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Kingri

The Kingri, also known as Khikri, is a unique string instrument as its three strings and the bowstring are made of horse hair.  The Kingri is mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, in many Ancient Indian Brahmin's tales. and in Punjab's folk music. The kingri is also used in traditional death ceremonies, marriages and religious festivals in Telangana and Maharashtra. The most important possession of a Pardhan is his kingri, and a square wooden sound box covered by a skin membrane. On this fiddle Pardhans play during the Persa Pen rites and accompany themselves while singing hymns or reciting epics. The two instruments they play are the kingri, a three stringed violin and a small harp called a bana. Like Raj gonds, Pardhans principle deity is also Persapen. They worship the same gods as the Gonds and attend most of their religious ceremonies. At Festivals it is usually the most prominent Prardhan who plays the Kingri (a musical instrument like crude for...

Nirmal District History

The Nirmal district is etched out of erstwhile Adilabad District. The district is located in northern Telangana and borders Maharashtra and the Telangana districts of Asifabad (Komuram Bheem) Adilabad Mancherial Jagtial and Nizamabad. The district has two revenue divisions Nirmal and Bhainsa and 19 mandals while the district headquarters is located at Nirmal town. Nirmal District derives its name from the king Nimma Rayudu, who played a pivotal role in the development of the region. 700 BC - 300 BC : Asmaka (One of the 16 Mahajanapadas) Founder : Unknown (Believed to be Asmaka) Capitals : Potana or Potali or Paudanya of Mahabharata or today's Bodhan. Languages : Prakrit Religion : Budhism, Jainism, Hinduism c.300 BC - 232 BC : Mauryan Empire (322 BC –185 BC) Founder : Chandragupta Maurya (320 BC - 298 BC) Capital : Pataliputra Languages : Prakrit Religion : Budhism, Jainism, Brahmanism c. 232 BC - c. 208 AD : Pre-Satavahana and Satavahana Dynasty Excavations in kotilingala found ...

Siege of Golconda 1656 AD and 1687 AD

The siege of Golconda in 1656 AD and again in 1687 AD between the Qutb Shahi dynasty and the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, occurring in January 1687 and ended on September 22, 1687. 1652 AD - 1655 AD : Mir Jumla Governor of Golconda and  Aurangzeb Viceroy of Deccan 1636 AD : In 1636 AD Shah Jahan appointed Aurangzeb as the Viceroy of the Deccan and forced the Qutb Shahis to recognize Mughal suzerainty, which lasted until 1687 when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Golcondan sultanate. Mir Jumla was actually a Persin, the son of an Ispahan oil merchant, 1638 AD : In 1638 rose Mir Jumla to the chief minister of the Golconda Kingdom and received the title of Mir Jumla.  In his handling of the Karnataka invasioin the early 1640s Mir Jumla proved to be talented military strategist and diplomat.  For ten years from 1642 - 1652 his armies were engaged against Nayaks.  1655 AD :  Golconda’s ruler began to worry that Mir Jumla was coming more of a dangerous riv...

Tummalagudem Inscription

566 AD : Tummalagudem Inscription of Vikramendra Varman II (555 AD - 569 AD) in Nalgonda Sanskrit and Southern Characters. These records are present in Navodaya Samiti, Hyderabad. Both the Tumulaguda sets, written in Sanskrit language and Southern characters belong to the Vishnu Kundin dynasty. One of them, in characters of about the fourth-fifth centuries A.D., was issued in the thirty- seventh year of the reign of Maharaja Govindavarman, son of Maharaja Madhavavarman, and grandson of Maharaja Indra-varman. It records that the king granted two villages called Embudala and Penkapara to the vihara of the senior-queen (agra-mahishi) Parama-mahadevi. The other set refers itself to the reign of Vikramendra-bhattaraka Varman alias Uttamasraya and is dated in his  eleventh regnal year  and in Saka 488 (A.D. 566-67). It records the grant of the village Irundoro, by the king, to the same vihara built at Indrapura. It also refers to the defeat of the Pallava ruler Simha by Uttamasraya....

Penjerla Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple

Penjerla Swayambhu Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy is a Hindu Temple is located in Penjerla village, Kothur Mandal, Ranaga Reddy district, Telangana State, India. Svayambhu or Swayambhu is a Sanskrit word that means "self-born", "self-manifested", "self-existing", or "that that is created by its own accord".  Timings : 7 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM to 7 P Address 4836+VJG, Penjerla, Shamshabad, Hyderabad Contact +91 90106 14354 penjerlasriananthapadmanabha@gmail.com

Bonalu

Bonalu is a folk festival for Mother Goddess , which is very famous and people love to celebrate this festival during rainy season month of Ashada around July/August and goes on usually for twenty-two days. A minimum of twenty days is conceptually required to fulfil the promises given to mother goddess by carrying out pooja on the very first day and last day. Bonalu derived from Bhojanalu meaning food , which is offered to mother goddess. Bonalu involves the worship of Mother Goddess in regional forms like Gangalamma, Ellamma/Yellamma, Mutyalamma, Mallanna, Maisamma, Peddhamma, Dokkalamma, Ankalamma, Poleramma, Maremma, Nookalamma and Samakka and Pochamma. Women carrying Bonalu are believed to possess the spirit of Mother Goddess, and when they go towards the temple, people pour water on their feet to pacify the spirit, who is believed to be aggressive. Every group of devotees offer a Thottelu (a small colorful, paper structure supported by sticks), as a mark of respect to the god...

Kinnera

Kinnera is a two-stringed instrument made using indigenous materials like bamboo, dried outer shell of round bottle gourd, honeycomb, bull horn, beads, mirrors and peacock feathers. Scholar and poet Jayadhir Thirumala Rao says that the origins of the kinnera can be traced back to “around the 4th century AD, in and around the Deccan plateau”. “The Chenchu tribe [also known as Chenchus or Chenchulu], who were part of the Nallamalla forest, used to play the instrument while singing and narrating ballads or stories of heroes,” said Rao. “The Dakkali tribe of Mahbubnagar district in Telangana [in the area near the Nallamalla forest] was performing it at least from the 12th century. The Dakkalis are a sub-caste of the Madiga caste, once considered outcastes.” The kinnera has several variations – it comes with seven, nine, 12 or 13 frets. The larger-sized ones have three resonators, while the smaller ones have only two. Much like the Saraswati veena, the instrument is made with organic mater...