VIJAYAWADA: Eminent folk artist, radio commentator, harmonium player, music composer and author Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi passed away at the age of 99 due to illness at Houston in the USA.
Anasuya Devi was born on May 12, 1920, in Kakinada to Vinjamuri Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao, an Indian stage actor, Telugu-Sanskrit pandit, and author. A recipient of Kala Prapoorna award, Anasuya Devi was a child prodigy who had got her first gramophone record when she was eight-years-old.
She had actively participated in Indian freedom struggle and represented her talent in front of freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarvepally Radhakrishnan. She had composed and sung “Jaya Jaya Jaya Priya Bharathi”, a famous patriotic song written by her uncle Devulapally Krishna Shastry.
She recently published her two books, Bava Geetalu and Compilation of Folk Songs. She was honoured with a Doctorate by Andhra University in 1977 and received a lifetime achievement award in America and ‘Queen of Folk’ award in Paris.