Puroshottam Choudhary
| Purushottama Choudhary | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 5, 1803 Madanpur, Ganjam district, West Bengal |
| Died | August 24, 1890 (aged 86) |
| Occupation | christian poet, preacher |
| Parent(s) | Kurmanatha, Subhadra |
Puroshottam Choudhary (5 September 1803 – 24 August 1890) also spelled Purushottama Chaudhary or Purushothama Choudhari was a great 19th century Telugu Christian poet. He was a Christian preacher, evangelist, and pastor of the Berhampur Church, founded by Isaac Stubbins in 1838.
He was also a poet, pamphleteer, and one of the first Christian vaggeyakaras —contributing immensely to "Bhakti tradition" in Telugu Christianity and to Christology in India.
He was born on 5 September 1803 to Kurmanatha Chowdhari and Subhadhra at Madanpur—currently, part of West Bengal state—previously part of Ganjam district, Orissa with predominant Oriya and Telugu-speaking people and their neighbouring lands – Ganjam district is located on the border of Telugu-speaking districts of present Andhra Pradesh—namely, Chicacole(present Srikakulam) and Vizagapatam(present Visakhapatnam). While in Orissa, he was married and was blessed with two sons and three daughters.
(Purushottam choudhary comes from orthodox Bengal Brahmin family whose ancestors migrated to present Andhra-Orissa(odhisa) region in 1700's because of political unrest in Bengal state in those days)
By 1825, it appears, he was introduced to Christian literature, when his brother Jagannadha Chowdhari procured him religious tracts written by probably by William Carey, one of the Serampore Trio. Influenced by the tracts, he obtained more tracts from neighbouring villages and decided to learn more about Christianity. He even went to Vizagapatnam(also known as Vizag) and met Roman Catholic priest and tried to meet Rev James Dawson of London Missionary Society, already operating over there. Later he was influenced by Christian officers like Capt. Knott, General Adjutant Evalin, and Major Brett from East India Company—While working as a tutor in Parlakimedi.He was directed to Helen Knott, who gave Gospel of Luke and two tracts—In May 1833, he went to Vizagapatnam to meet missionaries, then-overseen by Major Brett. Here, he had written his own tract on Indian caste in Telugu, published later by Tract society of Madras—While, Brett had plans to send him to Madras by sea, Helen Knott having got positive message from Baptist Missionary Society from Cuttack, he was finally sent to Cuttack. Eventually, he was baptised on 6 October 1833 into Christian faith by Charles Lacey, an English General Baptist missionary to Cuttack, Orissa; Charles Lacey came to Orissa in 1823 for evangelical activities, after William Bampton and James Peggs arrived Orissa in 1822.
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