>Ser Amantio di Nicolao at 17:45, 27 June 2021

2021-06-27T17:45:40Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox clergy
| name =Chetti Bhanumurti, [[CBCNC]]
| image =
| bgcolour =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| pseudonym =
| birthname =
| birth_date =23 February 1888<ref name="Oxford">[[Roger E. Hedlund]], Jesudas M. Athyal, Joshua Kalapati, and Jessica Richard (Edited), ''The Oxford Encyclopaedia of South Asian Christianity'', 2012. [http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198073857.001.0001/acref-9780198073857-e-0220]</ref>
| birth_place = [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]
| death_date ={{death date and age|1973|1|6|1888|2|23}}<ref name="Oxford"/>
| death_place = Andhra Pradesh, India
| occupation = [[Theologian]]
| nationality = [[Demographics of India|Indian]]
| ordained =
| education = [[L.Th.]] ([[Senate of Serampore College (University)]])
| writings =
| church =[[Canadian Baptist Mission]]/[[Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars]]
| offices_held = [[Pastor]], Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars [[Teacher]], [[Baptist Theological Seminary]], [[Kakinada]] and Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary, [[Ramayapatnam]]
| parents =
| title = The Reverend
| footnotes =
}}

'''Chetti Bhanumurti''' (born 23 February 1888;<ref name="Trophies">Mary Stillwell McLaurin, ''Chetti Bhanumurti'' in John Craig, J. R. Stillwell, I. C. Archibald, A. E. Baskerville (Edited), ''Some of the Trophies: Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission Board Jubilee Volume, Telugu Trophies - The Jubilee story of some of the principal Telugu converts in the Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission in India from 1874 to 1924'', American Baptist Publication Society, Toronto. [https://archive.org/stream/MN41713ucmf_9/MN41713ucmf_9_djvu.txt]</ref> died 6 January 1973<ref name="Oxford"/>) was a Hymn Writer whose hymns are found in the Hymnal in [[Telugu language|Telugu]].<ref name="ACH">[https://books.google.com/books?id=fm9fkgAACAAJ&dq=andhra+christian+hymnal&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CcyYVaCtJcSdugSGmqo4&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAQ Andhra Christian Hymnal, Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1966]</ref> Bhanumurti was a Pastor of the [[Canadian Baptist Mission]]/[[Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars]] who also led the Principalship of the Baptist Theological Seminary, [[Kakinada]] from 1945-1956 leading to its affiliation to the nation's first<ref name="Murli"/> University, [[Senate of Serampore College (University)]] in 1946<ref>Orville E. Daniel, ''Rising Tides in India'', Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission Board, 1963, p.91. [https://books.google.com/books?id=J9YQAQAAIAAJ&q=baptist+theological+seminary+kakinada+serampore&dq=baptist+theological+seminary+kakinada+serampore&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAWoVChMI4NHC1M3xyAIVYxOmCh2OPA33]</ref>

[[Comparative religion]] Scholar [[R. R. Sundara Rao]] who researched at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] highlighted the literary standard of Chetty Bhanumurti terming him as a pioneer hymn writer whose songs had the element of [[Bhakti]].<ref name="Bhakti">R. R. Sundara Rao, ''Bhakti theology in the Telugu hymnal'', CISRS/CLS, Bangalore/Chennai, 1983. [https://books.google.com/books/about/Bhakti_theology_in_the_Telugu_hymnal.html?id=Yio1AAAAIAAJ]</ref> The Old Testament Scholar, [[Victor Premasagar]] was also enthused by the lyrical content in Bhanumurti's compositions,<ref name="Victor">T. Dayanandan Francis, ''Attempts at Critical Assimilation in Regional Christian Literature: A Tamil Perspective'' in [[H. S. Wilson]] (Edited), ''The Church on the Move: A Quest to Affirm the Biblical Faith - Essays in honour of P. Victor Premasagar'', CLS, Chennai, 1988, pp.135-144 [https://books.google.com/books/about/Church_on_the_Move.html?id=hMJIygAACAAJ&redir_esc=y]</ref> especially Hymn Number 94 titled ''Yesuku Samanulevaru'' (Translated ''Who is equal to you Lord?'') with direct reference to [[Psalm]] 71:19 and strikingly similar to [[Tyagaraja]]'s composition in [[Kharaharapriya]]. Dayanandan Francis brings Chetti Bhanumurti in the line of another Hymn writer, [[Puroshottam Choudhary]] and writes,

{{quote|Like Choudari, Bhanumurti also is interested in picking up ideas, thought-forms and even [[ragas]] from popular [[Hindu]] poems and lyrics, while at the same time endeavouring to broaden the perspectives found in such religious literary forms with distinctive Christian ideas.}}

