Telangana 360

A giant of Telugu letters Kaloji Narayana Rao ( 9 September 1914 – 13 November 2002 )  born in Madikonda village of Warangal district Telangana. Real name is Raghuveer Narayan Lakshmikanth Srinivasa Ramraja Kaloji popularly known as Kaloji or Kalanna is a well known freedom fighter of India and a political activist of Telangana. He is known for his contributions in the social and literary.  Honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1992, the second highest civilian honour in India  for his excellent service in the literary and social,  Kaloji brings grace and distinction to the award.  He is a recipient of Tamrapatra in 1972. He received the award for the best translation of the 'Jeevana Gita' work in 1968 and Ramakrishna Rao Burgula first posthumous tribute was congratulated in 1981. He was honored with 'Praja Kavi' title. The Telangana government honored kaloji birthday September 9 as Telangana Language Day

On September 2, 1947, a patriotic desire to hoist national flag in Parkal, then a small village in Warangal district, had ended a brutal massacre committed by Razakars. Nizam’s men pumped bullets into people who had gathered in the town to hoist the tri-colour The memories of the carnage are still remembered by the elders who witnessed the incident at that time. The incident has been referred to as the ‘Jallianwala Bagh’ of the south by former Premier P V Narasimha Rao. It may be recalled that after Indian Independence on August 15, 1947, erstwhile Nizams of Hyderabad denied joining Indian Union and also enforced suppression against hoisting the tri-colour employing tyrannical army of Razakars. Anguished at not being allowed to hoist the national flag, the residents of Parkal and surrounding villages planned to raise the flag on September 2 to celebrate the Independence and gathered near a ground in Parkal. But an official of Nizams’ regime Ziauallah Khan cautioned the public to d

Handloom to date remains one of the most rich traditional practice of the country. Geometric patterned durries remain the most famous durries from Warangal and are in demand both in national and international markets. Lack of self-branding and promotions are the reasons that Durries made in Warangal are unable to market their uniqueness. Warangal's famous durries are now available to the world: Weavers sell their products on  Amazon Recently, e-commerce giant Amazon signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana Department of Handlooms and Textiles to help handloom clusters in Warangal, Pochampally etc.  Durries of Warangal to date remain one of the few crafts left in the country that is still done by hand. It is still amazing to find weaver’s making an entire durry with traditional looms even when the rise in technology has led to the introduction of Power looms.  In recent years, screen printing techniques and kalamkari prints were adapted to Warangal dur

Name : Biruduraju Ramaraju Born : April 16, 1925 Devanoor village, Dharmasagar Mandal Hanumakonda District Died : February 8, 2010 in Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy Education : Graduated from Nizam College, PhD Telugu language and literature and folklore studies in Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Kakatiya Canal is a major canal in the Telangana State in India. Its full name is SRSP Kakatiya Canalas the canal originates from the Sriram Sagar dam to  to the Lower Manair Dam (LMD) Reservoir to Khammam Reservoir It feeds North Telangana by passing through the region for irrigation and as well as drinking water for major cities. Kakatiya Canal is about 284 km long with 9,700 cusecs flow capacity and passing through Nizamabad,  Jagtia, Karimnagar, Warangal, Hanumakonda, Mahabubabad. Suryapeta and Bhadradri Kothagudem Districts will benefited by inflow of Kakatiya Canal to Musi River. This canal is an inter river basin transfer link by feeding Godavari River water to Krishna river basin in Warangal and Khammam districts. 4 Units of 9 MW each to generate 36 MW have also been set up to harness the water head before feeding water in to the canal. Located at Km.146.00 of Kakatiya Canal on Manair River near Karimnagar is a balancing reservoir. Nizamabad Mendora, Velka

