• Source: Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi

Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi (May 12, 1920 – March 23, 2019) was a Telugu singer, harmonium player, music composer and author. Her forte was folk music and songs.




Early life and background


She was the daughter of Vinjamuri Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao, who was an Indian stage actor, Telugu-Sanskrit pandit and author. Vinjamuri Seetha Devi, also a Telugu singer, was her sister. Together they are called as Vinjamuri Sisters.
Her elder daughter Ratna Papa was a Kuchipudi dancer.. Her second daughter Sita Ratnakar was the former producer in Dooradarsan Television, Chennai. She died on 2019, March 23 at her 99th year of age in Houston.




Music and Compositions


She had given music concerts in the presence of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Subash Chandra Bose during the freedom struggle. The highly resonated Telugu patriotic songs ’ during Independence and Republic Day celebrations such as - Jaya Jaya Priya Bharata Janayitri.,were written by her uncle and writer Devulapalli Krishna Sastry, and this patriotic anthem was composed by Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi. The musical masterpiece — a collaboration with her sister Vinjamuri Seetha in 1936 — not only secured a cherished place among patriotic tunes but also found itself in contention to become the national anthem, standing alongside the iconic “Jana Gana Mana.”’
Anasuya started her classical training at the age of five. She promoted folk traditions when the Carnatic music was prominent by putting a conscious effort. Anasuya was passionately playing the harmonium, She left her job at All India Radio when the instrument was banned for recordings;.Her daughter Ratna shared that “her (Anasuya's) attachment to the harmonium was so strong that my mother wished for her harmonium to be positioned near her head when she passed away.”




Writings


She passed on an invaluable legacy in the form of her vast collection to posterity into 7 volumes and published them along with lyrics and music notations.
Her two books 'Bava Geetalu' and 'Compilation of Folk Songs' were released last year in Chennai. She was also honoured with Doctorate degree by Andhra University in the year 1977. She was also conferred with a lifetime achievement award from America and Queen of Folk award from Paris. At the age of 80, Anasuya became a writer and published 4 books including her autobiography Asamana Anasuya, at the age of 94. Anasuya’s autobiography, Asamana Anasuya, released at her 95 years age,




Documentary on Anasuya


Anasuya, before she died, expressed a desire for her life’s work to be documented. So, her daughter, Seetha Ratnakar, despite her mother Anasuya was at advanced age recorded the remarkable recounting anecdotes and incidents that shaped her life journey and filmed the documentary under the title "Asamana Anasuya" (Telugu word means in English, The Unusual Anasuya) in 2024.




References






External links


"NATA 2012 Award Winners". Indo American News. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
https://www.madhuravani.com/anasuya మధురవాణి అంతర్జాల పత్రిక ప్రత్యేకం. madhuravani.com
https://www.madhuravani.com/blank-41 మధురవాణి అంతర్జాల పత్రిక ప్రత్యేకం. madhuravani.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls9FXBHuX-s&t=677s Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi folk songs - original tracks

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Malliswari (film 1951)
• Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi
• Vinjamuri Seetha Devi
• Supriya Devi
• Vinjamuri Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao
• Deaths in March 2019
• 2019 in India
• Begum Akhtar
• Shaji N. Karun
• D. V. S. Raju
• Gummadi (actor)