Andhra Pradesh
: (
Telugu: ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్,
Urdu: آندھرا پردیش,
IPA: / /), is a
state in
South India. It lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude, and is bordered by
Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh and
Orissa in the north, the
Bay of Bengal in the East,
Tamil Nadu to the south and
Karnataka to the west. Andhra Pradesh is the fourth largest state in India by area and fifth largest by population. It is the largest and most populous state in Southern India. It is also considered the
rice bowl of India. The state is crossed by two major rivers, the
Godavari and
Krishna. ("Pradesh" means "region" or "state".)
Andhra is an ancient society of India. We encounter several references about Andhras in epics like
Mahabharata,
Ramayana,
Puranas, and Buddhist
Jataka Tales. They confirm the ancient existence of Andhra society. Andhra means "Leader in battle".
|
Charminar or Four Minarets in Hyderabad. Hyderabad was the capital of the Nizam kingdom and later the Nizam dominion. |
Ancient Ages
During the
Mauryan age there is historical evidence of the existence of Andhras as a political power in the southeastern
Deccan.
Megasthenes, who visited the Court of
Chandragupta Maurya (322-297 BCE), mentioned that Andhras had 30 fortified towns and an army of a million infantry, 2000 cavalry and 1000 elephants.
Buddhist books reveal that Andhras established their kingdoms in the
Godavari Valley at that time.
Asoka referred in his 13th rock edict (232 BCE) that Andhra was under his rule.
The continuous political and cultural accounts of Andhra begins with the fall of the Mauryan Empire. It commences with the rise of the
Satavahanas as a political power. According to
Matsya Purana there were 29 rulers of this dynasty. They ruled over the Andhradesa for about 456 years from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE.
The fall of the Satavahana empire left Andhra in political chaos. Local rulers carved out small kingdoms for themselves. From 180-624 CE, Ikshvaku,
Brihatpalayana,
Salankayana,
Vishnukundina,
Vakataka,
Pallava,
Ananda Gotrika,
Kalinga and others ruled over parts of Andhra with small kingdoms. Most important among these small dynasties were the Ikshvaku.
Nagarjuna Konda was their capital and they patronised
Buddhism, though they followed the
vedic ritualism.
Between 624 CE and 1323 CE a significant change came about in social, religious, linguistic and literary spheres of Andhra society. During this period the indigenous
Telugu language, emerged as a literary medium subsuming the predominance of
Prakrit and
Sanskrit. As a result, Andhra achieved an identity and a distinction of its own. This change was brought by the Eastern and Western
Chalukyas, the
Rashtrakutas and the early
Cholas.
The Western Chalukyas consisted of two dynasties. The Early Chalukyas ruled from
Badami (550-750) and the later Chalukyas from
Kalyani (973-1195). Throughout this period and up to the 13th century, Telugu language was written in
old Telugu/Kannada script. The emergence of the Telugu script from the
old Telugu/Kannada script started around
13th century and culminated in the 19th century.
The Eastern Chalukyas were a branch of the
Chalukyas of Badami.
Pulakesin II, the renowned ruler of Chalukyas conquered
Vengi (near
Eluru) in 624 and built the splendid
vesara style
Navabrahma temples at Alampur and installed his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana (624-641) as its ruler. His dynasty, known as the Eastern Chalukyas, ruled for nearly four centuries in all. Vishnuvardhana extended his dominions up to
Srikakulam in the north and
Nellore in the south.
The Eastern Chalukyas occupied a prominent place in the history of Andhra Pradesh. Since the time of
Gunaga Vijayaditya in 848, inscriptions show Telugu stanzas, culminating in the production of literary works in the coming centuries. Later in the 11th century, the
Mahabharata was translated partly by the court poet
Nannaya under the patronage of the then Eastern Chalukya King
Raja Rajendra.
