andhra pradesh

An Andhra Kingdom was mentioned in the Sanskrit epics such as Aitareya Brahmana (B.C.800) and Mahabharata.The Natyasastra of Bharatha (1st Century B.C) also mentioned the "Andhra" race.The roots of the Telugu language have been traced to inscriptions found at Bhattiprolu.

Megasthenes, who visited the Court of Chandragupta Maurya (B.C.322–297), mentioned that Andhra country had 3 fortified towns and an army of 100,000 infantry, 200 cavalry and 1,000 elephants. Buddhist books reveal that Andhras established their kingdoms on the Godavari belt at that time. Asoka referred in his 13th rock edict that Andhras were his subordinates.

Inscriptional evidence shows that there was an early kingdom in coastal Andhra ruled by Kuberaka, with Pratipalapura (Bhattiprolu) as his capital. Around the same time Dhanyakatakam/Dharanikota (present day Amaravati) appears to have been an important place, which was visited by Gautama Buddha. According to the ancient Tibetan scholar Taranatha: "On the full moon of the month Chaitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, the Buddha emanated the mandala of 'The Glorious Lunar Mansions' (Kalachakra)".

The Mauryans extended their rule over Andhra in 4th century BCE. With the fall of the Mauryan Empire Andhra Satavahanas became independent in 3rd century BCE. After the decline of the Satavahanas in 220 CE, Ikshvaku dynasty, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas, Vishnukundinas, Eastern Chalukyas and Cholas ruled the Telugu land. Inscriptional evidence of Telugu language was found during the rule of Renati Cholas (Kadapa region) in 5th century CE.During this period Telugu emerged as a popular medium undermining the predominance of Prakrit and Sanskrit.Telugu was made the official language by the Vishnukundina kings who ruled from their capital Vinukonda. Eastern Chalukyas ruled for a long period after the decline of Vishnukundinas from their capital in Vengi. As early as 1st century CE, Chalukyas were mentioned as being vassals and chieftains under the Satavahanas and later under Ikshvakus. The Chalukya ruler Rajaraja Narendra ruled Rajahmundry around 1022 CE.

The battle of Palnadu resulted in the weakening of Eastern Chalukyan power and emergence of the Kakatiya dynasty in the 12th and the 13th centuries CE. The Kakatiyas were at first feudatories of the Rashtrakutas ruling over a small territory near Warangal. All the Telugu lands were united by the Kakatiyas. In 1323 CE, Delhi Sultan Ghiaz-ud-din Tughlaq sent a large army under Ulugh Khan to conquer the Telugu country and capture Warangal. King Prataparudra was taken prisoner. Musunuri Nayaks recaptured Warangal from the Delhi Sultanate in 1326 CE and ruled for fifty years. Inspired by their success, the Vijayanagar empire, one of the greatest empires in the history of Andhra Pradesh and India, was founded by Harihara and Bukka, who served as treasury officers of the Kakatiyas of Warangal.^[13] In 1347 CE, an independent Muslim state, the Bahmani kingdom, was established in south India by Alla-ud-din Hasan Gangu as a revolt against the Delhi Sultanate. The Qutb Shahi dynasty held sway over the Andhra country for about two hundred years from the early part of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century.^{[citation needed]} In Colonial India, Northern Circars became part of the British Madras Presidency. Eventually this region emerged as the Coastal Andhra region. Later the Nizam had ceded five territories to the British which eventually emerged as Rayalaseema region. The Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as the Princely state of Hyderabad, acknowledging British rule in return for local autonomy. Meanwhile, the French had occupied Yanam (Yanaon), in the Godavari Delta, and (save for periods of British control) would hold it until 1954.

India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. The Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain his independence from India, but the people of the region launched the movement to join the Indian Union. The state of Hyderabad was forced to become part of the Republic of India in 1948 after Operation Polo which lasted 5 days and had popular support from the people of the Hyderabad State.

In an effort to gain an independent state, and protect the interests of the Telugu people of Madras State, Amarajeevi Potti Sriramulu fasted until death. Public outcry and civil unrest after his death forced the government to announce the formation of a new state for Telugu speaking people. Andhra attained statehood on 1 October 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.

On 1 November 1956, Andhra State merged with the Telangana region of Hyderabad State to form the state of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad, the former capital of the Hyderabad State, was made the capital of the new state Andhra Pradesh. Yanam was relinquished by the French in 1954, but one condition of the treaty was the retention of the district's separate and distinct identity, which also applied to the other South Indian enclaves constituting today's puducherry state.

