Gandhari Khilla or Fort and Maisamma jatara

Gandhari Khilla or Fort is located in Gandhari khilla is a hill fort located near Bokkalagutta, in Mandamarri Mandal in Mancherial district, Telangana State, India is a geological wonder to see: its sky-looking rock formations, deep gorges and narrow valleys inside the hillocks make the visitor filled with the thrilling feeling of deep sigh. The visitor will be greeted by a small stream of water running through the hills and hill-bounded Medi Cheruvu (tank).

There are three main entrances to the fort, which are carved out of stone. The fort contains idols of Kala Bhairava Swamy, Lord Siva, Lord Ganesh and Hanuman. The way to the fort atop the hill was built in such a way that horses and elephants can trek the hill. There’s an eight-foot tall Naga Seshu idol carved out of a single rock. The fort’s magnificent architecture, defensive constructions, bathing tanks and sculpture leaves visitors spellbound

There are three wells, which never dries up even during severe summer. There is also another well named as ‘Yenugula Bavi’ (Elephants Well). The well is designed in such a way that elephants and horses can quench thirst by reaching the well through steps. 

Gandhari Maisamma Jatra is a three days long festival, done in the temple on the fort of Gandhari for every 2 years on the third day of full moon day of Hindu month Magha (January/February). 

Naikpod tribals living on the banks of the river Godavari celebrate an annual fair on the eve of Magha Pournami (February) at the unique rock-cut fort of Gandhari. Artistes of Naikpod community perform a dance show using representation of their deity Laxmi Devara during cultural programmes held to mark Maisamma Jatara on the outskirts of Bokkalagutta village in Mandamarri mandal.

Tribals from various districts including Gonds, Naikpod, Koyas, Mannes and devotees from neighbouring states i.e maharashtra, Chhattisgarh on the other bankside flock the Jatara. The jatara was suspended in 1998 due to a murder incident that took place during the celebrations.

The unique rock cut fort of Gandhari is originally an abode of history, epigraphy, architecture and culture and subsequently became a center for the Jatara in which tribals and non-tribals also take part. It has future scope of developing it into a historical, adventurous and tribal tourist site with the potential of boating in Pulimadugu pond and Medi Cheruvu Tank nearby. The State Government is supporting the Jatara with a financial aid for the past half decade.

The aboriginal tribals had darshan of the deity as they waited for serpentine queue lines since early morning. Artistes of this community presented traditional dance forms Thappetagullu and Pillanagovi, and many other art forms. They also showcased oral art forms on Saturday, enthralling audiences.

On the second day night, the elders of Rodda clan and priests revered Maisamma by performing Pedda Puja, the main event of the affair. They purified the deity and performed traditional rituals at the idol of the deity situated atop of the hillock. They drew Patnam, a unique drawing pattern to appease the Goddess.

The tribals camped under the trees and woods. They dined and celebrated along with family members and friends. They swarmed an ancient picturesque tank near the fort for taking photos. They gathered herbal plants found on the top of the hillock and at foothills for curing certain diseases. They arrived at the holy place, using different means of transit including trolleys, lorries, vans, auto-rickshaws and two-wheelers.

Devotees playing ‘kolatam’ during the cultural programmes at Gandhari Maisamma Jatara on the outskirts of Bokkalagutta village on Sunday.

The Forgotten City
Remnants of a series of steps, ponds, potsherds, etc. lie inside the Pattanam. Almost opposite to the Pattanam one has to climb a rock cliff to see rock cut wells (3) called Savatula Baavulu. Their finest finishing leaves us with wondered face. There we find Padmanayaka traditional sculptures
of Ganapati, Shivalinga, etc. which are in mutilated state now.

If we cross the Pattanam and move further we come across a deep rock cut well with steps and arrangements showing that once the Enugula Baavi (Elephant Well) served the purpose of drinking water for the people living inside the fort, with the help of Elephant-drawn-Mota (huge water lifting container). Or, the well might have been segregated for elephants. A stream coming from higher altitudes stores water in this pond-size well and flows across it running through a gorge between two hillocks.

In about a furlong distance from Enugula Baavi we find a series of caves in a hillock towards our left side. One cave by name Gonthemma Pokkalu has two sections with pre-historic petroglyphs belonging to Mesolithic and Megalithic ages. The petroglyph motifs contain hundreds of pairs of feet, bullocks, horses, nets, oblong map (Patnam in the words of Naikpods), etc.