After a brief period of sovereignty under Gunaga Vijayaditya, the Vengi region again came under the Rashtrakuta rule and later the Kalyani Chalukya rule from the beginning of 10th century to the 11th century, when the
Cholas managed to wrest control from the Chalukyas. However by 1118 CE, with the defeat of the Kulottunga Chola at the hands of
Vikramaditya VI of the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty and the victory of
Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana over the Cholas at Talakad, Vengi once again came under Chalukya rule. The Kalyani Chalukya power itself went into decline after the death of Vikramaditya VI. By the end of the 12th century, their empire was split into several local kingdoms, namely the Hoysalas,
Kakatiyas and
Yadavas.The 12th and the 13th centuries saw the emergence of the Kakatiyas. They were at first the feudatories of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani, ruling over a small territory near
Warangal. A ruler of this dynasty,
Prola II (1110-1158) extended his sway to the south and declared his independence. His successor
Rudra (1158-1195) pushed the kingdom to the north up to the Godavari delta. He built a fort at Warangal to serve as a second capital and faced the invasions of the Yadavas of
Devagiri. The next ruler Mahadeva extended the kingdom to the coastal area. In 1199 CE Ganapati succeeded him. He was the greatest of the Kakatiyas and the first after the Satavahanas to bring the entire Telugu area under one rule. He put an end to the rule of the Velanati Cholas in 1210 CE.
Kakatiya period
The Kakatiya period was called one of the brightest periods of the Telugu history. The entire Telugu-speaking area was under the kings who spoke Telugu and encouraged Telugu. They established order throughout the strife torn land and the forts built by them played a dominant role in the defence of the realm. Kakatiya art preserved the balance between art and architecture, that is, while valuing art, they laid emphasis on architecture where due. The Kakatiya temples, dedicated mostly to
Siva, reveal in their construction a blending of the styles of North India and South India which influenced the political life of the Deccan. Some of their finest art is seen in the
1000 pillared temple in Hanmakonda and
Ramappa temple near Warangal. Their temple architecture essentially used the
Chalukya style of architecture.
The Kakatiya empire faced Muslim onslaughts from 1310 and came under the control of Delhi Sultanate in 1323. A brief period of 50 years of independence was enjoyed under
Musunuri Nayaks who rebelled and liberated Telugu land from the rule of
Delhi. Eventually, at the fall of the Kakatiya empire in 1370, the
Vijayanagar empire, considered the last great
Hindu empire, swept across the Telugu region and the present day Karnataka. Most parts of present day Andhra Pradesh formed part of this empire (1336 - 1450). The empire reached its peak under king
Krishnadevaraya in the early part of 16th century. Telugu literature reached new heights during this time. Fine Vijayanagar monuments were built across South India including
Lepakshi,
Tirupathi and
Sri Kalahasthi in Andhra Pradesh.
Mughal Era
In 1323 the
Delhi Sultan Ghiaz-ud-din
Tughlaq sent a large army under Ulugh Khan to conquer the Telugu country and lay siege to
Warangal. The disastrous fall of the Kakatiya capital in 1323 brought the
Andhras, for the first time in their history, under the yoke of alien rulers, the
Muslims. In 1347, 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. By the end of the 15th century, the Bahmani rule was plagued with faction fights and there came into existence the five
Shahi kingdoms. Of these, it was the Qutb Shahi dynasty that played a significant and notable role in the history of Telugu land.
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. Sultan
Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of the dynasty, served the Bahmanis faithfully and was appointed governor of
Telangana in 1496. He declared independence after the death of his patron king, Mahmud Shah, in 1518. Qutb Shahi rulers adopted religious tolerance and local customs to a great extent. They treated Hindus equal with Muslims and maintained cordial relations between the two communities. They encouraged the local language Telugu besides the Deccani
Urdu. The socio-cultural life of the people during the rule of the Qutb Shahis was marked by a spirit of broad-mindedness and
Catholicism based on sharing and adopting of mutual traditions and customs. The Deccani architecture, is a combination of
Persian,
Hindu and
Pathan styles.
Charminar in Hyderabad, is the most remarkable of all the Qutb Shahi monuments.
Aurangazeb, the
Mughal emperor, invaded
Golconda in 1687 and annexed it to the Mughal empire. He appointed a
Nizam (governor) and thus for about a period of 35 years this region was ruled by Mughal Nizams. Aurangazeb died in 1707 and the administrative machinery of the Mughal imperial regime began to crumble and it gradually lost control over the provinces. It enabled two foreign mercantile companies to consolidate themselves as political powers capable of subsequently playing decisive roles in shaping the destiny of the nation. They were the
East India Company of
England and the Compagnie de Inde Orientale of
France.
Colonial Era
During the 17th century, the
British acquired the
Coastal Andhra region along the
Bay of Bengal, then known as the
Northern Circars, from the Nizams, which became part of the British
Madras Presidency. The
Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as the
Princely state of
Hyderabad, acknowledging British rule in return for local autonomy.
