Telugu people

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Telugu people
Telugu vāru
తెలుగు వారు
Malayalis
  • Gonds
  • Radala
  • PersonTelugu
    PeopleTeluguvāru
    LanguageTelugu
    CountryTelugu Nāḍu

    Telugu people (

    Malaysia, Mauritius, UAE, and others, By 2024 Telugu is spoken by 95.7 million people all over world which makes it third largest Indian diaspora after Hindi and Bengali.[17] Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States.[18] It is also a protected language in South Africa.[19]

    Andhra is an

    BCE) of the Rigveda.[21][22][23] They were also mentioned in the Mahabharata and Buddhist Jataka tales.[24] Megasthenes reported in his Indica (c. 310 BCE) that Andhras were living in the Godavari and Krishna river deltas and were famous for their military strength which was second only to Mauryans in all of India.[25] The first major Andhra polity was the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE) which ruled over the entire Deccan plateau and even distant areas of western and central India.[26][27][28] They established trade relations with the Roman Empire and their capital city, Amaravati was the most prosperous city in India in 2nd century CE.[29] Inscriptions in Old Telugu script (Vengi script) were found as far away as Indonesia and Myanmar.[30]

    In the 13th century,

    Southern India.[37][38][39] Vijaya Ramaswamy compared it to the overwhelming dominance of French as the cultural language of modern Europe during roughly the same era.[39] Telugu also predominates in the evolution of Carnatic music, one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music.[39][40][41][42]

    The architecture developed by Andhras in Krishna river valley in early first centuries CE, called the Amaravati School of Art, is regarded as one of the three major styles of ancient Indian art and had a great influence on art in South India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia.[43][44][45] Mahayana, the predominant Buddhist tradition in China, Japan, and Korea and the largest Buddhist denomination in the world, was developed among Telugus in Andhra.[46][47][48]

    Telugu is one of six languages designated as a

    classical language by the Government of India. It has an inscriptional history dating back to c. 400 BCE.[49][50] It has an unbroken and diverse literary tradition of over a thousand years.[51][52] Telugu performing arts include the classical dance form Kuchipudi, as well as Perini Sivatandavam, Burra Katha. Tholu Bommalata, the Telugu shadow puppetry tradition dates back to 3rd century BCE.[53] It is the ancestor of Wayang, the popular Indonesian art form which has been a staple of Indonesian tourism.[54][55][56] Telugu cinema is the largest film industry in India in terms of box-office as well as admissions.[57][58] The industry has produced some of India's most expensive and highest-grossing films
    of all time.

    Etymology

    Telugu

    Speakers of Telugu refer to it as simply Telugu or Telugoo.[59] Older forms of the name include Teluṅgu and Tenuṅgu.[60] Tenugu is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word *ten ("south")[61] to mean "the people who lived in the south/southern direction". The name Telugu, then, is a result of an "n" to "l" alternation established in Telugu.[62][63]

    P. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao note that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it the Trilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar).[64] However, most scholars note that Atharvana's grammar was titled Atharvana Karikavali.[65][66][67][68] Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote that Telugu was derived from Trilinga. Scholar Charles P. Brown made a comment that it was a "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation.[69]

    George Abraham Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather that Telugu was the older term and Trilinga must be the later Sanskritisation of it.[70][71] If so the derivation itself must have been quite ancient because Triglyphum, Trilingum and Modogalingam are attested in ancient Greek sources, the last of which can be interpreted as a Telugu rendition of "Trilinga".[72]

    Andhra

    Andhra is an

    etymon -(a)nṟ was borrowed as a loanword into Indo-Aryan as andha and later as āndhra to denote the name of the neighbouring Dravidian-speaking people.[23]

    History

    Andhra (

    Godavari river. Andhras and Kalingas supported the Kauravas during the Mahabharata war. Sahadeva defeated the kingdoms of Pandya, Andhra, Kalinga, Dravida, Odra and Chera while performing the Rajasuya Yajna. Buddhist references to Andhras are also found.[73][74][75]

    Andhra was mentioned in the Sanskrit sources such as

    Cholas, Vishnukundinas and Eastern Chalukyas.[78]

    Map of the Kakatiyas, circa 1150–1300 CE.[83]

    Between 1163 and 1323 the

    Golconda Fort and Kota Gullu in Ghanpur.[85] During this period, the Telugu language emerged as a literary medium with the writings of Nannaya, Tikkana, Eranna, Pothana etc. are the translators and poets of the great Hindu epics like Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Bhagavatha
    etc.

    Telingana, a term referring to the land inhabited by Telugus, was first used during the 14th century CE.

    .

    Extent of Vijayanagara Empire, around 1520 CE.

    The Telugus achieved independence under Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646). The Qutb Shahi dynasty of the Bahmani Sultanate succeeded that empire. The Qutub Shahis were tolerant of Telugu culture from the early 16th to the end of the 17th centuries.[88]

    The arrival of Europeans (the French under the Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau and the English under Robert Clive) altered polity of the region . In 1765, Clive and the chief and council at Visakhapatnam obtained the Northern Circars from Mughal emperor Shah Alam. The British achieved supremacy when they defeated Maharaja Vijaya Rama Gajapati Raju of Vizianagaram in 1792.