Temples
There are two rock-cut cells / temples which must have served as shelters to Buddhist Chaityas earlier. However, Bhairava sculpture was subsequently hewn beside the cells during the reign of Padmanayakas.

Almost opposite to these cells there was another huge cell hewn into hard rock and a line drawing was chiseled probably to depict Buddha. On 3.3.2005 a news appeared that some thieves unearthed a panchaloha idol of Buddha here and were arrested. It signifies the presence of Buddhism here.

After crossing the stream we come across a series of 3 rock-cut entrances flanked by sculptures of Bhairava and Hanuman which stand as testimony to the traditional practice of Padmanayaka rulers during 14 th and 15 th centuries. The first entrance has an awful sculpture of Mondi Bhairava. En-route to other entrances one will come across an elephant sculpture with a man hanging in its trunk. The
fourth and main entrance is the most wonderful gate cut into a connecting hillock.

Its left door jamb has a sculpture called Maisamma by the devotees. Naikpod tribals worship this deity as the chief goddess and conduct traditional pujas in front of the deity by temporarily drawing her figure in rangoli colours.

Then, one has to move up left to climb a series of rock cut steps to reach its pinnacle called Nagaara Gundu – stone of drum – wherefrom, it is said, royal attendants used to beat huge royal drums to keep people alert of hours and threats of outside foes during medieval times.
The Deities

The straightway from the Maisamma Darwaja will lead us to, to our left, a series of rock cut caves wherein seers are said to have observed penance once upon a time.

The caves are followed by two structural temples that appear to have been built during 12 th to 14 th century. The carvings of the temples are attractive enough to draw the attention of the enthusiasts.

These temples are followed by the chief temple of the fort – Naga Sheshuni Gudi. Its door jambs have been decorated with Dwarapalas and Jaalis in the Antarala in an appreciable style. The 7 hooded Naga sculpture is sculpted as holding Shivalinga in its folds. The huge sculpture is one of the finest sculptures of Telangana. The temple is pinnacled by a superstructure, the shikhara.

History

As part of visiting the Jatara the visitors get amused to see the wonderful architecture of the rock fort called Gandhari Khilla. 

The history of the Khilla is shrouded in many mythical accounts. The post Satavahana kings – Kandaras –ruled from Kandarapura. Even the Pallava king Anandavarma is said to have ruled from the same Kandarapura. K. Gopalachari, a well known historian, wrote that even the celebrated kings Kakatiyas migrated from Kandarapura. The post Kakatiya feudatories of Padmanayaka kings undertook several constructions in the fort which can be seen till date. However, the Naikpods believe that Gandhari is Peddamma to their Lord Bheemanna, the second of Pandava brothers. They worship the goddess Peddamma.

The Gandhari Fort is believed to have been built by Tribal kings who ruled over this region with the assistance of Kakatiya rulers in c.1200 AD. It houses the ancient temple of Maisamma. Similarly, it has idols of Kala Bhairava Swamy, Lord Siva, Lord Ganesh and Hanuman, idols carved out on rocks and an eight-foot 10-headed Naga Seshu idol carved on a single rock. The fort, which has Gandhari Maisamma temple, was built within a dense forest, which has a rich flora and fauna including many medicinal herbs.

The name of the tank Medi cheruvu and several inscriptions of 12 th century A.D. found in north Telangana prompt historians to say that the Medi Cheruvu and the nearby village Medaram were constructed by Medaraja, a local king, in his name. An archaeological wonder here is the rock cut canal. It runs for a furlong distance from Medi Cheruvu to Jeedikota valley. There is a heap of iron slag, wastage of iron industry, with the help of which the rock fort, cave temples, sculptures and canals were created here.

An inscription from 1403 AD carved on a huge rock in the precincts of Gandhari Fort in Mancherial district deciphered by a Hyderabad-based-historian has unlocked decades long mystery as to who was ruler from the only rock-cut fort in Telangana. It also shows how some traditions continue for centuries and has unveiled how Vaishnavism was propagated in this area once, which is now famous for the Gandhari maisamma jatara. The photograph of the inscription was clicked by state department of Archaeology two decades ago but was not deciphered until now.

1403 AD : Peddiraju Anantaraju, who was a vassal during reign of king Anapota-II 

A Telugu inscription of 1403 A.D. is engraved on its right side. Its decipherment reveals that one feudatory (of Padmanayaka Kings) Sri Peddiraju Ananataraju presented the sculpture of Hanumanta along with Thirunamas to Lord Raghunayakulu. 

