Warangal

Warangal::

Warangal (Telugu: వరంగల్,  pronunciation (help·info); also known as Orugallu, and Ekasila Nagaram) is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located 148 kilometres (92 mi) northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District.It is part of a tri-city comprising of Warangal, Hanamakonda and Kazipet. It has a population of nearly 11 lakhs including Hanamakonda and Kazipet.[1][2] (2001 census).

History::

Warangal was the capital of a Hindu Shaivaite kingdom[citation needed] ruled by the Kakatiya dynasty from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The old name of this newly formed city is Orugallu. Oru means one and Kallu means stone. The Ancient name was Andhra Nagaram please refer Andhra Maha Vishnu temple.

Kakatiya sculpture at Warangal

Literary evidence shows that long before Satavahanas, a legendary king named Āndhra Viṣhṇu ruled in and around the Diviseema region of Andhra state. After his reign, people came to believe that he had an amsa of the divine savior Lord Maha Vishnu himself. Perhaps in his honor, people dedicated a new temple now located at Srikākuḷam, Krishna District. The lord of the temple is known as Āndhra Viṣhṇu or Srikākuḷāndhra Viṣhṇu. The Kakatiyas left many monuments, including an impressive fortress, four massive stone gateways, the Swayambhu temple dedicated to Shiva, and the Ramappa temple situated near Ramappa Lake. The cultural and administrative distinction of the Kakatiyas was mentioned by the famous traveller Marco Polo. Famous or well-known rulers included Ganapathi Deva, Prathapa Rudra, and Rani (queen) Rudrama Devi. After the defeat of PratapaRudra, the Musunuri Nayaks united seventy two Nayak chieftains and captured Warangal from Delhi sultanate and ruled for fifty years. Jealousy and mutual rivalry between Nayaks ultimately led to the downfall of Hindus in 1370 A.D. and success of Bahmanis. Bahmani Sultanate later broke up into several smaller sultanates, of which the Golconda sultanate ruled Warangal. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered Golconda in 1687, and it remained part of the Mughal empire until the southern provinces of the empire split away to become the state of Hyderabad in 1724 which included the Telangana region and some parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Hyderabad was annexed to India in 1948, and became an Indian state. In 1956 Hyderabad was partitioned as part of the States Reorganization Act, and Telangana, the Telugu-speaking region of Hyderabad state which includes Warangal, became part of Telangana state.

Geography and climate::

Warangal is located at 18.0°N 79.58°E.[3] It has an average elevation of 302 metres (990 feet).

climate::

Located in the semi-arid Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, Warangal has a predominantly hot and dry climate. Summers start in March, and peak in May with average high temperatures in the 42 °C (108 °F) range. The monsoon arrives in June and lasts until September with about 550 mm (22 in) of precipitation. A dry, mild winter starts in late November and lasts until early February. With little humidity and average temperatures in the 22–23 °C (72–73 °F) range, this is the best time to visit Warangal.

Economy::

Warangal's economy is predominantly agricultural. It has a large grain market in Enamamula. This is a rice-growing region and most farmers grow rice for both subsistence and the commerce. Cotton has also been a major cash crop since the early 1990s; however the cotton sector has been troubled in recent years, and there was a highly publicized spate of suicides by cotton farmers in 1997-1998.

Industry has been neglected in the region by successive governments. Some industries existing during the Nizam's rule, like Azam Jahi Cloth Mills, closed down; Warangal has several small to medium scale industries.

A STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) has been set up at National Institute of Technology, Warangal with the intention of taking the benefits of the Information Technology revolution to second tier cities. Warangal makes an excellent location for this because of its proximity to Hyderabad, the student pool from some of the best institutes in the country, good transportation facilities, infrastructure, lower traffic problems, etc

Governance::

Warangal city is the headquarters of Warangal district. Warangal district contributes a total of twelve seats (city has two; that of Warangal East and Warangal West) in the lower house of the State Legislature and two seats (Warangal and Mahabubabad) in lower house of Indian Parliament.

Politics::

Warangal witnessed a bloody chapter in its history in 1969, called the Mulki (locals) agitation. In 1969, the people of Telangana raised their voice asking for a separate state. They felt discriminated in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh and wanted to reverse the unification and exist separately as was the case before 1956. Warangal was the brewing ground of the movement and lead it from the front. Students, peasants and government employees all joined forces. More than 400 students lost their lives in the struggle.

Transport::

Air::

There is an airstrip at Mamnoor on the south-eastern outskirts of Warangal. It was earlier used as a make shift air force base. The nearest international airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad located 160 km away from Warangal.

Rail::

Warangal Railway Station

Warangal is well connected to many of the major cities of India by rail. It falls under the South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Kazipet Junction Railway Station in Kazipet, about 13 km from Warangal is a major railway junction on the Hyderabad-New Delhi-Chennai-Kolkata route. Warangal Railway Station in Warangal is a station located on the Hyderabad-New Delhi-Chennai-Kolkata route. Every day nearly 132 trains pass through this section apart from goods trains.

Road::

National Highway 202 passes through Warangal and connects it with Hyderabad and Bhopalapatnam in Chhattisgarh.

There are two major bus stations in Warangal and Hanamakonda. Long-distance deluxe buses ply from Warangal to Bangalore, Madras, Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Anantapur, and Hubli, Belgaum; and standard express buses to Guntur via Vijaywada, Cherial, Jangaon, Kodad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad, Suryapet, Palampet, Jagtial, Mahabubabad, Narsampet, Parkal, Khammam, Bhadrachalam and Basar. From Hyderabad there are direct buses available at regular intervals to Warangal.

Culture::

Telugu is the language spoken by the majority in Warangal. Both traditional attire like Saree and Dhoti and modern dress styles are worn. The poets of this place include the ancient poets Potana and Palkuriki Somanna to present day poets/writers like Kaloji Narayana Rao, [edit] External links

Festivals::

Major Hindu festivals such as Bathukamma festival, Dasara, Deepavali, Sankranti are celebrated here. Bathukamma festival is very famous here and celebrated by the women worshipping the goddess for nine days with various flowers. In addition, the district hosts the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara or congregation. Every two years (bi-annually), approximately 6 million people converge for over three days around the small village of Medaram and its adjacent stream/rivulet, Jampanna Vagu, 90 km from Warangal city. This fair is said to be the largest repeating aggregation of tribal communities in the whole world and commemorates the valiant fight put up by a mother-daughter combination (Samakka and Sarakka) with the reigning Kakatiya king over an unjust law. Also, this is second biggest congregation in Asian continent after Kumbha Mela in India.[5] Bonalu and Bathukamma festivals, symbolic of the Telangana region are also celebrated here (Bathukamma is celebrated particularly by women) with gusto.

Every year during the month of Ramzan, there is a festival atmosphere in Muslim areas, especially in Mandi Bazaar where the main road remains closed in the evening and is only accessed by foot. Many make shift shops and food eateries crop up serving the famous haleem dish and lots of other foods, sweets and seviyan. Night shopping is very famous here when people fast the whole day and come for shopping, casual walk in the evening and shops are open almost till 1am in the night.

Fatima Feast is celebrated every year on February 12 and 13 by Catholic Christians at their Warangal Diocesian Headquarters of Cathedral Church in Fatima Nagar, Kazipet..