Name       :  Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao (P.V.) Born       : 28 June, 1921 in    Laknepalli, Warangal Rural, Telangana Died       : 11 AM - 23 December 2004, New Delhi, India. Profession : Lawyer, Politician Education  : Osmania, University of Mumbai,Nagpur University P.V. Narasimha Rao  was the 10th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996, who  was the first holder of this office from non-Hindi-speaking south India. He won eight consecutive elections and spent more than 50 years in his Congress party before becoming the prime minister of India. A father of eight children, he spoke 10 languages, and was a proficient translator. He first travelled abroad when he was 53, mastered two computer languages and wrote computer code in his 60s. He ascended into Prime Ministerial office at a time when India was stuck at its worst phase of economic turmoil. His keen foresight had initiated India to a path of liberalization, the ripples of which are felt by the country t

Mettu Gutta (Rocksteps Hill) is a famous Hindu temple that is located in Madikonda. This place is also Known as Manigiri. The Linga in this temple has many similarities with Varanasi Visveswara. There are two temples on Mettu gutta. One temple is for Lord Shiva and other one is for Lord Sri Ram. Local people call this temple as Mettu Rama Lingeshwara swamy temple. Siva temple is constructed during the kaktiya regime. The temple is located on a hillock, there many small water bodies located with in the area, there are various rock formation which can be found near the site, which have very important significance. There are evidences that this temple is famous as early Vengi Chalukya dynasty period. Kings of Kakathiya dynasty established a fort in this place and build many temples in this hill during 1198 AD. There are is also a historical temple for Lord Sri Rama in this hill. Here the linga has emerged from ground in 45 degree angle and still raisin. The mountain top temple has a

Govindarajula Gutta is a holy place for the practitioners of the Hindu faith. A popular tourist attraction, there is a temple dedicated to Lord Ram at the top of the hill (‘Gutta’ in Telugu) while a temple in the name of the Lord’s most prominent devotee, Lord Hanuman is located under it. Steps that amount to a hundred in number are to be climbed in order to reach the top of the hill, and it is advisable to take extreme care as the steps are sculpted out of rock and quite risky to maneuver. During the Sree Rama Navami festival, Govindarajula Gutta sees its most popular period and throngs of devotees can be seen in the vicinity.  A huge Ratham (or Chariot) made of precious materials rests on top of the hill, and this is believed to have been built by the Hazaris of Warangal. http://www.yatrastotemples.com/sri-rama-temple-in-govindarajula-gutta-in-warangal/

Padmakshi Temple is dedicated to Goddess Padmakshi who is fondly referred as ‘Amma’ or ‘mother.’ She is the consort of Lord Shiva. The present shrine is believed to have been built during the 12th century by the Kakatiya rulers. The deity is also referred as Padmakshamma and the shrine is located atop a Gutta or a hill. The pond at the foot of the Padmakshi hillock is sacred. Pillar in the temple is a unique piece of architecture. The quadrangular column is made in black granite stone and is located at the entrance of the shrine. The four faces of pillar are imposing.  The padmakshi temple is one of the oldest temples of the city, The Kakatiya King Betaraju II was the first king in his dynasty to have converted to Veerasaivism. However, prior to that all Kakatiyan kings were followers of Jainism. It was under the rule of Prolaraju II that the Kakatiyans built a Jain temple or Badasi. This was later converted to the Padmakshi temple once the rulers converted to Veerasaivism. Th

Syed Shah Afzal Biabani (1793 – 1856 A.D) was a Sufi from Warangal, Hyderabad State (now Kazipet 132 km from Hyderabad, India). He was appointed as Kazi of Warangal during the reign of Nizam Ali Khan (Asaf Jah II). His dargah is among the pilgrimage centers of Warangal, Telangana. His Shrine (Dargah) at Kazipet is 2 km from Kazipet Railway Station in Warangal District, which is famous world wide. People come from all parts of the world and from all religions to attend the urs celebrations every year. These celebrations are held for 3 days beginning on 26, Safar (second month of the Islamic calendar), every year they are attended by the large masses from India as well from abroad. Islamic scholars say there are only three such dargahs, coloured in green, in honour of great personalities - one in Baghdad, the other in Madina and the third one - here in Kazipet. Annually, people in large numbers throng this dargah and fulfil their promises and make new wishes. The word "Biabani"