    Andhra's modern foundation was laid in the struggle for Indian independence under

    Chief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao
    .

    India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. Although the Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain independence from India, he was forced to cede his kingdom to the Dominion of India in 1948 to form Hyderabad State. Andhra, the first Indian state formed primarily on a linguistic basis, was carved from the Madras Presidency in 1953. In 1956, Andhra State was merged with the Telugu-speaking portion of Hyderabad State to create the state of Andhra Pradesh. The Lok Sabha approved the formation of Telangana from ten districts of Andhra Pradesh on 18 February 2014.[89]

    Culture

    Language

    Telugu is a South-Central

    Guntupalli in West Godavari district and Gummadidurru and Ghantasala in Krishna district. The earliest inscription completely written in Telugu dates to 575 CE were found at Kalamalla village in Kadapa district.[90]

    Literature

    Telugu has an unbroken and diverse literary tradition of over a thousand years.[51][52] The earliest Telugu literature dates to 11th century CE with Nannaya's Andhra Mahabharatam. The language experienced a golden age under the patronage of the Vijayanagara king-poet Krishnadevaraya.[32]

    Performing arts

    Two Kuchipudi dancers from Andhra Pradesh, 2011

    Indian classical dances.[91][92] It is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra.[93] It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.[94] Other Telugu performing arts
    include:

    Architecture

    Amaravati School of Art

    Amaravati Stupa relief at a museum (1st–2nd century CE)

    Amaravati School of Art is an ancient Indian art style that evolved in the region of

    Mathura style, and the Gandharan style.[43][97] Amaravati school flourished under the local Sada rulers, Satavahanas, and Andhra Ikshvakus till 325–340 CE. Amaravati Stupa is the most famous monument of this style, and it was for some time "the greatest monument in Buddhist Asia",[98] and "the jewel in the crown of early Indian art".[99] Apart from Amaravati, the style is also found in Nagarjunakonda and Chandavaram Buddhist site
    .

    Largely because of the maritime trading links of the East Indian coast, the Amaravati school of sculpture had great influence on art in

    South-East Asia.[44][45][95][97][100] Buddha image in sculptures which later on became the prototype of images in different Buddhist countries was standardised here.[97][101] The Amaravati style of Buddha image retained its popularity in Sri Lanka till the 12th century.[101]

    Kakatiya architecture

    Ramappa temple (1213–1253 CE), a UNESCO World Heritage Site[102]

    Kakatiya era also saw the development of a distinct style of architecture which improved and innovated upon the existing modes.[103] It is a fusion of Dravidian architecture and Nagara Bhumija styles in which sandbox technology is used to construct Vimana—horizontal stepped tower. Most notable examples are the Thousand Pillar Temple in Hanamkonda, Ramappa Temple in Palampet, and Kota Gullu in Ghanpur.[85] Ramappa Temple, also known as the Rudreswara temple, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Mulugu.[104]

    Cinema

    Telugu cinema is the largest film industry in India in terms of box-office as well as admissions.[105][57][58] The industry has produced some of India's most expensive and highest-grossing films of all time over the years.

    Clothing

    • Masculine
    1. Uttareeyam (
      Angvastram
      or veil)
    2. Pancha (Dhoti)
    3. Jubba (Kurta) The top portion
    4. Lungi (Casual dress)
    • Feminine
    1. Langa voni (Half sari)
    2. Pattu pavada
    3. Cheera (sari)

    Festivals

    Important festivals celebrated by Telugu people include:

    • Bhogi, Makara Sankranti, Kanuma in January. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Maha Sivaratri in February/March. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Ugadi or the Telugu New Year in March/April. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Sri Rama Navami
      celebrated in March/April, 9 days after Ugadi. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Ashada masam
      (July/August). (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Hanuman Jayanti in March/May/June. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Vaikunta Ekadasi in December /January. (The exact date may vary as per Hindu calendar.)
    • Varalakshmi Vratam in August. (The exact date may vary as per Hindu calendar.)
    • Krishna Janmashtami in August. (The exact date may vary as per Hindu calendar.)
    • Vinayaka Chaviti in August. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Bathukamma celebrated for nine days during Durga Navaratri.
    • Dasara in September/October. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Ashviyuja
      month (falls in September/October in Gregorian calendar). However, the exact date may vary according to the Hindu calendar.
    • Deepavali
      (date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Nagula Chavithi is in October/November. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
    • Christmas, Easter, Ramzan, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Muharram, Vesak are among the minorities.

    Population

    Distribution

    Telugu is the third most common language in India, right behind Bengali. Telugu is predominantly spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, although it’s also the official language of several other states like

    Bellary
    Of Karnataka. It is a part of the Dravidian language family, which has been around for about 5,000 years.

    Outside

    Bellary city. In Maharashtra, the Telugu population is over 1.4 million, followed by 0.7 million in Orissa. Other states with significant populations include West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat with 200,000, 150,000 and 100,000 respectively.[106]

    Members of the overseas

    Notable Telugu people

    See also

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    Bibliography

    External links