Tripuraneni Ramaswamy

Born: 15 January 1887

Died: 16 January 1943

He also known as Tripuraneni Ramaswamy, was a lawyer, poet, playwright and reformer active among the Telugu-speaking people.
Popularly known as Kaviraju (the “king of poets”), he is considered the first poet to introduce rationalism and humanism into Telugu poetry and literature.
He was part of a growing movement in India to reassess the culture of India.
This movement included such people as Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Ranade, Dayananda Saraswati, Kandukuri Veeresalingam and Gurazada Apparao.
He was against the traditional Hindu marriage ceremony which resulted in burdensome expenditure, especially among the poor.
He prepared a simple procedure in Telugu called Vivaha Vidhi.
He officiated at many marriages. When he was the Chairman of Tenali Municipality, he did not permit animal sacrifice to appease Devatas.
He was a patriot even when he was a student.
He wrote a patriotic play Rana Pratap, which was proscribed by the British government.
He was an ardent lover of the Telugu language and culture and was proud of their history.
He was an educationist and was a member of the senate of the Andhra University for three terms.
He was awarded many honors and was popularly known as ‘Kaviraju’, a title conferred on him.
He died in 1943, but left his imprint on the development of the Telugu-speaking people.
The Indian government honored his legacy by issuing a commemorative postage stamp with his picture in 1987, his centenary year.