| Parlakimidi Parlakhemundi |
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| — town — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Orissa |
| District(s) | Gajapati |
| Chairman Of the Municipality | |
| Population | 42,991 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 145 metres (476 ft) |
| Website | gajapati.nic.in/ |
Parlakhemundi (Oriya: ପାରଳାଖେମୁଣ୍ଡି) is a small town and a municipality in Gajapati district in the Indian state of Orissa. The major languages spoken in this region are Oriya and Telugu.
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As of 2001[update] India census,[1] Parlakhemundi had a population of 42,991. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Parlakhemundi has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 61%. In Parlakhemundi, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Paralakhemundi has an estimated population of 44,000 in the year 2007. Majority of the people are Hindu; Christians being the second largest religious community. Muslims are only a handful in number. Most of the people can speak multiple languages Oriya, Telugu, Hindi, English.
Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo, Maharaja of Paralakhemundi was the direct descendant of the historic dynasty of the Eastern Ganga dynasty Gajapati kings that ruled Orissa for more than seven centuries. During the regime of these kings, the boundaries of Orissa extended from the Ganges in the north to Udoyagiri in Nellore district in the South. Kolahomee, one of the sons of Gajapati Kapilendra Dev, the Gajapati monarch in the later half of the 15th Century came to this part of Paralakhemundi (then in Ganjam district) and founded the Royal family of Paralakhemundi.
Paralakhemundi is an ancient Zamindari lying in the western corner of the southern portion of the Ganjam district, and it is bounded in the west by the district of Visakhapatnam and on the north by the Jeypore state and the eastern ghats which are called Maliyas or tribal agencies. The town of Paralakhemundi is: “a straggling town in plan much like the letter ‘L’ scattered around the foot of the well wooded hill which is the distinctive feature of the place. The horizontal portion of the ‘L’ faces south, and at the corner where the ‘L’ and the vertical portion join, is situated the palace, a most picturesque group of building”. This group of buildings was designed and built by Mr. Chisholm.
Gajapati district has been named after Maharaja Sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Dev, the Raja Sahib of Paralakhemundi estate (the 1st Chief Minister of Orissa state), who is remembered for his contribution in formation of a separate Orissa state and inclusion of Paralakhemundi estate in Orissa. Gajapati district came into being with effect from 2 October 1992. Prior to this it was a part (Sub-Division) of Ganjam district.
Paralakhemundi lies in the south-east of the east Indian state of Orissa. It is on the banks of Mahendratanaya river. Paralakhemundi boarders with a small town called Pathapatnam of Andhra Pradesh. Google maps shows Paralakhemundi as a part of Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh which needs to be corrected. The town is located on a hilly terrain. The climate is subtropical with high humidity. The temperature varies between 18-48 degree Celsius. Summer is extremely hot with some thunderstorms and minor cyclones, which occasionally cause power outages. Paralakhemundi receives rainfall from the southwest monsoons and the wettest months are July, August and September.
Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) in Gajapati will go a long way in serving the state in general. Jagannath Institute for Technology and Management was established in the year 1997. The institute was set up with the aim to bring technical education to the rural areas and produce highly skilled technical personnel with exceptional calibre for various sectors in the industry.
The S.K.C.G college enjoys the reputation of being the second oldest college of the state. It has affiliation in almost all major disciplines in the faculties of Arts, Science and commerce. From the session 1996-97, P.G. Courses in Mathematics has been added to the already existing post-graduate teaching facilities in Economics, Chemistry, Oriya, Commerce and Life Sciences. Besides teaching facilities for Honours courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Computer Applications, English, Oriya, Sanskrit, Geography, history, Political Science and Economics, the College also offers teaching in subjects like Telugu, Hindi, Logic, Philosophy and Home Science. The Indira Gandhi National Open University has opened a center in this college.The college has a sanctioned strength of 2016 students and 83 teachers. The students of this College have the distinction of bright academic performance in the University.
The alumni of this College occupied and continue to occupy positions of distinction and pride in public life. The halo of Maharaja still pervades the atmosphere of the College and his noble spirit guides and inspires the students to achieve greater glory. The college celebrated its centenary from 10 to 12 January 2001
The Women's' College, Paralakhemundi was established in the year 1983 and was initially affiliated to Berhampur University for I.A. course. Later it was affiliated to the Council of Higher secondary Education, Orissa, Bhubaneswar for the +2 Arts Course. The College came under G.I.A. fold since 1988. The College has received Permanent recognition from Government in the year 2003-2004.The College was included u/s @ 2(f) and 12(B) Act of the U.G.C. from 2006-2007.