Shitab Khan also spelled Chitapu Khan, was born Sitapathi Raju in the Telangana, South India. He was from a Hindu family of cow-herders of the Boya community, then considered "low caste". He joined as a foot soldier in the army of Humayun Shah the Bahmani Sultan, and rose up the ranks to acquire senior captaincy, his own jagir (a land fief) and the title 'Shitab Khan'. He always used the title in his inscriptions but never actually converted to Islam This warrior, regarding the reading of whose title there is no manner of doubt, is described in the Tarz'kh-i-Muhammad Qutab Shahi as“ the Raja of Khammamet, a fearless infidel." This description has much puzzled Lieutenant-Colonel Briggs who, in volume III of his History of the Rise the Muhammadan Power in India, makes Shitab Khan a Hindu, and confers on him the title of " Seetaputty." The historian of the Qutb Shahi kings is, however, corroborated by the Telugu inscription in the Hanamkonda Thousan

The magnificent temple of the thousand pillars at Hanamkonda  is one of the most important parts of the Warangal City. The temple was constructed in the 1162 - 1163 AD by the great  Prataparudradeva I/  Rudradeva and the deity is Rudreshwara Swamy, a personification of Lord Shiva. The temple has an old and long history and dates back to the Chalukyan era. Constructed in the 1163 AD by Rudra Deva, Thousand Pillar Temple in Hanamkonda is one of the finest specimens of Kakatiya architecture and sculp- ture. The temple depicts the typical Chalukyan style of architecture. While the gopuram (tower) was tragically knocked down by vandal invaders, the main structure itself has managed to survive the test of time. The pillars of the temple in particular are known for their detail, design, and resplen- dent polish. The temple base is a star shaped with three shrines devoted to Rudradeva (Siva), Vasude- va (Vishnu) and Surya (Sun). Siva’s shrine faces east and other shrines face south and wes

Bhadrakali Temple at Hanamkonda is significant Devi temple located on the hilltop between the twin cities of Hanamkonda and Warangal in Telangana. The temple is held in high esteem by devotees of the of Goddess Bhadrakali popularly called the ‘Grant Mother Goddess’. Remarkable feature of the temple is the square shaped stone image of the Goddess (2.7 X 2.7 meters). In the image goddess is seen in a sitting posture with fierce looking eyes and face. The Goddess can also be seen wearing a crown and having eight hands holding various weapons. The Kohinoor diamond is believed to be originally installed as one of the eyes of the goddess by the Kakatiya kings. High point of Bhadrakali Temple is an artificial lake of 2 ½ kms radius in the vicinity of the temple. Number of natural rock formations in the surroundings add to the spiritual charm of the temple and are the most dominant feature of the temple. Some of the unique shaped rocks are said to carry immense spiritual powers. The struct

c. 750 AD / 1149 AD - 1323 AD Founder : Venna Capitals : Anmakonda (Hanumakonda), Orugallu / Ekasilanagara   (Warangal) Languages : Telugu was the preferred language, Sanskrit, Kannada Religion : Jainism, Hinduism (Saivism) Royal Emblem : Garuda, Varaha  1149 AD : Tailapa-III or Kumara Tailapa was defeated by Kakatiya Prola II around 1149 AD and asserts his independence over Western Chalukyas.  1163 AD  Anumakonda inscription of Rudradeva alias  Prataparudra  I is the earliest known record that describes the Kakatiyas as a sovereign power. Kakatiyas are descendants of Karikala Chola King of Durjaya clan, who initially started as vassals of the Chalukyas in India, and later emerged as a ruling dynasty, with their capital at Kakatipura (probably named after the village diety, Kakatamma) or present day Warangal, in the state of Telangana, India. Kakatiyas were the devotees of Goddess Kakati. They were said to originate from Chaturthakula and they allied themselves b