The provinces were at the time governed in a
feudal manner, with
Zamindars in areas such as Kulla and other parts of the
Godavari acting as lords under the Nizam. The feudal or zamindari system was removed after independence.
The Andhras (or
Telugu) were at the forefront of Indian nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Potti Sriramulu fought for independence along with
Mahatma Gandhi, and later fought for Andhra unification.
Post-Independence
India became independent from the
United Kingdom in 1947. The
Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain his independence from India, but his state of
Hyderabad was
forced to become part of India in
1948 as the
Hyderabad state. Andhra Pradesh is the first state in India that has been formed on a purely linguistic basis. When India became independent, the Telugu-speaking people (although Urdu is widely spoken in Hyderabad and disticts of Telangana) were distributed in about 21 districts, 9 of them in the Nizam's Dominions and 12 in the
Madras Presidency.
However in 1953, Telugu speakers of
Madras Presidency wanted Madras as the capital of Andhra state including the famous slogan "Madras Manade" (Madras is ours) before
Tirupati was included in AP.
Madras at that time was an indivisible mixture of Tamil and Telugu cultures. It was difficult to determine who should possess it.
Panagal Raja, Chief Minister of the Madras Presidancy in the early 1920s said that the
Cooum River should be kept as a boundary, giving the northern portion to the Andhra region and the southern portion to the Tamils. In 1928 Sir C.Sankaran Nair sent a report to the Central Council discussing why Madras does not belong to the Tamils. Although historically and geographically it is a part of the Andhra region, the greater political dominance of the Tamils caused Madras to remain in the Tamil region. According to the JPC report (Jawahar Lal Nehru, Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya, C.Rajagopalachari) "Telugu people should leave
Madras for Tamils if they want a new state".
On the basis of an agitation, on Oct. 1, 1953, 11 districts in the Telugu-speaking portion of
Madras State voted to become the new state of Andhra State with Kurnool as the capital. On Nov. 1, 1956 in accordance with the recommendations of the State Reorganization Commission, Andhra State merged with the Telangana region of erstwhile Hyderabad State to form a united Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh, the former capital of the
Hyderabad State, was made the capital of the new state Andhra Pradesh.
(
See also History of Hyderabad)
*
Satavahana*
Shakas*
Andhra Ikshvaku*
Brihatpalayana*
Ananda Gotrika*
Vishnukundina*
Kalachuris of Chedi
*
Salankayana*
Eastern Chalukya*
Rashtrakuta*
Vengi*
Kakatiyas
*
Musunuri Nayaks*
Vijayanagar*
Reddy*Paricheda
*
Qutb Shahi*
NizamAndhra Pradesh can be broadly divided into three regions, namely
Kosta (Coastal Andhra),
Telangana and
Rayalaseema.
Kosta occupies the coastal plain between
Eastern Ghats ranges, which run the length of the state, and the
Bay of Bengal.
Telangana lies west of the Ghats on the
Deccan plateau. The
Godavari and
Krishna rivers rise in the
Western Ghats of
Karnataka and
Maharashtra and flow east across Telangana to empty into the Bay of Bengal in a combined
river delta.
Rayalaseema lies in the southeast of the state on the Deccan plateau, in the basin of the
Penner River. It is separated from Telangana by the low
Erramala hills, and from Coastal Andhra by the Eastern Ghats.
The Krishna and Godavari rivers together irrigate thousands of square kilometres of land, and create the largest perennial cultivable area in the country. Andhra Pradesh leads in the production of
rice (
paddy) and is called India's Rice Bowl.
23 districts of Andhra Pradesh*
Hyderabad is the
capital of the state which is in
Telangana region and, along with its twin town of Secunderabad, is the largest city.It is also India's fifth largest city and a centre for commerce.
*
Visakhapatnam is the second largest city, India's fourth largest
port, an important Naval Centre and an industrial hub.
*
Tirupati features the famous Venkateswara temple, is a major pilgrimage center.
*
Vijayawada is the third largest city and an important
trading center and a prominent
railway junction.
*
Guntur City is the heart of
tobacco,
cotton industries, a Textile Hub, features nearby ancient sites
S,
A,
B.
*
Warangal which is in
Telangana region is the oldest city of Andhra Pradesh with a history of 800 years. It was the capital of the
Kakatiya dynasty.
