KADAPA: Bire Gampa Mallayya, a 25-year-old arts teacher from Kadapa, has gained national recognition for his artwork, which often focuses on social issues. Despite coming from a humble background as the son of a handloom weaver, Mallayya’s determination and talent have earned him multiple prestigious awards.
Mallayya’s father, Bire Tatayya, and mother, Bire Lakshmi Devi, are daily wage labourers from Sorakayala Peta village in Anantapur district. Mallayya’s talent was first noticed by his English teacher, LR Venkataramana, in the fifth grade at Sorakayala Peta Primary School. Venkataramana provided Mallayya with art training on weekends and took him to competitions, fostering his passion for the arts.
Mallayya pursued a BSc in Arts from Anantapur Arts College in 2018 and chose to follow his dream of becoming a fine artist by joining the Bachelor of Fine Arts programme at Yogi Vemana University in Kadapa, under the mentorship of Kotha Mrutyunjaya Rao. He later became an arts teacher at Hyderabad Public School in Kadapa and recently joined Edify English Medium School in Tirupati.
His journey to success began with gold medals at the Konaseema Chitrakala Parishad and Pratibha All India Youth Child Art Competition in the sixth grade. His passion for art grew, leading to first place in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Rangoli competition organised by the central government in 2022. He also won first place in the South Zone All India Universities Association competition at Padmavathi Mahila University, Tirupati.
In 2023, Mallayya secured the top position in the National All India Universities Association’s clay modelling competition in Bengaluru and received the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma Award at the 2024 Tirupati Arts Society Competition.
His painting was selected from 3,500 entries in the Yuva Pratibha All India competition, placing him in the top-8 in the Senior Category. His work was also exhibited at the Lalit Kala Academy in Delhi.
In 2024, Mallayya won first place in the Rayalaseema Samskruti painting competition and received the Amrita Sher-Gil Award from the Bharat Art Society for his depiction of a village festival. He aims to bring recognition to Rayalaseema artists and inspire future generations. “My journey began with a small thought from my teacher, LR Venkataramana Sir. I hope to introduce more artists to the world, just as I was introduced,” he said.
He also aspires to honour his parents’ hard work. “One day, I want people to tell my parents that their son is a great artist. That would be the greatest gift I can give them my success,” he shared.