Tirupati

For other uses, see Tirupati (disambiguation).
Tirupati
తిరుపతి
city
Tirupati

Location in Andhra Pradesh, India

Coordinates: 13°39′N 79°25′E / 13.65°N 79.42°ECoordinates: 13°39′N 79°25′E / 13.65°N 79.42°E
Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
Region Rayalaseema
District Chittoor
Government
 • Member of Parliament Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli
Area
 • city 24 km2 (9 sq mi)
Elevation 161 m (528 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • city 287,035
 • Density 12,000/km2 (31,000/sq mi)
 • Metro[2] 459,985
Languages
 • Official Telugu
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 517501
Telephone code +91–877
Vehicle registration AP 03
Website www.tirupaticorporation.org.in

Tirupati is a major pilgrimage and cultural city in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It is the largest urban agglomeration in the Rayalaseema region. It is located at the foothills of the Eastern Ghats at a distance of 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Chennai, 250 kilometres (160 mi) from Bengaluru, 349 kilometres (217 mi) from Vijayawada and 550 kilometres (340 mi) from Hyderabad. It is one of the richest pilgrimage cities of any religious faith in the world.For the year 2012-13,Ministry of Tourism (India) selected Tirupati for the prestigious Best Heritage City award recognising city's toursim potentiality.[3]

The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north west of Tirupati in the Tirumala hills at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft). Revered as one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites, the temple draws 25-35 million pilgrims every year making it the busiest pilgrimage center in the world.[4][5] It is the second richest Hindu temple in the world after Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.[6]

Etymology

As per Anthropological Survey of India, the word Tirupati is derived from the Tamil words. Where Tiru means Divine or Holy and Pathi meaning "Husband or Lord". The sangam poet mamulanar refers Tirupati in his poem as Pullikundram.[7]

History

The town was an established center of Vaishnavism around 5th century A.D. during which it was praised by Tamil Alvars. The temple rites were formalized by the Tamil Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya in the 11th century AD.[8][9] Tirupati survived the Muslim and British invasions. During the Muslim invasion of South India, the deity of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping.

The temple was built and upgraded in parts by various kingdoms. The inscriptions in the temple majority of which are in Tamil[10][11] specify the contributions of the Pallava Kingdom around 9th Century AD, Chola Kingdom around 10th century AD and the Vijayanagara Empire in 14th century AD.[12] The Madras state legislature passed a special act in 1932 whereby the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) committee was invested with powers of administration and control through a commissioner appointed by the Government of Madras.

Tirupati skyline

Demographics

As of 2011 Census of India, the city had a population of 287,035. The total population constitute, 145,977 males and 141,058 females — a sex ratio of 966 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000.[13] 24,643 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 12, 869 are boys and 11,744 are girls. The average literacy rate stands at 87.55% (male 92.74%; female 82.21%), significantly higher than the national average of 73%.[1][14] The Urban agglomeration had a population of 459,985, of which males constitute 231,456, females constitute 228,529 — a sex ratio of 987 females per 1000 males and 41,589 children are in the age group of 0–6 years. There are a total of 356,558 literates with an average literacy rate of 85.22%.[2]

Administration and Politics

Municipal Corporation of Tirupati oversees the administration of the city. Tirupati was constituted to municipality on 01, April, 1886 and it was upgraded as second grade municipality on 01.10.1962. Tirupati municipality was upgraded into a first grade municipality on 12, December, 1965, special grade municipality on 13, February, 1970 and selection grade municipality on 07, October, 1998. Tirupati Municipality was upgraded as a municipal corporation (Tirupati Municipal Corporation) on 02, March, 2007. The area of the municipal corporation at the time of formation was 16.59 square kilometres (6.41 sq mi). The area was expanded in July, 2013 to 24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi).Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) is the planning authority. Tirupati is part of Tirupati (Lok Sabha constituency).

Culture

Telugu is the official language while Tamil is also spoken due to the large number of visiting pilgrims.[15] Hinduism is the major religion and most of the temples in Tirupati are of Dravidian architecture.

The celebrates all major Hindu festivals including Deepavali, Sankranti, Vaikunta Ekadasi, Rama Navami and Janmashtami with great splendor, while the Brahmotsavam celebrated every year during September is the most important festival in Tirumala when it receives millions of devotees over a short span of a week. Rathasapthami is another festival, celebrated during February, when Lord Venkateswara's idol is taken in a procession around the temple chariots.[16] Tirupati also celebrates a carnival(Jathara) Tirupati Ganga Jatara, held during second week of May every year. This is a week long festival where Goddess Gangamma(Grama Devatha) is worshiped.[17]

Climate

Monsoon remains moderate and summer experiences temperatures ranging from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius. In winter the minimum temperatures will be between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius. Usually summer lasts from March to June, with the advent of rainy season in July, followed by winter which lasts till the end of February.The city experiences maximum rainfall in november during northeast monsoon season.

