Tenali

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?Tenali Andhra Pradesh • India
Tenali
Coordinates: 16°15′N 80°35′E / 16.25, 80.58
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 11 m (36 ft)
District(s)	Guntur
Population	149,839 (2001)

Coordinates: 16°15′N 80°35′E / 16.25, 80.58

Tenali (తెనాలి), also known as Andhra Paris, is a town and a mandal in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, South India. It has a population of 149,839 (2001 census). It is located 16 miles east of Guntur City. Three canals of the Krishna River flow through Tenali making it a part of the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh. One of the canals is navigable up to Nizampatnam port. Tenali is a major railway junction connecting Guntur, Vijayawada, Repalle and Chennai.

[edit] Overview

Tenali is believed to have been coined from the Hindi description of 'Teen Naal' i.e. three canals. Tenali is known for its rich cultural and literary legacy. It has produced many famous poets, theater artists, scholars, actors and academicians. Because of its contribution to literature, theater, films and education, it is called Andhra Paris. Tenali has contributed a major share of artists to Telugu stage drama. There are quite a few extraordinary artists who later moved on to film industry such as Savithri, Kanchanamala, Kongara Jaggayya, Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, Jamuna, Sarada,Prabha,Divvya Vani, Tenali Sakunthala, Meesala Bhaskar, Ghattamaneni Krishna, comedian AVS and writer Chinni Krishna. Tummapudi near tenali is the home village of famous painter and philosopher late Sri Sanjeev dev. The present Member of the Legislative Assembly from Tenali Constituency is N Manohar, who was elected in 2004. Tenali is also known for its rich culture.

[edit] Geography

Tenali is located at 16.25° N 80.58° E.^[1] It has an average elevation of 11 metres (36 feet). Vijayawada, Guntur, and Tenali are almost equidistant from each other, thirty to forty kilometers apart.

[edit] Climate

Tenali is located 30 km from the sea coast. It is generally hot and humid during summer with temperatures ranging between 32-45 C. Winters are milder with temperatures between 15 and 23 C. Heavy rains expected between July and Nov during monsoon time.

[edit] Population

At the 2001 Indian census,^[2] Tenali had a population of 149,839. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Tenali has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 61%. In Tenali, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Economy

The town thrives on trade and agriculture. The regions around the town have fertile soil and are irrigated by the Krishna river water and its canals. Major crops include lemons,Sugar Cane, Rice, Oranges, Sapota (Chickoo), Turmeric, and Mango. The main market conducts business in agricultural produce and traditional wares. Tenali is famous for pure gold, jewellery, wood and steel utensils.

With its pivotal location between the commercial towns of Guntur and Vijayawada, many residents in and around Tenali mainly depend on them for livelihood. The town holds a huge middle class, making up more than 90% of the total population. Major income source is Agriculture with two to three crops around the year.

[edit] Villages

The village of Tumuluru, 18 kilometers from Tenali, is one of the few Internet villages in India where all village transactions are conducted online. In Chintalapudi village, there is a project undertaken by a voluntary organization called Ashanet that has contributed to the welfare of the village.^[3]. Kancherla Palem is a historical village where famous freedom fighters and philanthropists were born. They have donated valuable properties to temples and erected several Satras across the city. A village known as Sangam Jagarlamudi is located between Tenali and Guntur. Lord Sangameswara Swamy(Siva) Temple is very popular and several devotees visit the temple for the Darshan of "Ganga BalaTripura Sametha Sangameswara Swamy". This village is also notable because the famous "Sangam Diary" operates from there. Sangam diary is known to supply butter and other diary products to national airlines such as Jet Airways.

Bhattiprolu, located twenty-eight kilometers from Tenali, is well known for its Buddhist stupa built in the third century BC. The most ancient known kingdom, ruled by King Kuberaka, in South India had Pratipalapura (Bhattiprolu) as its capital. A variant of Ashokan Brahmi found on the urn containing Buddha's ashes gave rise to Telugu script and many other South India South-East Asian language scripts. (Ashokan scripts is the source to Telugu, Kannada and Thai scripts). This can be attributed to the Buddhist influences during the Vishnukundinya rule who declared Telugu as their official language. Bhattiprolu, Tenali and Dharanikota are the most important cities during their rule. 5 very old temples built prior to vijayanagaram kingdom still exist intact at Katevaram, 2 km from Tenali.

