Puttaparthi

Puttaparthi
—  town  —
Puttaparthi
Location of Puttaparthi
in Andhra Pradesh and India
Coordinates
Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
District(s) Anantapur
Population 9,000
Time zone IST (UTC+05:30)
Area

Elevation


475 metres (1,558 ft)

Puttaparthi (Telugu: పుట్టపర్తి) () is a town situated in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It was also the residence of the notable spiritual teacher Sathya Sai Baba.

The town's main attraction is Baba's Prasanthi Nilayam ashram, the presence of which has given a huge boost to the local economy, in the form of hotels, lodges, restaurants and shops which are largely frequented by visitors to Prasanthi Nilayam.

"The common languages spoken in Puttaparthi are Telugu, Kannada, English and Hindi."[1]

Contents

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Climate

The climate is generally hot and dry throughout the year,[1] summer temperatures ranging from 34°C-42°C, (93F - 108F) and winter 22°C-27°C (71F - 80F).[2] The hotter months being from March until July and the milder months being from November until January.[1]
"The southwest monsoons play a major role in determining the climate. The northeast monsoons are responsible for about one-third of the total rainfall. Some rainfall may be expected during the months of July and August and again from October to December."[2]

Puttaparthi is 475 meters (1558 feet) above sea level.[3]

Transportation

Road

Puttaparthi is well connected by road to Ananthapur (84 km), Hindupur (65 km), Hyderabad (472 km), Chennai (375 km), and Bangalore (156 km) by State-run APSRTC buses. KSRTC buses also ply from Bangalore which is a 3 hours drive away.

To travel on your own from Bangalore, one has to take National Highway 7 as far as Koduru village on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border and then turn right on the Puttaparthi road.

Posted as of Dec 2009 Self drive from bangalore to puttaparthi or parthi or prashanthi nilayam. (Shorter and quicker, good road/highway route to parthi)

If you miss these directions, then you will take the longer route to Puttaparthi. (going further north, then east)

Taxi / Car Rental

Puttaparthi can be reach from Bangalore, Chennai & Hyderabad by a Taxi or Car Rental. There are various operators who can provide car rental & taxi service from these cities.

Rail

Puttaparthi has a railway station SSPN (Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam) which started functioning from 23 November 2000. It is about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the ashram. It is easy to reach the town from the railway station, in 20 - 25 mins, as various modes of transport are available like cabs that can be hired and APRRTC buses. It is connected to Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Bubhaneshwar, Mumbai and New Delhi directly. The nearest major railway station is 45 kilometres (28 mi) away at Dharmavaram, where one can board a train to anywhere in India. The Dharmavaram railway station itself is connected to Puttaparthi by APSRTC buses. The journey takes about 60 to 75 minutes.

Air

Puttaparthi has an airport which is connected to Mumbai and Chennai by Indian Airlines as a stopover for their Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam services. The services are however run only seasonally and on need base and flights are NOT scheduled regularly. Passengers desiring to travel here should check the flight schedule before planning their trip by air. It is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the ashram and 140 kilometres (87 mi) from the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli.[4] It is owned by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust and is spread over 450 acres (1.8 km2) of land, housing a runway that is 2,230 metres long.[5]

The airport's future is currently in doubt as several news sources have reported a proposal for sale at a price of 600 crores. Sources have also reported that one of India's leading private airliner based out of Bangalore has shown interest in the deal.[4]

Other attractions

Apart from the main Ashram, Puttaparthi has other places of interest like a Hanuman Temple, a Village Mosque and Sathyabhama Temple. Sathyabhama is well known locally as 'Sathyamma' and the temple was built by Late Kondama Raju, grandfather of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Initially on the outskirts, it is now in the heart of the much grown town of Puttaparthi. Incidentally, another Sathyamma temple was recently constructed by Baba's elder brother Seshama Raju's son on the Bangalore route (10 km from the Ashram) next to the famous Gantla Maremma temple. This (Sathyamma) temple too is believed to be powerful and special poojas and sacrifices are done to the deity on every week. It has started to draw crowds from many nearby villages.

Other major tourist attractions are:
1. The Shiva temple constructed on the site where Baba was born. This is further down in to the village from the Sathyamma Temple.
2. The 'Kalpa Vriksha' or the Wish Fulfilling Tree that has a prominent place in the childhood life of Baba. This is situated on the banks of the Chitravathi river.
3. The meditation tree on the hillock on the way to the university.

Other important places are the educational institutions such as Sri Sathya Sai University, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (Super Speciality Hospital) designed by the English architect Dr. Keith Critchlow, Chaitanya Jyothi Museum, Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri Music College, Sri Sathya Sai Space Theatre, and Sri Sathya Sai Hill View Stadium.[6][7][8] The then President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, inaugurated a newly-constructed Indoor Sports stadium - with international standards -in November 2006. Indian legend Cricketer Kapil Dev was the special guest on the occasion.

The main attraction at Puttaparthi remained Sathya Sai Baba till his death on 24th April 2011. Visitors can also get a good idea of Indian village life by hiring an auto-rickshaw and touring the lake, surrounding villages and by interacting with the villagers.

References

External links