Climate data for Tirupati, India
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 29.9
(85.8)		 32.8
(91)		 36.7
(98.1)		 39.3
(102.7)		 40.3
(104.5)		 37.8
(100)		 35.7
(96.3)		 34.8
(94.6)		 34.8
(94.6)		 32.7
(90.9)		 30.1
(86.2)		 28.9
(84)		 34.48
(94.06)
Average low °C (°F) 18.7
(65.7)		 20.1
(68.2)		 22.6
(72.7)		 26.2
(79.2)		 27.9
(82.2)		 27.2
(81)		 25.9
(78.6)		 25.5
(77.9)		 25.1
(77.2)		 23.5
(74.3)		 21.7
(71.1)		 19.9
(67.8)		 23.69
(74.66)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 22.0
(0.866)		 19.7
(0.776)		 2.9
(0.114)		 12.9
(0.508)		 45.7
(1.799)		 69.7
(2.744)		 113.0
(4.449)		 118.6
(4.669)		 119.1
(4.689)		 157.5
(6.201)		 218.7
(8.61)		 130.5
(5.138)		 1,030.3
(40.563)
Source: Indian Meteorological Department[18]

Transport

Road

Sri Hari bus station is one of the largest in the state and has direct bus services to major towns across South India. There is a bus terminal at Alipiri for buses to Tirumala. A number of buses are operated by government operator APSRTC and private operators connecting Tirupati to other major cities and towns such as Chennai, Vellore, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Bangalore. Due to its proximity with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, buses from KSRTC, TNSTC, SETC also operate to Tirupati. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam runs free buses from Railway station and Central bus stand to Alipiri for the benefit of pilgrims.

Railways

Tirupati Main is the primary railway station serving the city. The station has 5 platforms. Tirupati is well connected to major cities across India including Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad. It is also connected to Chennai Suburban Railway's North Line. Renigunta Junction which lies on the Chennai - Mumbai rail corridor is 15 km away from Tirupati main station.other stations in the city include Chandragiri,Tirupati West,Tiruchanur.

Air

Tirupati Airport is located 15 km from the city center and has regular flights to Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. The closest international airport is Chennai International Airport which is 130 km (81 mi) from Tirupati. There are plans to upgrade the airport to international status and work is in progress.[19]

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Chandragiri Fort

Places of interest


Education

Tirupati is a major educational hub in Andhra Pradesh. There are several universities and colleges including state government and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam sponsored medical, pharmacy, agricultural and engineering colleges in the city. Sri Venkateswara University was founded in 1954 by the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu. A culinary institute sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism (India) is located at Tirupati.[24] The city is set to get an Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research(IISER) which were alloted by Government of India to the state of Andhra Pradesh.[25]

Entertainment

Sri Mahati Auditorium is a South India's largest auditorium, owned and operated by TTD used exclusive for cultural and spiritual activities. There are several parks in Tirupati, of which Tirupati Municipal Park is notable located along Alipiri by-pass road in. Shilparamam (Urban Haat) is located on the Tirupati-Tiruchanur road, set up jointly by the central and the state tourism departments. Tirupati has many cinema halls screening Telugu, Tamil, English and Hindi movies.

Media

Telugu newspapers – Andhra Bhoomi, Saakshi, Eenadu, Vaartha, Andhra Jyothi, Andhra Prabha, Tamil newspapers - Dinamalar, Dinakaran, Daily Thanthi and English newspapers – Deccan Chronicle, The Hindu, Indian Express, Times of India, The Hans India are available in the city. Devotional channel SVBC is telecasted from Tirumala. Tirupati has All India Radio station and is served by FM stations like 92.7 Big FM, 93.5 Red FM.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Census 2011" (PDF). The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Uma Sudhir (13 September 2007). "Tirupati Ousts Vatican, Reigns at Top". NDTV.com. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "World's most visited temple".
  5. ↑ "Tirupati crossed Vatican-The Busiest Pilgrimage centre, Inc – Tirupati". ndtv.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  6. ↑ "Richest Hindu temple". Guinness World Records.
  7. ↑ Sri Venkateshwara.
  8. ↑ "Bhakti Movements".
  9. ↑ "History of Tirumala".
  10. ↑ "Gold coat to hide Tirumala carvings". Times of India. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Inscriptions at Tirumala digitised". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Temple History".
  13. ↑ "Sex Ratio". The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Chapter–3 (Literates and Literacy rate)" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Tamil vote a decisive force". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Rathasapthami photos". Archived from the original on 2009-10-27.
  17. ↑ "Tirupati set for ‘Ganga Jatara’". The Hindhu. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Climatological Data of Important Cities" (PDF). Indian Meteorological Department. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  19. ↑ "International Airport at Tirupati’". The Hindhu. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Tirupati gearing for Ekadasi’". The Hindhu. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "Thathayagunta Gangamma temple’". The Hindhu. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  22. ↑ http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081159160200.htm
  23. ↑ "Asia’s biggest zoo beckons tourists". The Siasat Daily. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "Culinary Institute in Tirupati’". The Hindhu. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  25. ↑ "IIT and IISER in Tirupati’". The Hindhu. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tirupati.