Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Noted poet Andesri, who wrote and performed ‘Jaya Jayahe, Telangana’, the state’s anthem, passed away at his home in Lalapet on Monday morning at the age of 64. He is survived by his wife and four children. Andesri, born Ande Ellaiah in Rebarthi, a village near Jangaon in July 1961, belonged to a Dalit community. He overcame numerous obstacles to occupy a position of renown in the state. Andesri spent most of his life in abject poverty and could not attend school. He did not get a formal education in reading and writing.

One of his earliest songs to enter the limelight was ‘Nannu ganna na palle andalu chudara’ (See the beauty of the village that gave birth to me), a reflectiion on how he fended for himself after his mother had passed away. Andesri’s reputation as a poet soared with ‘Mayamai potunna-damma, manishanna vadu’ (Man is vanishing as a human being) and ‘Palle neeku vandalu’ (Respects to my village).

When the Telangana movement was at its peak from 2009 to 2014, his songs became famous among the Telugu-speaking diaspora. His popularity earned him several awards and an honorary doctorate from Kakatiya University in Warangal. The song 'Jaya Jayahe Telangana' was already a school prayer in government schools and was sung in villages before 2014 also. It was initially recorded in 2004 in the voice of Telugu film singer V. Ramakrishna and later re-arranged as an anthem by the state government.