Telugu is a Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India. It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state, alongside Hindi and Bengali. Telugu is one of the six languages designated as a classical language by the Government of India. It is the 14th most spoken native language in the world. Modern Standard Telugu is based on the dialect of erstwhile Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari districts of Coastal Andhra.
Kamma is a largely Hindu caste from South India. The community of Kammas is believed to have originated from agriculturists of the Kammanadu region of the erstwhile Guntur district and Ongole division in Andhra Pradesh. Propelled by their military activity in the Vijayanagara Empire, Kammas are believed to have spread out from the region during the Vijayanagara period, followed by some in-migration during the British period and out-migration again during the twentieth century. Today they are regarded as the richest group in Andhra Pradesh and are a dominant caste from Coastal Andhra with socio-economic and political prominence throughout the Telugu-speaking regions of India.
Yanam is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united with India in 1954, is still sometimes known as "French Yanam". It possesses a blend of French culture and the Telugu culture, nicknamed Frelugu. During French rule, the Tuesday market at Yanam was popular among the Telugu people in the Madras Presidency, who visited Yanam to buy foreign and smuggled goods during Yanam People's Festival held in January. After implementation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 in British India, Telugu people often traveled to Yanam to conduct child marriages, which remained legal under the French administration.
The Reddi kingdom or Kondavidu Reddi kingdom was established in southern India by Prolaya Vema Reddi. Most of the region that was ruled by the Reddi dynasty is now part of modern-day coastal and central Andhra Pradesh. They helped the Bahmani Sultanate and defeated the Vijayanagar empire in the War of the Goldsmith's Daughter.
Telugu literature is the body of works written in the Telugu language. It consists of poems, short stories, novels, plays, and song lyrics, among others. There is some indication that Telugu literature dates at least to the middle of the first millennium, the first extant works are from the 11th century when the Mahabharata was first translated to Telugu from Sanskrit by Nannaya. The language has experienced a golden age under the patronage of the Vijayanagara Emperor-Poet Krishnadevaraya.
Telugu people, also called Andhras, are an ethno-linguistic group who speak the Telugu language and are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam district of Puducherry. They are the most populous of the four major Dravidian groups. Telugu is the fourth most spoken language in India and the 14th most spoken native language in the world. A significant number of Telugus also reside in the Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Maharashtra. Members of the Telugu diaspora are spread across countries like United States, Australia, Malaysia, Mauritius, UAE, and others. By 2024 Telugu is spoken by 95.7 million people all over world, which makes it the third largest Indian diaspora after Hindi and Bengali. Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States. It is also a protected language in South Africa.
Kapu is a Hindu caste mainly found in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. They are classified as a Forward caste. They are a community of land-owning agriculturists. Historically, they have also been warriors and military generals (Nayakas) in Hindu armies. They are a dominant caste of Andhra Pradesh. Kapus commonly carry the title Naidu. They are primarily present in Coastal Andhra with major concentration in the Godavari-Krishna delta region.
Telaga is a community found in Coastal Andhra region of India. Telaga is a subcaste of Kapu and both terms are often used synonymously. They are classified as a Forward caste. They are a land-owning agrarian community. Historically, they were a warrior caste known for their honour and bravery.
Paata Gannavaram is a village in P. Gannavaram mandal of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Raja Vasireddy Ramagopala Krishna Maheswara Prasad, popularly known as Muktyala Raja was the King of Muktyala samasthanam, politician, and patron of Ayurveda. He was instrumental in the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, the tallest masonry dam in the world, located across the Krishna River between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He also represented the Jaggayyapeta Constituency in the Andhra Legislature.
Khandavalli Lakshmi Ranjanam M.A. is doyen of Telugu literature and research from Andhra Pradesh, India.
Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham was an Indian playwright, novelist and author of short stories, who wrote in the Telugu language. He was a romantic and a social reformer in the tradition founded by Veeresalingam. His best-known plays are probably Gayopakhyanam (1909) and Ganapati (1920).
Puripanda Appala Swamy (1904–1982), also spelled Appalaswamy, was a linguist, writer, translator, journalist and editor.
Chellapilla Venkata Sastry was a Telugu language poet laureate and scholar. He was one of the two poets known as Tirupati Venkata Kavulu and other being Divakarla Tirupati Sastry.
Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma was a noted composer of Carnatic music, singer, Telugu litterateur, teacher and Sanskrit scholar. He was responsible for discovering, cataloguing and putting to music many forgotten compositions of Annamacharya. These compositions composed hundreds of years agearlierame back to life thanks to Sharma's efforts and successive singers like S. P. Balasubramanyam and M. S. Subbalakshmi would sing many of them, hence popularising them. Sharma authored prose works like Vemana, Natakopanyasamulu,Ganakale,Sahitya Mattu Jeevana Kale and Saraswatalokamu. Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma translated 395 Gathas from original Prakrit into Telugu language titled Shalivahana Gatha Sapta Saramu in 1931. Sharma is the recipient of Central Sangeet & Natak Academy Fellowship (1973), Gana Kala Sindhu (1961), Gana Kala Prapoorna (1969), Sangeeta Kala Ratna (1974) and Sangeeta Sahitya Asthan Vidwan honours with an Honorary Doctorate from TTD University, Andhra Pradesh.
Mahamahopadhyaya is an honorific title given to prestigious scholars by the Government of India. Prior to 1947, the title was bestowed by the British Raj, and before them, by the kings of ancient India. In ancient India, a scholar that wrote works based on topics related to the shastras was granted the title Mahopadhyaya. The title Mahamahopadhyaya was bestowed on the best amongst the Mahopadhyaya scholars.
Jagannātha (1590-1670), also known as Jagannātha Paṇḍita or Jagannātha Paṇḍitarāja, or Jagannatha Pandita Rayalu, was a poet, musician and literary critic who lived in the 17th century. As a poet, he is known for writing the Bhāminī-vilāsa. He was a Telugu Brahmin from Khandrika family and a junior contemporary of Emperor Akbar. As a literary theorist or rhetorician, he is known for Rasagaṅgādhara, a work on poetic theory. He was granted the title of Paṇḍitarāja by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, at whose court he received patronage.
Dr. Pullella Sriramachandrudu was an Indian scholar of Vedanta, Vyakarana and Alankara Sastra and a prolific writer of Sanskrit and Telugu literature. He was widely credited with several books in Sanskrit and Telugu and was best known for translating many difficult Sanskrit works into Telugu the seven volume Telugu edition of the Indian epic, Ramayanam by Valmiki. The Government of India has honored Pullella Srirama Chandrudu in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Vemulawada Bhima alias 'Vemulawada Bheemakavi' was a hugely popular Telugu poet for his style of poetry and is considered to be a demi-god for his powers.
