Goreti venkanna biography examples

The sheer music and drama of Goreti Venkanna’s protest songs hold audiences in thrall

Even the pea-soup fog that gagged Delhi after Diwali couldn’t keep away Goreti Venkanna’s admirers from his performance at the India Habitat Centre. It did push his performance indoors but the Telugu poet-singer’s voice was so strong that it leaked out of the auditorium doors and showed you the way in.

Venkanna’s voice and his sung poetry are not really meant for the tame proscenium stage. They are meant for streets, maidans and village squares. About a hundred years ago, he would have been a burrakatha(sung poetry) minstrel for a troupe protesting the rule of Nizams or raging against the British.

In fact, till two years ago, when Telangana was formed, Venkanna had written and sung some of the best-known anthems for its statehood. Today, his music is still about resistance but the focus has shifted to several other causes — globalisation, urbanisation, environment, social inequality, Dalit politics, consumerism, rural distress and so on. His best-loved songs like ‘Palle Kanneeru Peduthundo’ and ‘Galli Chinnadi Garibola Kadha’ are about the destitute and the marginalised. “I trace this tradition to Kabir, Ravidas, Thyagaraja, Annamacharya, the great Vaggeyakaras (composer-singers). They wrote and sang about love and oppression, devotion and revolution,” says the 53-year-old.

The burrakatha tradition of sung Bhakti poetry was first co-opted by Praja Natya Mandali, the leftist cultural troupe in Andhra, in the mid-1940s. It poured new, revolutionary content into the style to create songs of protest against the Nizam. Shaikh Nazar was a leading name in this tradition.

The other political poet-singer, even better known than Venkanna, is Gaddar who has a cult following among the more militant cadres of the left movement. But Dalit activist Paul Divakar says Venkanna’s music and poetry is far more accessible because he is not a political ideologue. “He is a subaltern voice for

Indian poet (born 1963)

In this Telugu name, the surname is Gorati.

Gorati Venkataiah (born 4 April 1965), better known as Goreti Venkanna, is an Indian poet and singer known for his works in Telugu literature. He became popular after his song "Palle Kanneru Peduthundo" in the film Kubusam. He also acted as a judge for the folk song program Rela Re Rela on Star Maa. In November 2020, Goreti was nominated as a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) in Telangana. In 2021, he won the Sahitya Akademi Award in poetry category for his work Vallanki Taalam.

Early life

Goreti Venkataiah was born on 4 April 1965 in Gowraram village of present-day Nagarkurnool district in Telangana, India to Goreti Narasiah and Eeramam. Most of his childhood was spent in singing the native folk songs describing the lives of peasants and the farmers of Telangana. He is one of the famous singers and lyricists from Telangana.

Goreti completed his postgraduate in MA and worked in Government services. He is married to Anasuya.

Career

Goreti Venkanna is the lyricist for the Telugu movie, Batukamma.

Although, he is not a commercial movie lyricist, he composed songs for various movies. Most popular amongst these is Palle Kanneeru Pedutundo from the movie Kubusam. He also composed a song about the Rayalaseema factionism sung on TV 9 channel a popular news channel. His other works though not limited to, include a song for the movie "Maisamma IPS". His songs are predominantly known for their composition on the Telangana State.

Books

Venkanna's songs are published:

• Eku naadam Motha
• Rela Poothalu
• Alasandra Vanka
• Pusina Punnam
• Vallanki Taalam

Awards

Filmography

References

External links