*
Nellore is famous for its sea food and rice quality. Also famous for mica industry and an important space research centre.
*
Kurnool was the capital city of the Andhra state.
*
Kakinada is the hub of
natural gas exploration and industrial activity.
*
Rajahmundry is known for the
Godavari barrage which is the largest bridge in the state.
*
Ramagundam is an industrial town in
Karimnagar district.
Telugu is the regional and official language of the state, spoken by 84.86% of the population. The major linguistic minority groups in the State include the speakers of
Urdu (7.86%),
Hindi (2.65%) and
Tamil (1.27%). The minority language speakers who constitute less than 1% are the speakers of
Kannada (0.94%),
Marathi (0.84%),
Oriya (0.42%),
Malayalam (0.10%),
Gondi (0.21%), and
Koya (0.30%).
The state government has notified the areas where the population of linguistic minority constitutes 15% or more of the local population. 38% of Urdu speaking population in Andhra Pradesh is bilingual in Telugu as well.
(
See also Telugu)
(
See also Urdu)
Andhra Pradesh has a
Legislative Assembly of 294 seats. The state has 60 members in the
Indian national parliament: 18 in the
Rajya Sabha (upper house) and 42 in the
Lok Sabha (lower house).
Andhra Pradesh had a row of Congress governments till 1982. Kasu Bramhananda Reddy held the record for the longest serving chief minister which was broken by
Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
P.V. Narasimha Rao also served as the chief minister for the state, who later went on to become the Prime Minister of India. Among the notable chief ministers of the state are Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Kasu Bramhananda Reddy, Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy, Kotla Vijaya Bhasker Reddy,
N.T. Rama Rao and
Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Revenues of Government
This is a chart of trend of own tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Andhra Pradesh
assessed by the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year ¦¦ Own Tax Revenues |
|---|
| 2000 | 110,279 |
| 2005 | 195,430 |
This is a chart of trend of own non-tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Andhra Pradesh
assessed by the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year ¦¦ Own Non-tax Revenues |
|---|
| 2000 | 14,054 |
| 2005 | 33,179 |
The Beginning of Multi-Party Politics
1982 saw the rise of
N.T. Rama Rao (or
NTR) as the chief minister of the state for the first time introducing a formidable second political party to Andhra politics and thus breaking the virtually-single party monopoly on Andhra politics. Nadendla Bhaskar Rao attempted a hijack when NTR was away to the United States for a medical treatment. After coming back, NTR successfully convinced the governor to dissolve the Assembly and call for a fresh election. NTR won by a large majority. His government's policies included investment in education and rural development and in holding corrupt government offices accountable.
1989 assembly elections ended the 7-year rule of NTR with the congress being returned to power and Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy at the helm. He was replaced by N. Janardhan Reddy who was in turn replaced by Kotla Vijaya Bhasker Reddy.
In 1994 Assembly saw NTR becoming the chief minister again, but he was soon thrown out of power by his finance minister and son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu won a second term before he was defeated by the Congress-led coalition in the May 2004 polls.
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy of the Indian National Congress (INC) is the current chief minister of the states. Rajasekhara Reddy fought the 2004 Assembly elections in an alliance with a new party called Telangana Rashtra Samithi (or TRS), which hopes to form a separate state called Telangana.
See
List of political parties in the state |
Major road links of Andhra Pradesh |
Andhra Pradesh's gross state domestic product for 2005 is estimated at $62 billion in current prices.
Macro-economic trend
This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Andhra Pradesh at market prices
estimated by
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year ¦¦ Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|
| 1980 | 81,910 |
| 1985 | 152,660 |
| 1990 | 333,360 |
| 1995 | 798,540 |
| 2000 | 1,401,190 |
In the Nineties, West Bengal was decisively overtaken by the dynamic economies of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu due to proactive reformist governments. At the current rate of growth, both of these economies are expected to overtake Uttar Pradesh by 2010 and Maharashtra by 2025.
Recent Economic Progress
In the last decade, the state has emerged at the forefront of India's progress in fields like
*
Information Technology*
Biotechnology,
*
Pharmaceuticals,
*
Business Management, and
*
Construction,and has emerged as a land of immense business opportunities.
In spite of some liberalization since 1990, Andhra's economy still faces many challenges, especially in the drought-hit agricultural sector.
Agriculture has been the chief source of income for the state's economy. Two important rivers of India, the
Godavari and
Krishna, flow through the state.
