Amala Akkineni launches Krishna Kiriti’s ‘Shiva Rupaya Vishnave’

Amala Akkineni, Director of the Annapurna College of Film and Media (ACFM), launched ‘Shiva Rupaya Vishnave: Part One – The Warhorse and The Dancer’, the debut novel by S S Krishna Kiriti, an alumnus of the 2018 batch of ACFM, at a special event held at the Shiva Theatre, Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad.

Published by Mayasabha Publications, the novel is the first part of ‘The Shiva Rupaya Vishnave Trilogy’, a literary-historical journey spanning eight centuries of South Indian history. The launch brought together students, alumni and guests of Annapurna College of Film and Media to celebrate the literary debut of one of its alumni.

Set three years after a war, the story follows Emperor Sri Krishna Devaraya as he returns to a prosperous Vijayanagara. Though the battles are over, he remains burdened by memories of the past. When physicians, priests and conventional remedies fail, a dancer from the village of Kuchipudi offers him an unusual cure -a story.

The narrative then journeys backwards through eight centuries of South Indian history, bringing together kings, warriors, sculptors, philosophers, priests, dancers, wandering tribes and ordinary people whose choices contribute to the creation of a God.

‘Part One: The Warhorse and The Dancer’ explores faith, memory, inheritance, political power, loyalty, betrayal and the human consequences of belief. Rather than beginning with origins, the trilogy begins with consequences and moves backwards towards the moment everything began.

Speaking about the book, Krishna Kiriti said, “‘Shiva Rupaya Vishnave’ is an attempt to look at history not simply as a record of kings and battles, but through the memories, beliefs and choices of the people who lived through it. I wanted to tell a story that moves backwards in time, allowing readers to discover how faith, power and human experience become intertwined over generations.”

Written in English and rooted in Telugu cultural and historical traditions, the novel combines literary fiction, historical fiction, mythology and philosophical inquiry. A distinctive feature is an original song written by Kiriti, composed by Mani Sharma and sung by S P Balasubrahmanyam, accessible through a QR code in the book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India