[edit] Miscellanea

• There are a good number of famous temples, such as Kanyaka Parameswari temple, Vaikunthapuram (also known as Chinna Tirupathi), Patha Shivalayam, Donga Ramudu Gudi(Near Market), Ramalingeswara Alayam, Patha Anjaneya swami gudi, Chitti Anjaneya swami gudi, Morrispet Shivalayam, Saibaba temple and Appala swami temple.
• Centre of Tenali is referred as Gadi Bavi, which derives its name from an old well that used to exist there. Gadi Bavi is now a famous marketplace, bringing lots of cheer and freshness into day to day life of Tenali. Legend has it that Donga Ramudi Gudi, next to Gadi Bavi, was built surreptitiously in a single night; hence the name.
• Festivals are celebrated on a grand scale throughout the year in Tenali. The best being Sri Rama Navami, where the 'Pandiri' stretches over almost the entire main roads in Tenali, attracting a gathering of about 200,000 people each year. Vinayaka Chavathi, Sri Rama Navami and Deepawali are the main festivals. From Ugadi until Rama Navami, all the main streets are decorated with displays of various gods and goddesses. The celebrations continue for ten days. During the Sankranthi festival, Lord Venkateswara's idol along with those of Lakshmi and Padmavati are taken on a decorated boat in one of the Krishna canals. The procession starts at Vaikuntapuram temple and goes up to VSR and NVR college. On the festive day of sivarathri a huge jathara/festival will be celebrated in nearby siva kshetras viz., Sangam jagarlamudi, quarry, tsundur, gowada. huge gathering is present. edla pandelu (Ox races) will be conducted, prabhalu (decorated big chariots) will also present.
• A village named Munnangi (20 km from Tenali) has a Shiva temple with three Lingas in the Sanctum Sanctorum, an unusual phenomenon.
• Tenali is best-known as the hometown of Tenali Ramakrishna (also known as Tenali Rama), the legendary poet and wit in King Krishna Deva Raya's court.
• Famous scientists from Tenali include late Y. Nayudamma, D. Basavaiah and A. V. Rama Rao. Only the most prominent scientists in India receive Dr.Nayudamma's honorary award in Tenali, which include the likes of Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam,Dr.M.S.Swaminathan,Prof.Verghese Kurien, Dr.Kota Hari Narayana among many.
• A famous doctor, Late Dr. Chadalavada Krishnaiah, belongs to this town.
• Tenali is the Home Town of Young NRI Politician Bonthu Nagi Reddy who is the founder and President of YSR Yuvasena U.S.A Committee.
• Tenali is also the home town for eminent Bureaucrats such as Late Ch. Umesh Chandra(IPS).
• The village of Jampani (8 km from Tenali) is famous for skilled carpenters, whose wood carvings are sold throughout the state of Andhra Pradesh.
• Champadu, a village 11 km from Tenali, is the only village that contains the statue of Acharya N G Ranga. The state's premier agricultural university is named after this great man.
• Champadu, is the village famous for its banana and lemon.
• Balijepalli, is a village nearby Vemuru in Tenali region.
• Burripalem is a village near Tenali and the hometown of famous film artist G Krishna and his son Mahesh Babu.
• The village of Mulpur is 12 KM from Tenali. This village produces Paddy, Sugarcane, Blackgram, Turmeric, Banana, Mangos and Neem. It is having very many temples like Sivalayam, Aanjaneyaswamy temple, Ramalayam, Bolammagudi. This village got one Highschool and one Govt.hospital and Veternity hospital.
• Tiffins like idli sambaru, minapattu, pesarttu, upma, with kobbari chatni are famous. Mirchi bajji, masala mirchi, fried verusanagapappu (palli) are other mouth watering items.
• Fresh vegetables from nearby villages are available at reasonable rates all round the year. Tenali is truly a low-cost-of-living town.

[edit] Institutions

Tenali is well known for its rich educational institutions.

• V.S.R & N.V.R college is one of the oldest colleges in Andhra Pradesh.
• Tenali Engineering College Located near Kolakaluru between Guntur & Tenali
• Sri Rama Rural Gurukula Pathasala, which was started in 1949 in Chilumuru 13 km from Tenali.
• Dr. Kodali Veeraiah Educational Academy. Home-makers institute For women empowerment.

[edit] Famous Personalities

• Tenali Ramakrishna, Court Poet of Vijayanagar Dynasty
• Late Tadiparthi Veeraiah.Freedom Legend and Founder of Shri Rama Temple, Salipet.
• Dr.Kodali veeraiah.Ex.MLA.

Nannapaneni Venkatrao. Nannapaneni sugars & VSR&NVR College Alapati Dharmarao.Ex-Home minister.A.P. Gattamaneni Krishna.Superstar of A.p Alapati Rajendraprasad.Ex-minister.A.p. Dr. Gogineni Uma.Ex-MLA

[edit] References

1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Tenali
2. ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
3. ^ Project Chintalapudi Village (ANDHRA PRADESH)