Warangal

Travel Guide

By Road:

Warangal is well connected by road. It is around 140Kms from Hyderabad and 70Kms from Karimnagar. APSRTC operates buses every 30 mins from Hyderabad and Karimnagar. Some of the famous places like Bhuvangari Fort, Yadigiri Gutta, Kolanupaka, Jangaon are on the way while coming from Hyderabad direction.

By Rail:

Warangal is a major railway junction. Kazipet/Warangal are the important railway stations in the city, serving people coming from Hyderabad, New Delhi and Vijayawada directions.

Profile

Warangal or Orugallu or Ekasila Nagaram is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the Telangana region of the state. Warangal is 145 km northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad. Warangal is the administrative seat of Warangal District. It is the fourth largest city in Andhra Pradesh. With a population of nearly 13 lakhs. Warangal district has an area of 12,846 km², and a population of 2,818,832 (1991 census). The district is bounded by Karimnagar district to the north, Khammam district to the east and southeast, Nalgonda district to the southwest, and Medak district to the west. Warangal is well known for granite quarries (notably the black and brown varieties), grain market for rice, chillies, cotton, and tobacco.

Following is a beautiful poem written by Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao depicting the grand history and culture of this place(Taken from his essay మా ఊరు ఓరుగల్లు, from the book he wrote called పచ్చ తోరణం):

కాబోలు నియ్యది కాకతీయులొకప్డు
కరకు నెత్తుట కత్తికడుగు చోటు
కాబోలు నీద్వార కల్యాణ వేదిక
అలికి ముగ్గులు పెట్టె తెలుగు పడుచు
కాబోలు నీజీర్ణకమనీయ సౌధాన
సుకుమార శిల్పముల్ సొంపులొలికె
కాబోలు నీవీధికాపురంబొనరించె
పైడి మేడలలోన భాగ్యలక్ష్మి
ఇచటనే నిల్చి కాబోలు నిందుముఖులు
ఆయుధంబులు పూజించియరుగుదెంచు
ఆంధ్రసేనకు కపురంపుటారతులను
ఇచ్చి వారల శౌర్యంబు మెచ్చినారు


"This is the place, where the great Kakatiya's once used to wash the blood off their valorous swords! This is the place, where before the door of the house, the traditional Telugu lady adorns the ground with designs with lines and diagrams using flour! (traditional way to decorate Hindu homes, especially in Telugu houses, as a symbol of goodness and prosperity). This is the place, in the heart of which are the palaces (forts/temples) rich of the beautiful and delicate sculptures! This is the place, in which in every street, in the houses made of gold, the goddess Lakshmi resided!! This is the place, where the women stood and welcomed the brave soldiers from the war, by giving them a 'camphor' haarathi, as the men have fought valorously in the battles!!"

History

Warangal was the capital of a Hindu Shaivite kingdom ruled by the Kakatiya dynasty from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The old name of this newly formed city is Orugallu. 'Oru' means one and 'Kallu' means stone. The entire city was carved in a single rock, hence the name Orukallu meaning 'one rock'. The city was also called Ekasila nagaram. The Kakatiyas left many monuments, including an impressive fortress, four massive stone gateways, the Swayambhu temple dedicated to Shiva, and the Ramappa temple situated near Ramappa Lake. The cultural and administrative distinction of the Kakatiyas was mentioned by the famous traveller Marco Polo. Famous or well-known rulers included Ganapathi Deva, Prathapa Rudra, and Rani (queen) Rudramma Devi. After the defeat of Prataparadura, the Musunuri Nayaks united seventy two Nayak chieftains and captured Warangal from Delhi sultanate and ruled for fifty years. Jealousy and mutual rivalry between Nayaks ultimately led to the downfall of Hindus in 1370 A.D and success of Bahmanis. Bahmani Sultanate later broke up into several smaller sultanates, of which the Golconda sultanate ruled Warangal. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered Golconda in 1687, and it remained part of the Mughal empire until the southern provinces of the empire split away to become the state of Hyderabad in 1724 which included the Telangana region and some parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Hyderabad was annexed to India in 1948, and became an Indian state. In 1956 Hyderabad was partitioned as part of the States Reorganization Act, and Telangana, the Telugu-speaking region of Hyderabad state which includes Warangal, was joined to Andhra Pradesh.

Culture

The people of Warangal speak Telugu as main language. Both traditional attire like Saree, Lungi and Dhoti and modern dress styles are worn . The poets of this place include the ancient poets Potana and Palkuriki Somana to present day poets like Kaloji Narayana Rao, B Rama Raju, Pervaram Jagannatham, Kovela Sampatkumara, Ampasayya Naveen, Varavara Raoand Anwar have contributed to Telugu literature. Sarangapani was a famous folk singer, Nerella Venu Madhav was a mimicry artist who received accolades country wide. And also the famous music director Chakri is also from warangal dist.