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 Head
Quarters: Machilipatnam
Area: 8,727 sq.km
The Boundaries of this district are West Godavari district in the East,
Bay of Bengal in the South, Guntur and Nalgonda districts in the West
and Khammam district in the North directions.
Rivers:
Krishna, Budameru, Munneru and Tammileru.
Major Places:
Vijayawada, Vuyyur, Machilipatnam, Thiruvuru, Kaikalur.
Tourist Places:
Krishna wildlife sanctuary, Kondapally fort, Chinnagollapalem,
Prakasam Barrage, Gandhi hill, Bhavani Island, Sibar Disneyland, Rajiv
Gandhi Park, Victoria Museum, Mogalrajapuram caves, Manginapudi beach,
Buddhist Sites at Gummadidurru, Ghantasala and Jaggayyapeta.
Pilgrimage Centers:
Kanaka Durga Temple at Vijayawada, Gunadala Church, Hazrat Bal Mosque,
Movva temple, Machilipatnam Panduranga Swamy temple.
Handicrafts:
Kondapalli Toys, Machilipatnam Kalamkari Fabrics and Rold gold
Ornaments.
Cultural Heritage:
Kuchipudi dance.
Industries:
Andhra cements, Railway wagon workshop, The RTC Regional workshop,
Jawahar Autonagar, Andhra Pradesh Heavy Engineering Machinery Industry,
Sugar Factories at Vuyyur and Hanuman Junction.
In the olden days this place was under the rule of Sathavahanas, Cholas,
Reddy kings, Golkonda Nawabs and many other kings. Krishna District was
formerly called Machilipatnam district. It was renamed as Krishna
district, after the mighty river Krishna in 1859. The Telugu spoken over
here has the flavor of the coastal area region. The Majority of the
people in Urban areas of Krishna district are engaged in trade and
commerce. Agriculture is the most important occupation of the people of
the district.
The forest area occupies only 9% of the total district area. Social
Forestry drive is undergoing in many parts of the district. Small
deposits of Diamonds are also available. Natural Gas and Crude Oil is
also found on the coastal belts of the district. The Barrage built on
the river Krishna by Sir Arthur Cotton at Vijayawada is the Chief
Irrigation Source to the District. Three tributaries of the River
Krishna are the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Musi during its course in
Andhra Pradesh. The climate of Vijayawada, the major city in Krishna
district is tropical in nature with hot summers and moderate winters.
April to June are the summer months with temperatures ranging from a
minimum of 270 C to 450 C. The temperatures during the winter months
range from 280 to 170 C. The area is very humid, the average humidity
ranges from 68% during summer season.
The District hosts Many industries and KCP Sugar Factory at Vuyyur is a
famous one, apart from this many Medium Scale Cement factories are there
throughout the district. There are many Small Scale Industries like
Musical Instruments at Jaggayyapeta, Roldgold Ornaments at Machilipatnam
and Kondapalli toys. SIRIS Pharmaceutical Company at Vijayawada is
another giant company manufacturing Allopathic medicines. Vijayawada
Thermal Power Station near Ibrahimpatnam is ranked as the No.1 Power
generation unit in India for its high performance. The annual rainfall
in the region is about 965 mm and is contributed by the Southwest
monsoon. The oldest port in Andhra Pradesh is Machilipatnam port. The
Bus complex at Vijayawada is one of the Biggest in Asia. The Railway
station at Vijayawada is said to be the Biggest Junction in South India.
Kuchipudi dance form originated from this district.
Accessibility: Machilipatnam is well connected by road and rail. Nearest
airport is at Vijayawada.
History
Centuries ago, Andhra Pradesh was a major Buddhist centre and
part of Emperor Ashoka's sprawling kingdom. Not surprisingly,
traces of early Buddhist influence are still visible in several places
in and around the state. After the death of Emperor Ashoka, several
dynasties from the Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Chalukyas,
Kakatiyas, Vijayanagaram kings, Qutb Shahis,
Mughals and the Asaf Jahi's, ruled this princely city.
