Introduction

The Mulukanadu community is a caste of Telugu speaking Vaidiki Smartha Brahmins. Variations of the spelling of the name of the community include Muluknadu, Mulukanadu, Mulakanadu, Moolakanadu and Mulikinadu (not listed in any order). Telugu belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... // Introduction The term Smartha refers to those who accept and profess the Advaitha or non-dualistic philosophy propounded by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. ... Young Indian brahmachari Brahmin A Brahmin (less often Brahman) is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ...

Prominent members of the community have included the saint-composer Sri Thyagaraja, the statesman and scientist Sir M. Vishweshwaraiah, the author Devudu Narasimha Sastry and justice H V Nanjundaiah. The Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan, as also his daughter, the actress Rekha, are believed to belong to this community. Sri Tyagaraja (17??-1848), an ardent devotee of Sri Ramachandra, was one of the principal composers of Carnatic music, and is also regarded as the most important of the trinity of composers. ... Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya (also spelled Visweswaraiah) (Other spellings Vishweshwariah and Vishweshwarayya) (September 15, 1861–April 12, 1962), popularly known as MV, was an eminent Indian engineer. ... Kadhal mannan Gemini Ganesan Gemini Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005) was a famous Indian actor. ... Rekha is the name of one of the most renowned actresses of bollywood. ...

Provenance

Although the Telugu language is the mother-tongue of ALL members of this community, the caste is domiciled mainly in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Indeed, the community tends to define itself in terms of being expatriate from Andhra Pradesh. There is however a relatively large population of this community in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, but this may well be a function of the proximity of that region to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, rather than an indication of the community's origin. The author of this piece is informed that a certain region of the present-day state of Maharashtra was once known as the "Moolaka" land, and that a community of people have been referred to in various texts as the "Moolakas". However, no memory whatsoever of association with the Marathi country currently abides in the Mulukanadu community. Telugu belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ in Kannada) is one of the four southern states of India. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Andhra Pradesh (ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశం in Telugu) (Ä€ndhra Prādesh), a state in South India, lies between 12°41 and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40E longitude . ... Rayalaseema is an unofficial region of Indias Andhra Pradesh state. ... Andhra Pradesh (ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశం in Telugu) (Ä€ndhra Prādesh), a state in South India, lies between 12°41 and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40E longitude . ... Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ in Kannada) is one of the four southern states of India. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Maharashtra (महाराष्ट्र) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. ... Maharashtra (महाराष्ट्र) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. ...

Language

Adherence to the Telugu language is still common in the community, which however has developed a distinct dialect of its own, one that features numerous loan-words from Tamil and Kannada, and a remarkable paucity, in comparison with standard Telugu, of loan words from Urdu. However, there are very many differences between this dialect and standard Telugu that cannot be explained by the influence of other languages; one is led to speculate upon whether the community preserves features of a dialect of Telugu that was once common in some region of the Telugu country, and which is now forgotten in that area, while being preserved by the expatriate Mulukanadu community. The dialect spoken by the community is one of great anthropological significance, since it is a language defined by community rather than geography. This dialect has not received the attention it deserves from the scientific community; indeed, even the name "Mulukanadu Telugu" has not received recognition, although it differs significantly from standard Telugu. Usage of the dialect is somewhat on the decline, since the community is of late required to speak not only the language of the area of residence (Tamil, Kannada) but also the English and Hindi languages; on the other hand, fluency in the Mulukanadu Telugu dialect is of no earthly use whatsoever. Telugu belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Tamil may refer to: The Tamil language, which is one of the Dravidian languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... Telugu belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Urdu(اردو) is an Indo-European language which originated in India, most likely in the vicinity of Delhi, from whence it spread to the rest of the subcontinent. ... Telugu belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Tamil may refer to: The Tamil language, which is one of the Dravidian languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken in most states in northern and central India. ...

Culture

The Mulukanadu community has contributed richly to the fields of classical music and literature, and has always been strongly represented in administration, academia, the judiciary, and in the government services. It has tended to eschew commercial pursuits.

It is a fact little known outside the community that the saint-composer Sri Thyagaraja was a Mulukanadu Brahmin. A body known as the Mulukanadu Sabha released a souvenir in 1947 to mark the centenary of the demise of Sri Thyagaraja. That publication listed some of the prominent Carnatic musicians who hailed from the Mulukanadu community. The list includes: Sri Tyagaraja (17??-1848), an ardent devotee of Sri Ramachandra, was one of the principal composers of Carnatic music, and is also regarded as the most important of the trinity of composers. ... Sri Tyagaraja (17??-1848), an ardent devotee of Sri Ramachandra, was one of the principal composers of Carnatic music, and is also regarded as the most important of the trinity of composers. ...

• Giriraja Kavi (the grandfather of sri Tyagaraja),
• Melattur Arunachalaiah,
• Karur Devudu Brothers,
• Sadhu Ganapathi Sastrulu,
• Pallavi Gopalayya,
• Pratapam Gopalakrishnan,
• Tanjore Govindaswami Bhagavatar,
• Paidala Gurumoorthy Sastry,
• CS Krishnaswamiah (Patnam's disciple),
• Guddi Krishnaiah,
• Tsallagalli Krishnaiah,
• Kavi Matrubhootayya,
• Sutram Nayarana Sastrulu,
• Swaragath Narayanaswamaiah,
• Kalidas Narayanaswamaiah,
• Tiruvayyaru Panchapakesaiah,
• Puducheri Rangaswamy Iyer,
• Moovanur Sabhapatayya,
• Pallavi Seshayya,
• KN Srikantaiah (Papa's father),
• Manambucchavadi Venkatasubbaiyya and
• Swarakadu Venkatasubbayyah.

If that was a list of past (in 1947) musical greats, the Who's Who of the souvenir goes on to cover musicians from this community then living. The list includes: Giriraja Kavi was a noted composer of Carnatic Music, who lived in the 18th century in the kingdom of Thanjavur. ... Sri Tyagaraja (శ్రీ త్యాగరాజ) (17??-1848), an ardent devotee of Sri Ramachandra, was one of the most important composers of Carnatic music. ...

• Karur Chinnaswamiah,
• Pratapam Natesayyah,
• Papa Venkataramaiah,
• Alathur Venkatesa Iyer,
• Sivasubramania Iyer and
• Madurai Subramanya Iyer.

This is the contribution of this "unsung" community to the world of Carnatic music. Its contribution to other fields of human excellence is no doubt on a similar scale. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

References

http://www.sangeetham.com/tyagcentsouvenir.htm for information on "Tyagaraja's death centenary souvenir"