Geography and Climate:

Geographically, Andhra Pradesh is composed of most of the eastern half of the Deccan plateau and the plains to the east of the Eastern Ghats. The northern part of the plateau is generally considered as the telangana region and the southern part is known as rayalaseema. These two regions are separated, roughly, by the river Krishna. The plains to the east of Eastern ghats form the coastal plain region. The Eastern ghats are discontinuous and have local names for individual sections. The kadapa basinformed by two arching branches of the eastern ghats is a mineral rich area. The coastal plains are, for a major part, delta regions formed by the rivers Godavari, Krishna, and Penner. The Eastern ghats are a major dividing line in the state's geography. The ghats become more pronounced towards the south and extreme north of the coast. The Eastern ghat region also is home to dense tropical forests, while the vegetation becomes sparse as the ghats give way to the deccan plateau, where shrub vegetation is more common. Most of the coastal plains are put to intense agricultural use. West and South west parts of andhra pradesh have semi-arid conditions.

The climate of Andhra Pradesh varies considerably, depending on the geographical region. The major role in determining the climate of the state is played by monsoons. Summers last from March to June. In the coastal plain the summer temperatures are generally higher than the rest of the state, with temperature ranging between 20°C and 41°C

July to September is the season for tropical rains in Andhra Pradesh. The state receives heavy rainfall during these months. About one third of the total rainfall in Andhra Pradesh is brought by the North-East Monsoons. October and November see low-pressure systems and tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal which, along with the north-east monsoon, bring rains to the southern and coastal regions of the state. Winters in Andhra Pradesh are pleasant. November, December, January and February are the winter months in Andhra Pradesh. Since the state has a long coastal belt the winters are not very cold in those regions. The range of winter temperature is generally 13°C to 30°C

Divisions:

Andhra Pradesh can be divided into three regions, namely Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana

Andhra Pradesh has 23 districts: Adilabad, Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, East Godavari, Guntur, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Krishna, Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Sri Potti Sreeramulu Nellore, Nizamabad, Prakasam, Rangareddy, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Warangal and West Godavari.

Each district is divided into multiple mandals and each mandal is a group of a few villages.

Hyderabad is the capital and, along with the adjoining twin city Secunderabad, is the largest city in the state. Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh's main seaport, is the second largest city of the state and is home to the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command. Vijayawada due to its location and proximity to major rail and road routes is a major trading center and the third largest city .Nellore ,andhra pradesh's largest port (krishnapatnam) Other important cities and towns are: Kakinada, Warangal, Guntur , Tirupati, Rajahmundry, Ongole, Kurnool, Anantapur, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Eluru.

Culture:

Cultural institutions:

Andhra Pradesh has many museums, including the Archaeological Museum at Amaravati near Guntur City that features relics of nearby ancient sites, the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, which features a varied collection of sculptures, paintings, and religious artifacts and the Visakha Museum in Visakhapatnam, which displays the history of the pre-Independence Madras Presidency in a rehabilitated Dutch bungalowVictoria Jubilee Museum in Vijayawada has a good collection of ancient sculptures, paintings, idols, weapons, cutlery and inscriptions.

Cuisine:

The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is reputedly one of the spiciest of all Indian cuisine. There are many variations to the Andhra cuisine (all involving rice) depending on geographical regions, caste, traditions etc. Pickles and chutneys, called pachchadi in Telugu are particularly popular in Andhra Pradesh and many varieties of pickles and chutneys are unique to the State. Chutneys are made from practically every vegetable including tomatoes, brinjals (eggplant), and roselle (Gongura). Gongura is probably the best known of the Andhra pickles.

Rice is the staple food and is used in a wide variety of ways. Typically, rice is either boiled and eaten with curry, or made into a batter for use in a crepe-like dish called attu (pesarattu – made of a mixture of this batter and mung beans) or dosas.

Meat, vegetables and greens are prepared with different spices (masala) into a variety of strongly flavored dishes.

Hyderabadi cuisine is influenced by the Muslims who arrived in Telangana in the 14th century. Much of the cuisine revolves around meat. It is rich and aromatic, with a liberal use of exotic spices and ghee (clarified butter). Lamb, chicken and fish are the most widely used meats in the non-vegetarian dishes. The biryani is perhaps the most distinctive and popular of Hyderabadi cuisine.

Dance:

Jayapa Senani (Jayapa Nayudu) is the first person who wrote about the dances prevalent in Andhra Pradesh.Both Desi and Margi forms of dances have been included in his Sanskrit treatise 'Nritya Ratnavali'. It contains eight chapters. Folk dance forms like Perani, Prenkhana, Suddha Nartana, Carcari, Rasaka, Danda Rasaka, Shiva Priya, Kanduka Nartana, Bhandika Nrityam, Carana Nrityam, Chindu, Gondali and Kolatam are described. In the first chapter the author deals with discussion of the differences between Marga and Desi, Tandava and lasya, Natya and Nritta. In the 2nd and 3rd chapters he deals with Angi-kabhinaya, Caris, Sthanakas and Mandalas. In the 4th Chapter Karnas, angaharas and recakas are described. In following chapters he described the local dance forms i.e. desi nritya. In the last chapter he deals with art and practice of dance.

