The 500th coronation celebrations of Vijayanagara emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya was marked by cultural programmes at his third capital of Chandragiri near Tirupati last week.
The eight poets in Raya's court are collectively called Ashtadiggajas . The emperor, who is known for his penchant for literature and has thus extended copious patronage to fine arts, has rightly named his literary team as Bhuvana Vijayam (conquest of the world), for it is with his team of intellectuals that he had defeated poets from far and wide.
Enacting a classic
The Bhuvana Vijayam scene was enacted as part of the celebrations, in which Member of Parliament from Chittoor, N. Sivaprasad, donned the greasepaint and portrayed the role of the Raya. K. Sarvothama Rao stepped into the shoes of Thimmarusu a.k.a. Appaji, the emperor's ministerial advisor, while scholar Samudrala Lakshmanaiah acted as the royal priest Thathacharya. Litterateurs Medasani Mohan as Allasani Peddana, Rama Suryanarayana as Nandi Thimmana, J. Muniratnam Naidu as Dhoorjati, R.Sadasiva Murthy as Bhattu Murthy, T. Subbiah as Pingali Surana, Vedavyasa Rangabhattar as Madayyagari Mallana, J. Ramakrishna as Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu and A. Vibhishana Sarma as Tenali Ramakrishna formed the royal team of poets.
The poets sang verses from their respective literary works, considered magnum opus in their own dimensions, and dedicated the same to the emperor, who honoured all of them later. Sivaprasad, a theatre artist-turned-politician who has acted in several Telugu films, displayed the majesty and acumen associated with the royal throne. The drama showcased the mature intellect, administrative expertise and literary grandeur of the Raya's golden days.
In another programme, former MLA of Tirupati M. Venkatramana performed mono-action as the emperor. The artists were felicitated by Chandragiri MLA and R&B Minister Galla Arunakumari.
