Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma

Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma was born on 23 January, 1893 in Rallapalli village in Kambadur taluk, Anantapur district to parents Sri Karnamadakala Krishnamacharya and Smt. Alamelu Mangamma. Sharma was initiated into Telugu and Sanskrit literature by his father at a very young age. He had mastered classics of Kalidasa and the Telugu trio by his 12th year of age. While his father ensured that his son had a keen interest in literature, it was thanks to his mother’s persistence that Sharma’s love for music blossomed into something tangible. Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma and his sister Yadugiramma routinely sang religious hymns at the Hanuman temple inside the fort at Rallapalli village.

Early life 

Sharma left Rallapalli in 1905 and went to Mysore for further education. At Mysore he stayed in the Brahmatantra Parakala Mutt where he came under the influence of Krishnabrahmatantra Swamy. By then quite old, Krishnabrahmatantra Swamy was partially blind and was struggling to read. When Sharma came under his tutelage, he was working on his treatise on ‘Alankara Shastra’ titled ‘Alankara Manihara’. In many respects, Sharma became his eyes and ears and would read aloud the original verses so that the Swamy could hear them better and then spell out his interpretation of the same. 

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T. S. Subbanna - Sarvajanika Subbanna (A Brief Biography)

Taĝaduru Subbappa Subbanna was born in 1905 in Taĝaduru village, Nanjanagud taluk. His father Eshwarappa was the chief priest at the Ankanatheshwara temple in Taĝaduru. His mother Parvatamma was a devout pious lady. 

Early years
Subbanna had his preliminary schooling at Taĝaduru govt. school. Then the family moved to Mysore for his further education. While in Mysore, Subbanna worked part-time as a priest at the Kashi Vishwanatha temple in Madvachar road in Agrahara. Subbanna was admitted to the Wesley Mission High School. Venkatakrishnayya was one of the senior teachers who had a profound impact on him. Some of the British teachers tried to persuade students like Subbanna to focus on their academics instead of spending time in the freedom movement. But Subbanna had already come under the influence of freedom fighters like M. N. Jois, Sharada Prasad, Agaram Ramayya, Subramanyam and Dasappa. Subbanna and friends convened as the ‘Tilak Sangha’ to share news about various freedom fighters from across the country. Subbanna had to slip away to Channapatna (Sogale) to avoid impending arrest. He participated in the civil disobedience movements at Sirsi, Siddapur and Ankola. Subbanna’s mother, in an attempt to distract her son from the freedom struggle, tried to get him married – but this was in vain. Interestingly, Subbanna is remembered to have dressed as a woman in a saree to escape being caught, while participating in a protest march passing in front of Hardwicke High School. He managed to give police the slip and made it to Subbarayana Kere to hoist the Indian flag! On another occasion, while being pursued, he ran into a coal plant and smeared himself with coal soot and succeeded in evading arrest! Subbanna was among the freedom fighters to hoist the flag at Shivapura in Maddur. He then made his way to Sabarmati ashram where he spent time imbibing the Gandhian way of life directly from the Mahatma! 

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