are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh ...
and
their culture.
She holds the harvest in her left hand portraying that the Telugu land is always filled with greenery (prosperity and happiness). In the right hand, she holds the kalasam which signifies that she brings all good to the people's lives. The goddess is dressed in the traditional Telugu style. Since language is considered one of the most necessary skills to the mankind and our Telugu Talli has provided us with that, she is given utmost priority in our lives.
Maa Telugu Talliki
Maa Telugu Talliki (, IAST: ''Mā Telugu Talliki''; ) is the official song of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Thalli is portrayed as a symbol of Telugu people. Many schools and government events start with this song.
Backgroun ...
(Telugu: మా తెలుగు తల్లికి) is the official song of the state
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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It was written by
Sankarambadi Sundaraachari
Shankarambadi Sundarachari (10 August 1914 – 8 April 1977) was an Indian writer and poet in the Telugu language, although of Tamil origin. He wrote '' Maa Telugu Talliki, Malleypu Danda'', the official state song of the present-day Indian state ...
for the Telugu film ''Deena Bandhu'' (1942) which starred
V. Nagayya
V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. ...
. The song gained popularity and was ultimately made the official song of Andhra Pradesh.
''Maa Telugu Talliki'' is a composition in which the greatness of Telugu culture is depicted. For the various versions on the etymology of Telugu, see
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 ...
. The image of the mother is used as a metaphor for all the prosperity and culture of the region. She is the one who has bestowed us with fertile lands; she is the one whose compassion protects the people; she is the one whose praise is sung time and time again. She is the embodiment of various aspects of cultural legacy like the beautiful architecture of
Amaravati
Amaravati () is the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the river Krishna in Guntur district.
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone at a ceremonial event in Uddandar ...
; the classical music immortalised by
Tyagaraja
Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...
; the lyrical beauties of
Tikkana
Tikkana (or Tikkana Somayaji) (1205–1288) was a 13th century Telugu poet. Born into a Telugu-speaking Niyogi Brahmin family during the golden age of the Kakatiya dynasty, he was the second poet of the "Trinity of Poets (Kavi Trayam)" that tra ...
, who rendered the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
into Telugu; the physical bravery of
Rani Rudrama Devi
Rudrama Devi, also Maharani Rudramma Devi, was a queen of the Kakatiya dynasty in the Deccan Plateau from 1263 to 1289 (or 1295) until her death. She was among the women to rule as monarchs in India and promoted a male image in order to do s ...
of the 13th century
Kakatiya
The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...
dynasty; the 'devotion to husband' of Mallamma; the sharp intelligence of
Timmarusu
Saluva Timmarusu or Saluva Nayaka or simply Timmarasu was the Prime Minister (Mahapradhana) and military commander of Krishna Deva Raya. He is also known as "Appaji". He had also served as Prime Minister under Viranarasimha Raya and Tuluva Nar ...
, who was the Prime Minister of
Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...
; or the fame of Krishna Deva Raya. She is our mother, and will forever reside in our hearts. It may be seen that while invoking the cultural legacy of the Telugus, the song covers all the three important regions:
Rayalaseema,
Coastal Andhra
Coastal Andhra (South costal Andhra) also known as Kostha Andhra is a region in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Vijayawada is the largest city in this region. It was part of Madras State before 1953 and Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. ...
and
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 ...
.
Original song lyrics
Popular culture
A remix of the original song was used in the 2010 film ''
Leader
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
'', composed by
Mickey J. Meyer
Mickey J. Meyer is an Indian music composer and singer known for his works predominantly in Telugu Cinema. He has received two Filmfare Awards South, and three state Nandi Awards for the Best Music Direction. An alumnus of Trinity College of ...
.
See also
*
Telangana Talli
Telangana Thalli is a symbolic mother goddess for the people of Telangana. It was adopted by the people of Telangana as a representation of the Goddess of Telangana and Telangana dialect.
History
The original Telangana Thalli statue was design ...
*
Tamil Thai
Tamil Thai () refers to the allegorical and sometimes anthropomorphic personification of the Tamil language as a mother. This allegory of the Tamil language in the persona of a mother was established during the Tamil renaissance movement of the ...
*
Siam Devadhiraj
Phra Siam Devadhiraj ( th, พระสยามเทวาธิราช, ) is a guardian deity personifying supernatural protection over the country of Thailand. The deity (''deva'', a sanskrit origin word, sometimes translated as "god" or "an ...
References
{{Reflist
Telugu people