Classical dance in Andhra can be performed by both men and women; however women tend to learn it more often. Kuchipudi is the state's best-known classical dance form. The various dance forms that existed through the state's history are Chenchu Bhagotham, Kuchipudi, Bhamakalapam, Burrakatha, Veeranatyam, Butta bommalu, Dappu, Tappeta Gullu, Lambadi, Bonalu, Dhimsa, Kolattam and chindu .

Festivals:

• Sankranthi in January.
• Maha Shivaratri in February/March.
• Holi in March.
• Ugadi or the Telugu New Year in March/April.
• Sri Rama Navami celebrated in March/April, 9 days after Ugadi.
• Varalakshmi Vratham in August.
• Rakhi poornima in August.
• Vinayaka Chavithi in August
• Dasara in September/October.
• Atla Tadde 3rd day in bright half of Aswiyuja month (falls in September/October in Gregorian calendar)
• Deepavali in October/November 20days after Dasara.
• Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Muharram.
• Bonalu in Sravanam. (Celebrated in Telangana region).
• Bathukamma celebrated for 9 days during Durgastami called as Nava ratri–Dasara in Telangana region.
• Nowruz
• Christmas

Tourism:

Andhra Pradesh is promoted by tourism department as "Kohinoor of India."

Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrim centres. Tirupati, the abode of Hindu god Venkateswara, is most visited religious center (of any faith) in the world. Srisailam, nestled in the Nallamala Hills is the abode of Mallikarjuna and is one of twelve Jyothirlingalu in India. Amaravati's Shiva temple is one of the Pancharamams, as is Yadagirigutta, the abode of an avatara of Vishnu, Lakshmi Narasimha. The Ramappa temple and Thousand Pillars temple in Warangal are famous for their temple carvings. The state has numerous Buddhist centres at Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda, Bhattiprolu, Ghantasala, Nelakondapalli, Dhulikatta, Bavikonda, Thotlakonda, Shalihundam, Pavuralakonda, Sankaram, Phanigiri and Kolanpaka.

The Badami Chalukyas (Badami is in Karnataka) in 6th century built the 'Alampur Bhrama temples,an excellent examples of Chalukya art and sculpture. The Vijayanagar Empire built number of monuments, the Srisailam temple and Lepakshi temples.

The golden beaches at Visakhapatnam, the one-million-year old limestone caves at Borra, picturesque Araku Valley, hill resorts of Horsley Hills, river Godavari racing through a narrow gorge at Papi Kondalu, waterfalls at Ettipotala, Kuntala and rich bio-diversity at Talakona, are some of the natural attractions of the state. Kailashagiri is near the sea in Visakhapatnam. A park is on the hill top of Kailashagiri. Visakhapatnam is home to many tourist attactions like INS Karasura Submarine museum (The only one of its kind in India), the longest Beach Road in India, Yarada Beach, Araku Valley, VUDA Park, and Indira Gandhi Zoological Gardens.

The Borra Caves are located in the Anatagiri Hills of Eastern Ghats, near Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh State in India. They are at a height of about 800 to 1300 metres above Mean Sea Level and are famous for million-year-old stalactite and stalagmite formations. They were discovered by William King George, the British geologist in the year 1807. The caves get their name from a formation inside the caves that looks like the human brain, which in the local language, Telugu, is known as burra. Similarly, the Belum caves were formed due to erosion in limestone deposits in the area by Chitravati River, millions of years ago. These limestone caves was formed due to action of carbonic acid — or weakly acidic groundwater formed due to reaction between limestone and water.

The Belum Caves are the second largest cave system in the Indian sub-continent. The Belum Caves derive their name from Bilum, the Sanskrit word for caves. In Telugu, the caves are known as Belum Guhalu. The Belum Caves have a length of 3229 meters, making them the second largest natural caves on the Indian subcontinent. The Belum Caves have long passages, spacious chambers, freshwater galleries and siphons. The caves' deepest point is 120 feet (37 m) from the entrance and is known as Patalganaga.

Horsley Hills Horsley Hills, elevation 1,265 m, is a famous summer hill resort in Andhra Pradesh, about 160 km from Bangalore and 144 km from Tirupati. The town of Madanapalle lies nearby. Major tourist attractions include the Mallamma temple and the Rishi valley school. Horsely Hills is the departure point for the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary at a distance of 87 km.

Charminar, Golconda Fort, Chandragiri Fort, Chowmahalla Palace and Falaknuma Palace are some of the monuments in the state.

Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada in Krishna District,Venkateswara Temple in Dwarakatirumala, West Godavari District (it is also called Chinna Tirupathi), Surya temple in Arasavelli in Srikakulam District are also places to see in Andhra Pradesh. Annavaram satayannarayana swami temple is in East Godavari