==Studies==
In 1915,<ref name="Directory">[[S. J. Samartha]], [[M. P. John]] (Compiled), ''Directory of students 1910-1967'', Serampore College (Theology Department), Serampore, 1967, p.1.</ref> Bhanumurthy discerned his avocation towards priesthood and went for ministerial formation to the [[Serampore College]], [[Serampore]], a constituent College of the nation's first University,<ref name="Murli">[[Murli Manohar Joshi]], ''Higher Education in India Vision and Action, A paper presented at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in the Twenty First Century, Paris, 5–9 October 1998. Internet, accessed 22 August 2008. {{cite web |url=http://education.nic.in/unhighedu.asp |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2015-11-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223010953/http://education.nic.in/unhighedu.asp |archivedate=23 February 2012 |df=dmy }}''</ref> studying up to 1918,<ref name="Directory"/> during the Principalship of [[George Howells]], as a candidate of the Canadian Baptist Mission/Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars where Bhanumurthy obtained a [[Licentiate in Theology]] ([[L.Th.]]).<ref name="Trophies"/>

==Theological Teacher==
Bhanumurthy taught at the [[Ramayapatnam]] Baptist Theological Seminary in Ramayapatnam<ref name="Trophies"/> and later on moved to Kakinada where he taught at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Kakinada along with [[Muthyala Theophilus]] who was his colleague. This was the period when [[A. B. Masilamani]] joined the seminary for spiritual formation. In 1952, Bhanumurthy became Principal of the [[seminary]].

==Hymns==
[[Roger E. Hedlund]], the [[Missiologist]] writes that along with the [[Bible]], the Christian Hymnal in Telugu also forms the main bulwark of Christian spiritual life for the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] folk and of equal use to both the non-literates and the literates as well.<ref>Roger E. Hedlund, Quest for Identity: India's Churches of Indigenous origin: The "Little" Tradition in Indian Christianity, New Delhi, 2000, p.261. [https://books.google.com/books?id=W3sGM-wp1msC&pg=PA261&dq=andhra+christian+hymnal&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CcyYVaCtJcSdugSGmqo4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false]</ref> In such a context, it is noteworthy that sixteen of Bhanumurthy's compositions are found in the Christian Hymnal in Telugu with the following sequence,

* 9, ''Stuti Geethamu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 84, ''Neeti Suryudu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 87, ''Kreesthuku Namo Namo'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 92, ''Yesu Sharanu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 94, ''Yesuku Samanulevaru'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 116, ''Raraju Janmadinamu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 198, ''Siluva Balamu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 201, ''Yesu Shanthikarudu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 263, ''Kreesthu Sanghamunaku Sirassu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 361, ''Yesunaku Sakshulu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 406, ''Kreesthuni Vembadinchuta'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 514, ''Kutumbaradhana'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 522, ''Melukolupu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 524, ''Kraistava Yuvajanulara Kreesthu Koraku Nelavandi'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 552, ''Abhinaya Christmas Geethamu'',<ref name="ACH"/>
* 579, ''Kruthagnathala Panduga'',<ref name="ACH"/>
{{S-start}}
{{S-aca}}
{{Succession box
| before=[[Archibald Gordon (missionary)|Archibald Gordon]] 1945-1952<ref name="Souvenir"/>| title=Principal, [[Baptist Theological Seminary]], [[Kakinada]]|after=[[A. B. Masilamani]] 1955-1958<ref name="Souvenir"/>| years=1952-1955<ref name="Souvenir">C. L. Johnson (Edited), ''Canadian Baptist Mission 125 year's Jubilee Celebrations of Baptist Churches in Northern Circars'', Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada, 1999, p.217-219.[http://www.worldcat.org/title/canadian-baptist-mission-125-years-jubilee-celebration-1874-1999-souvenir/oclc/433990749]</ref>}}
{{S-rel}}
{{Succession box
| before=M. Venkata Reddy,<ref name="ABC"/> 1912/ T. Israel Raju, 1915-1917| title=Pastor,<ref name="ABC">Andhra Baptist Church, Jagannaickpur, Kakinada 100 years souvenir 1906-2006. ''Office Bearers of the Church 1906-2006'', p.2.</ref> Andhra Baptist Church, [[Kakinada]]|after=T. Israel Raju, 1915-1917/ D. Jeevaratnam,<ref name="ABC"/> 1920-1927| years=1913-1914, 1918-1919}}
{{s-end}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhanumurthy, Chetty}}
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:Singers from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Telugu people]]
[[Category:Telugu-language writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Christian clergy]]
[[Category:Indian Anglicans]]
[[Category:Christian clergy from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian Christian theologians]]
[[Category:Senate of Serampore College (University) alumni]]
[[Category:Senate of Serampore College (University) faculty]]
[[Category:Indian Baptists]]
[[Category:Sacred music composers]]
[[Category:Indian male singers]]
[[Category:Baptist hymnwriters]]
[[Category:Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars]]
[[Category:Canadian Baptist Ministries]]
[[Category:20th-century Baptists]]
[[Category:20th-century male singers]]

Chetty Bhanumurthy - Revision history

>Ser Amantio di Nicolao at 17:45, 27 June 2021