Rice,
sugarcane,
cotton,
mirchi, and
tobacco are the local
crops. The state has also started to focus on the fields of
information technology and
biotechnology.
In 2004-2005 Andhra Pradesh is at the fifth position in the list of top IT exporting states of India. The IT exports from the State were Rs.1,800 million in 2004. The service sector of the state already accounts for 43% of the
GSDP and employs 20% of the work force.
Andhra Pradesh is a mineral rich state that ranks second in the country containing a vast and variety of mineral wealth.
Andhra Pradesh ranks
first nationwide in hydro electricity generation with national market share of over 11%.
Urban Centers of Economic Importance
Over 5% of
S&P CNX 500 corporations are headquartered in Andhra Pradesh.
Hyderabad is a thriving cosmopolitan city, rich in culture, and history but unique in being one of the few cities where tradition and technology co-exist.
Hyderabad, like
Bangalore, has become a center for
outsourcing. Notable amongst the multinational companies in
Hyderabad are
Microsoft, Google,
Bank of America, Intergraph and Oracle.
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh's main port, is home to the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command. The city's shipyards, fisheries, docks, and steel works make it an economic powerhouse. Recently, Visakhapatnam has seen a rise in investment as industry in the state begins to turn towards the lucrative export market. Also, because of its highly valuable geographic location, and because of recent political movement towards a creation of a separate
Telangana state, Visakhapatnam has seen a massive rise in investment in the city's real estate market.
Andhra Pradesh is served by more than 20 leading institutes of excellence in higher education. All major arts, humanities, science, engineering, law, medicine, business and veterinary science are offered, leading to first degrees as well as postgraduate awards. Advanced research is conducted in all major areas.
Andhra Pradesh has 1330 Arts, Science and Commerce colleges, 238 Engineering colleges and 53 Medical colleges. The student to teacher ratio is 19:1 in the higher education. According to census taken in 2001, Andhra Pradesh has an overall literacy rate of 60.5%. While male literacy rate is at 70.3%, the female literacy rate however is only at 50.4%, a cause for concern.
The state has recently made strides in setting up several institutes of high quality.
International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and
Indian School of Business (ISB) are gaining international attention for their standards. National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad (NIFT)[
1]is well reputed among those interested in a career in fashion.
The 23 universities in Andhra Pradesh:
*
Acharya Nagarjuna University *
Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University*
Andhra Pradesh University of Health Sciences *
Andhra University*
Central Institute of English & Foreign Languages (Deemed University)
*
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University *
Dravidian University *
International Institute of Information Technology (Deemed University)
*
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University *
Kakatiya University *
Maulana Azad National Urdu University *
National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University *
National Institute of Technology, Warangal (Deemed University)
*
Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences *
Osmania University *
Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University *
Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha *
Sri Krishnadevaraya University *
Sri Padmavathi Mahila Visvavidyalayam *
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Deemed University)
*
Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences *
Sri Venkateswara University *
University of Hyderabad*
Vedic University(
See also List of institutions based in Hyderabad India)
Movies
Andhra Pradesh is the state with maximum number of cinema halls around 2,500 movie theaters in India. The state also produces about 200 movies a year. It has almost 50% of the dolby digital theatres in india. Now it also houses IMax theatre with a big 3D screen and also 3-5 multiplexes.
Music
The state has a rich cultural heritage. The great composers of
carnatic music Annamacharya,
Tyagaraja and many others were of Telugu descent who chose
Telugu as their language of composition, thus enriching the language.
Literature
Nannayya,
Tikkana, and
Yerrapragada form the trinity who translated the great epic Mahabharatha into Telugu. Modern writers include
Jnanpith Award winners
Sri Viswanatha Satyanarayana and
Dr. C.Narayana Reddy.
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 and widely practiced classical
dance forms of Andhra Pradesh. The various dance forms that existed through the states's history are Chenchu Bhagotham,
Kuchipudi,
Bhamakalpam,
Burrakatha,
Veeranatyam,
Butta bommalu,
Dappu,
Tappeta Gullu,
Lambadi,
Bonalu,
Dhimsa, and
Kolattam.
