Before dawn on May 4, several hundred people paraded through the streets of Hyderabad, from Venkateswara temple in Chickadapally to the Annamacharya's statue on Tank Bund. Accompanied by a Nadaswaram band and large cutouts of Lord Venkateswara and Annamacharya, they sangtheKeerthanas of Annamacharya all along the way. The occasion was Annamayya Jayanthi. Conducted by Shobha Raju and her organization Annamacharya Bhavana Vahini these nagara sankeerthanas are being conducted twice a year on the birth and death anniversaries of Annamacharya for the past 14 years...

Annamacharya...
Annamacharya (1408 -1503 AD), the first great composer of Sankeerthanas (devotional songs), was born in Tallapaka in Cuddapah District of Andhra Pradesh. Dedicating his life to Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati he composed about 32000 Keerthanas in praise of the Lord. For reasons unknown, there is no Annamayya vigraha (statue) near the temple in Tirumala, where he spent most of his life. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam established the Annamacharya Project in 1978 to restore the Tamra Patras (copper plates), conduct research on the life and times of Annamayya, revive and popularize the songs through publications, as well as recordings by well known artists.

Annamacharya Bhavana Vahini Foundation...
Shobha Raju started the Annamacharya Bhavana Vahini foundation in 1983. The then A.P.Government gave 2 acres on a long-term lease near the Hi-Tec city on the outskirts of Hyderabad.She and her husband Nandakumar put in all their resources into developing, what is now called Annamayya Nagar. They built Annamacharya Sadanam, a large hall with Lord Venkateswara and his consorts installed in it. In this hall, Sobha Raju and her disciples sing the keerthanas twice a week.She conducts classes to about 60 students every year. All the money earned through these courses is used to develop the facilities at Annmayya Puram.

In February 2004, Sobha Raju organized a special Swarasiddhi Kalyana Utsavam, attended by 5000 devotees, installed his statue at the entrance to Annamayyapuram and rendered the Kalyana Keerthanas of Annamayya. The function was attended by muslims also in honour of Bibi Nancharamma, the Lord's consort. On 18 March 2004, the Indian Posts and Telegraphs have released the Annamacharya stamp, on the occasion of his 500th Anniversary of Samagana Utsavas at Annamayyapuram.

For details contact: S. Nandakumar,Tel. No. (040) 2311 2425 / 2311 2299 E-mail: nanda@annamayya.org,