The history of Andhra
Pradesh dates back to the epic era of the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha.
But the documented history points to 236 BC, when Satavahana
established a kingdom and a dynasty around the modern Hyderabad.
During the reign of 450 years, Buddhism flourished in the kingdom. The
rulers were followers of Brahmanism, but the women folk practiced
Buddism. It was during this period that Buddhism spread from these
shores to China, The far East and to Sri Lanka. The Ikshvakus
succeeded the Satavahanas and ruled the kingdom for 57 years. The
Pallavas annexed the area South of River Krishna and ruled till the end
of 6th century.
Then came the dynasties of Chalukyas and the Kakatiyas.
The Kakatiyas established themselves as rulers of a Telugu speaking
people. The glorious reign of the Kakatiyas came to end in the 14th
century and for the first time Telugus came under a Muslim regime
that brought with it a totally different set of customs, language and
religion.
The Delhi Sultanate came in power in 1347 AD, governed by Allahuddin
Hasan, claiming lineage to Bahman Shah of Persia, revolted against
the Delhi Sultanate and declared himself ruler of the southern part of
the territory, comprising mainly the Deccan and Telangana area.
It was somewhere around this time that the Qutub Shahi dynasty
came into being when Sultan Quli, the Bahmani governor of
Telangana, became independent and extend the new kingdom of Golconda
right upto Machlipatnam on the east coast. Given the title of
Quli-ul-Mulk by the Bahmanis, Qutub Shah, a descendant of a royal family
of Hamdan in Persia, took over the reins and ruled till 1548.
Aurangazeb last Mogul king to rule India, conquered the Deccan
in 1687 and left his governors, the Nizams, to rule Andhra.
The British and French took over from the Nizams. Andhra became a
part of Indian Union in 1947. The present state was formed in 1953,
merging a part of the then Madras State (present Tamil Naidu) and the
princely state of Hyderabad.
Heritage
The various dynasties that ruled the State of Andhra Pradesh, from the
Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagaram kings, Qutb
Shahis, Mughals, to the Asaf Jahis, all have contributed significantly
to the State's rich cultural tapestry and have left behind a heritage
studded with spectacular monuments, temples, mosques, palaces all
vibrant with arts, crafts, dance and literature.
The state has a rich cultural heritage. The great composers of carnatic
music Annamacharya, Tyagaraja and many others chose Telugu as their
language of composition, thus enriching the language. Kuchipudi is the
state's classical dance form.Andhrites have been movie buffs decades.
The state produces about 200 top notch movies per year.
Andhra Pradesh has several museums, including the Salar Jung Museum,
which features a varied collection of sculptures, paintings, and
religious artifacts, and the Archaeological Museum, which features
Buddhist and Hindu sculptures and other antiques; both museums are
located in Hyderabad
The State is rich in natural resources, cultural heritage, history and
most of all, an opportunity to explore them, created by combining the
old princely state of Hyderabad with the Telugu speaking portions of the
former state of Chennai, Andhra Pradesh to this day retains much of its
regal glory and mystic charm.
Telugu, the official language of Andhra Pradesh, is described by C.P.
Brown as the " Italian of the East ". It has been influenced by
Sanskrit. The prominent poets of Telugu include Nannaya, Tikkana, Sri
Krishna Devarayulu and a host of others.
The dance styles in the State are based on the standard treatises, viz.
Abhinaya Darpana and Bharatarnava of Nandikeshwara, which is sub-divided
into Nattuva Mala and Natya Mala.
Kuchipudi, a blend of music and abhinaya, is Andhra Pradesh‘s unique
contribution to dance it have flowered from a village called Kuchelapuri
or Kuchelapuram in Krishna district. From its birth around 300 B. C., it
has remained a continuous and living tradition of this region, performed
by men of the Brahmin community.
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