State Symbols
* State Language -
Telugu,
* State Symbol -
Poorna Kumbham* State Song -
Maa telugu talliki by Sankarambadi Sundarachari,
* State Animal -
Krishna Jinka,
* State Bird -
Paala Pitta,
* State Tree -
Neem(vepa), and
* State Sport -
Kabaddi,
Cultural Institutions
Andhra Pradesh has many museums, including the
Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, which features a varied collection of sculptures, paintings, and religious artifacts, and the
Visakha Museum in Vizag
(Visakhapatnam), which displays the history of the pre-Independence
Madras Presidency in a rehabilitated Dutch bungalow.
Newspapers
Andhra Pradesh has several newspapers. Prominent among them are:
*
Telugu Newspapers -
Eenadu,
Andhra Jyothi ,
Vaartha,
Praja Shakti,
Andhra Bhoomi,
Visalandra,
Andhra Prabha*
English Newspapers -
Deccan Chronicle,
The Hindu,
The Times of India,
Indian ExpressOther elements of Culture
Bapu's paintings,
Nanduri Subbarao's
Yenki Paatalu (Songs on/by a washerwoman called Yenki), mischievous Budugu (a character by
Mullapudi),
Annamayya's songs,
Aavakaaya (a variant of mango pickle in which the kernel of mango is retained),
Gongura (a
chutney from Roselle plant),
Atla taddi (a seasonal festival predominantly for teenage girls), banks of river
Godavari,
Dudu basavanna (The ceremonial ox decorated for door-to-door exhibition during the harvest festival
Sankranti) have long defined Telugu culture.
Festivals
*
Sankranthi in January.
*
Maha Shivaratri in February/March.
*
Ugadi or the Telugu New Year in March/April.
*
Vinayaka Chavithi in August.
*
Dasara in October.
*
Deepavali in November.
*
Bonalu in
Sravanam. (Celebrated in
Telangana region)
*
Bathukamma celebrated during september/october in
Telangana region
*
Christmas celebrated in December allover the state
Cuisine
The cuisine of coastal Andhra is reputedly the spiciest of all Indian cuisine.
Pickles and
chutneys, called
patchadi 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, and
roselle (
gongura, otherwise called
Andhra maatha, meaning mother dish for the people of Andhra). A mango pickle,
aavakaaya, 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 or
dosas, or rice cakes called
idlis.
Meat,
vegetables, and
greens are prepared with different masalas into a variety of strongly flavoured dishes.
Hyderabadi cuisine is influenced by the Muslim population, which arrived in
Telangana centuries ago. Much of the cuisine revolves around meat. It is rich and aromatic, with a liberal use of exotic spices and ghee, not to speak of nuts and dry fruits. Lamb, chicken and fish are the most widely used meats in the non-vegetarian dishes. The
biryanis are perhaps the most distinctive and popular of Hyderabadi dishes. Other items like Haleem, Osmania biscuit, Irani Chai are also world famous.
Nellore 'Chepala Pulusu' (Fish gravy with tamarind) is one of the popular dishes among the varieties prepared from fish.
 |
The temple town Tirumala lit during the night |
Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrim centers.
Tirupati, the abode of
Lord Venkateswara, has the richest and most visited Hindu temple in India.
Srisailam, the abode of
Sri Mallikarjuna, is one of twelve
Jyothirlingalu in India and Yadagirigutta, the abode of an avatara of Vishnu, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha.
Puttaparthi hosts the ashram of popular guru Sri
Sathya Sai Baba. The Ramappa temple at Warangal is famous for some fine temple carvings. The state has numerous Buddhist centers at
Amaravati,
Bhattiprolu, Nagarjuna Konda, and Phanigiri.
The one-million-year old limestone caves at Borra, picturesque
Araku Valley, hill resorts of Horsley Hills,
Godavari racing through a narrow gorge at
Papi Kondalu, waterfalls and rich bio-diversity at Talakona, the beaches of Vizag are some of the natural attractions of the state.
Charminar,
Golconda Fort,
Chandragiri Fort, and Falaknuma Palace are some of the monuments in the state.
See
Telugu people*
History of India*
Middle kingdoms of India*
Andhra Pradesh Government Official Portal
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Andhra Pradesh History Overview*
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Live
*
Hotels in Andhra Pradesh Hotels in Andhra Pradesh
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Andhra Pradesh Temples List of temple in Andhra Pradesh
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Andhra Pradesh Transportation*
Telugu - Italian of the East*
Andhra Pradesh Portal on The Indian Analyst Detailed information, index of News, Analysis, and Opinion from many sources
