Tallapaka Annamacharya, also popularly known as Annamayya, was a musician, composer, and a Hindu saint. He is the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called samkirtanas. His devotional samkirtanas were in the praise of Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu.Annamayya is said to have composed as many as 32,000 samkirtanas (songs) on the praise of Venkateswara of which only about 12,000 are available today. He wrote highest numbers of Kirtanas of all time on praise of Lord Vishnu The musical form of the kirtana songs that he composed, which are still popular among Carnatic music concert artists, have strongly influenced the structure of Carnatic music compositions. His compositions are classified as Adhyatma (spiritual) and Sringara (romantic). Annamacharya is remembered for his saintly life, as one of the greatest musicians and is honoured as a great devotee of Vishnu by devotees and saintly singers. He was one of the first few who opposed the social stigma towards the untouchable castes in his era.
This statue is at Dwaraka Tirumala
A statue of Tallapaka Annamacharya situated at the Sarada River Park in Anakapalle, Andhra Pradesh.
10-story tall statue of Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya located at the entrance of Tallapaka.
2004 Indian stamp of Annamacharya
Kirtana, also rendered as Kirtan or Keertan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankara.
Sikh kirtan with Indian harmoniums and tabla drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s)
Painting of a Gaudiya Vaishnava kirtan in Bengal. Some traditions practice public kirtan.
The Vedic sage Narada is depicted as a great kirtan singer in the Hindu Puranas.
A modern painting of a mahasankirtan scene from the Bhagavata Purana