Kshetrayya

Kshetrayya (17th Century A.D) - born Varadayya, was a prolific Telugu poet and composer who wrote with Sringara as a main theme in expressing Madhurabhakti (devotion to the supreme). Sringara is a motif where the mundane sexual relationship between a man and a woman is used to express a connection with the divine. In most of his compositions, Kshetrayya has used the signature "MuvvaGopala" as a reference to himself, which is also a name for the Lord Krishna in Kshetrayya's village Muvva.

Kshetrayya's work has played a major role in influencing poetry, dance, music of the South Indian tradition. Kshetrayya was intimately connected with the devadasi women of the temples of south india, who were the subject of many of his compositions. The devadasi's were traditionally in posession of the musical/poetic interpretations of his work for a long period of time till the devadasi system was abolished and the compositions became more accepted in the musical community as valuable works of art. The musical community also owes a lot to Veena Dhanammal and T. Brinda, who popularized Kshetrayya's songs with their beautiful musical interpretation.

Kshetrayya's padams now form an integral part of the dance and musical traditions of South India, where his songs are rendered purely as musical works or as accompaniments to dance.