Anantapur

Andra Pradesh > Anantapur

Like Stone Henge in Anantapur

Anantapur is the largest district of Andhra Pradesh and the second largest district in India, first being the Ladakh valley of Kashmir. Known throughout the country for its silk trade industry, Anantpur also shares its name with the headquarters of the district. It is said that Anantapur derived its name from 'Anaatasagaram' (meaning Endless Ocean), a huge tank in the vicinity. 'Hande Anantapuram' is the other name for the place.

In the past few years, tourism has been growing in the region, owing to the presence of several tourist attractions. Located in the westernmost part of the Andhra Pradesh, Ananthapur city makes the headquarters as well as the financial centre of the district. Reminiscent of other parts of the state, the city too has abundance of foliage and agrarian blessing. Though it has imbibed modern beliefs, it has not compromised its primeval charm.

Anantapur district has many tourist places worth-visiting. The district, infact, appears drenched in a celestial aura with its ancient temples. There are imposing forts in its periphery that conjure up the reminiscences of the royalty. Celebration of fairs and festivals keep its dwellers in cheerful spirits. Anantapur district also forms part of the Rayalaseema region. Just travel to Ananthapur and be a witness to the cache of asceticism along with the glorious past.

History of Anantapur

Anantapur offers some vivid glimpses of the prehistoric past. It is generally held that the place got its name from 'Anaatasagaram', a big tank, which means "Endless Ocean". The villages of Anaantasagaram and Bukkarayasamudram were constructed by Chilkkavodeya, the minister of Bukka-I, a Vijayanagar ruler. Some authorities assert that Anaantasagaram was named after Bukka's queen, while some contend that it must have been known after Anantarasa Chikkavodeya himself, as Bukka had no queen by that name. Anantapur is familiarly known as "Hande Anantapuram" . ' Hande ' means chief of the Vijayanagar period. Anantapur and a few other places were gifted by the Vijayanagar rulers to Hanumappa Naidu of the Hande family.

The place subsequently came under the Qutub Shahis, Mughals, and the Nawabs of Cuddapah, although the Hande chiefs continued to rule as their subordinates. It was occupied by the Palergar of Bellary during the time of Ramappa but was eventually won back by his son, Siddappa. Morari Rao Ghorpade attacked Anantapur in 1757. Though the army resisted for some time, Siddappa ultimately bought off the enemy for Rs.50,000.

It then came into the possession of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Tipu hanged all the male members of the Siddappa family except Siddappa who escaped from his confinement at Srirangapatnam. After Tipu's death, it was once again taken back by Siddappa. Siddappa submitted himself to Nizam because of the treaty of 1799, who took the total control of the area. He was later pensioned off when British occupied the territory.

Rainfall and Climate of Anantapur

The District of Anantapur has a fairly good elevation which provides the District with tolerable climate throughout the year. It has a gradual fall from the South North towards the valley of the Pennar in Peddavadugur, Peddapappur and Tadipatri Mandals. There is a gradual rise in Hindupur, Parigi, Lepakshi, Chilamathur, Agali, Rolla and Madakasira Mandals in the South to join the Karnataka Plateau where the average elevation is about 2000 feet is above the mean sea level. It is about 1100 feet at Anantapur and the lowest 900 feet is at Tadipatri.

The Geographical position of the Peninsula render it, the driest part of the State and hence, Agriculture conditions are more often precarious. Monsoons also evades this part due to its unfortunate location. Being far from the East coast, it does not enjoy the full benefits of North East Monsoons and being cut off by the high western Ghats, the South West Monsoon are also prevented from penetrating and punching the thirst of these parched soils. It is therefore seen, the district is deprived of both the monsoons and subjected to droughts due to bad seasons. The normal rainfall of the district is 553.0 MMs. by which it secures least rainfall when compared to Rayalaseema and other parts of Andhra Pradesh. The normal rainfall for the South West Monsoon period is 338.0 MMs. which forms about 61.2% of the total rainfall for the year. The failure of the rains in this South West monsoon period of June to September will lead the District to drought by failure of crops. The rainfall for North East monsoon period is 156.0 M.Ms. only, which forms 28.3% M.Ms. of the total rainfall for the year (October to December).

The other months are almost dry March, April and May are warm months when the normal daily maximum temperature ranges between 29.1 C to 40.3 C. November, December and January are cooler months when the temperature falls about 15.7 C, Hindupur, Parigi, Lepakshi, Chilamathur, Agali, Rolla and Madakasira Mandals being at High Elevation are more cooler than the rest of the Mandals in the District.

How to reach Anantapur

Road: Bus seats can be reserved and booked up to three days in advance at the Bus Terminal. Buses to Bangalore city have been expanded to super-deluxe coaches (3.5 hours) running nearly every hour in the mornings. Please check at the Bus Terminal for the right timings and advance reservations.

Train: Bookings for train tickets can be made at the Railway Ticket Booking Counter (08555-287355) or at the Sri Sathya Sai Prashanti Nilayam Railway Station. Advance reservations can be made up to three weeks before travel to most destinations in India.

Air: The Puttaparthi Airport is located 1 km from the Super Speciality Hospital and 6 kms from the ashram. The airport was built in 1990 as preparation for Swami's 70th birthday when over 3 million travellers visited the ashram from all over India and Worldwide. Flights originate to and from Madras (renamed as Chennai), Bombay (renamed as Mumbai) and Bangalore. On rare occasions it also offers flights to Colombo, Sri Lanka and Delhi.