The Paralakhemundi Municipality is in charge of the civic administration of the town. As the headquarter of the Gajapati district, it houses several district level headquarters of Govt. and private organizations.
The town is poorly industrialized. Paralakhemundi once housed a large number of handicraft like Horn work, Jaikhadi bag, cane & bamboo work. Now only a few artists are seen to practice the family tradition. The Chitrakar Sahi (Artist's Street) is famous for its clay, stone sculptures and water paintings. However, some medium scale granite factories are housed in the surroundings of the town.
Paralakhemundi is connected to other parts of Orissa by the State Highway No.17 which connects Berhampur at one end and Rayagada on the other. The nearest major town is Palasa 40 km and then Berhampur which is 120 km away. The nearest National Highway (N.H–5) junction is at around 40 km from Paralakhemundi. The nearest operational railway station is Palasa, which is 43 km away. The narrow gauge railway line (called Naupada-Gunupur Rail line) running through this town had been converted to broad gauge and from 20 Dec 2010 a regular train started from Paralakhemundi to Puri.
The nearest Airport is the Visakhapatnam_Airport, which is at a distance of 180 km.
The O.S.R.T.C. (Orissa State Road Transport Corporation), A.P.S.R.T.C, and private buses connect the town to other parts of Orissa and nearby towns of Andhra Pradesh. The town is well connected to Bhubaneswar, Bramhapur, Rayagada, Jeypore Gunupur, Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Palasa, Bhawanipatna, Nabrangpur, Cuttack, Rourkela, etc. by road.
In Paralakhemundi both Oriya and Telugu culture are prominent. Since AndhraPradesh is very near, one can easily find here the great unification of two cultures - Oriya and Telugu. People are highly religious. Dasahara, [Gamhapurnima|raksha bandhan], Rath yatra, Holi, Gajalakshmi Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Kali Puja, Sankranti, and Thakurani Yatra of Oriya Bhandari Street are major Hindu festivals observed in the town. Apart from these festivals Makara Sankranti and Ugadi of Telugu origin and Christmas is celebrated very beautifully in the town. The town is famous for its Ratha Yatra and also for Gajamunha dance. The legendary mountain Mahendra Mountains is situated nearby.
Hornwork is the oldest craft of Paralakhemundi. The artisans of this art are called Maharanas. These artisans are said to have migrated from a place called Pitala in Ganjam district under the patronage of the Maharajah of Gajapati, Krishna Chandra Deb. The hornwork items include figurines, birds, animals and scenes from Indian mythology. Palace Street is famous for its hornwork showrooms.
Cricket is the major sport of the town. Volleyball, basketball, hockey being the other popular sports in the town. Little boys and girls can still be seen playing silly games on the streets in the evening. The town has a small stadium named Gajapati Stadium. College ground is also a preferable venue for cricket, football matches. There are several other large play grounds that host some district and state level sport events. Cricket being the major game, it is played almost in every street. There are many cricket clubs and small organizers who organize multi team cricket tournaments mainly during winter.
The horn works of Paralakhemundi were one of the important products of cottage industry10. The horn works of Paralakhemundi got a special place amongst the works of Calcutta, Punjab, Kakinada and Trivandrum. The horn works were made chiefly out of the horns of cattles which were supplied from the neighbouring maliahs of the zamindari. The artists of Paralakhemundi first of all used to prepare birds from the horns. Gradually they prepared combs, elephants, horses, prawns, idols of Lord Jagannatha etc. They were send to the places like Vizianagaram, Rajamundry and Kakinada. These horn works were also highly popular in the international market.
The artists of Paralakhemundi used to carve out beautiful works like throne, khatuli (cot) etc. out of ivory and bone. Forests in which a large number of elephants lived surrounded Paralakhemundi. Hence, ivory was were plentifully available in Paralakhemundi. Sri. Radha Krushna Maharana & his son Sri. Purnachandra Maharana ,Surendra Maharana and Bhaskara Maharana were experts in the field of ivory works during the British period.
Current MLA from Paralakhemundi Assembly Constituency is Sri.Narayan Rao Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won the seat in State elections in 2009. Trinath Sahu of INC, who won the seat in State elections in 2004 and also in 2000 and in 1985. He also won this seat as an independent candidate in 1995. Previous MLAs from this seat were Darapu Lachana Naidu who won this seat representing JD in 1990, and Bijoy Kumar Jena who won this seat as independent candidate in both 1980 and in 1977.[2]
Paralakhemundi is part of Berhampur (Lok Sabha constituency).[3]
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