As far as the memory of the locality is concerned the local Naikpod tribals have been holding their traditional worships here periodically. Several of the Naikpods living in this locality bear the surname Peddi(raju) and Sri Peddulu is still the chief priest of the Gandhari Jatara. These inferences lead us to surmise that the local Nakpod tribals must be the descendants of the chieftain Peddiraju who
might have also constructed the temple of Raghunayakulu, opposite to the sculpture of Lord Hanuman and the epigraph.

Ranam Kudupu

During the Gandhari maisamma jatara tradition, known as “ranam kudupu” is still followed which dates back to the rule of Anapota-II. The tradition was a religious ritual practiced during a battle which included conducting sacrifice of animals, which is conducted even now in the jatara.

1824 AD - 1897 AD : Sardeshmukhs of Mutyampalli

1824 A.D. copper plate inscription reveals that Sardeshmukhs of Mutyampalli issued the Sannad to Sri Kova Baburao and Sri Kova Somuju conferring the post of Mokasi to collect taxes from the Gonds of Gandharla taluq and pay to the Sardeshmukhs.

The contents of the inscription revealed that it was originally issued by Venkata Mutyam Rao, Venkata Jagannatha Rao and Venkata Rama Rao (Sardeshmukhs of Mutyampalli) to Kova Baburao and Kova Somuju (ancestors of Kova Babu Rao and Kova Doulath Rao) in 1824 to collect taxes from the Gonds of Gandhari Taluq. But, the recipients were said to have lost the inscription. Upon their request, they were reissued it in 1871. It was revaluated again in 1897 in Urdu language.

https://telanganatoday.com/gandhari-a-unique-rockfort-of-telangana

Dr. Dyavanapalli Satyanarayana
https://www.thehansindia.com/hans/education-careers/focusing-on-innovation-in-healthcare-868895?infinitescroll=1
https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hans/2017-02-10/Gandhari-Maisamma-Jatara-from-today/279664#google_vignette
https://telanganatoday.com/gandhari-maisamma-jatara-ends-on-a-colorful-note-in-mancherial

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Cheriyal Rural Tourism

Cheriyal (or Cherial) is a town and a municipality in Siddipet district in the state of Telangana in India  an hour’s drive from Hyderabad and about 85 kms from Warangal city is known for its unique scroll paintings and masks created by artists called Nakashis. This art form is unique to the state of Telangana. 

The name that the art form is known by today, i.e., Cheriyal, is derived from the town it is currently practised in.The practice of the art form is much more limited than it was previously. Initially, these paintings were known as nakash or naqash, which translates to a drawing or a sketch.

Art and tourism often go hand in hand, with art being a popular tourist attraction. The people involved in the creation of these traditional nakash or Cheriyal paintings, are a community known as the Nakashis. Other than this community, there is another important group of individuals associated with this tradition. It is important to note that the actual purpose of these scrolls was to serve as visual aids when a storyteller narrated a particular folklore or mythological story in the form of a song. This community of balladeers is referred to as kaki padagollu. They travel from village to village narrating these stories.

Cheriyal paintings are long narrative scroll paintings that serve as visual aids to a musical storytelling tradition. A conventional Cheriyal scroll is vertical and is divided into different frames, with each frame depicting a scene from the tale that is being presented. Since these scrolls are meant to be rolled when not in use, they are made with fabric. Traditionally, a khadi cloth is used as the base for these paintings.

The paintings, made on khadi cloth treated with tamarind seeds paste, chalk powder, gum and starch, are mostly based only on epic themes (of Ramayana, Mahabharata, Sri Krishna Bhagavatam, Shiva Puranam etc), village life or festivals.

Like all traditional folk art forms, Cheriyal paintings too use only naturally sourced colours. Most of the pigments used in these paintings are mineral based, i.e., they are obtained from coloured stones. These stones are crushed into a fine powder and mixed with a natural binder and water. The natural binder used is gum arabic, locally called tirumani gond. This mixture is prepared with extreme attentiveness to make paint that is of the right saturation and has the ability to stick to the cloth base.

Paintbrushes are the only tools which are used by Cheriyal artists to draw, paint, and add details to their artworks. Traditionally, these paintbrushes were made using squirrel hair because of how fine the artists could paint with them. However, today this practice has been replaced by market-available synthetic brushes.

The main narrative involves scenes from the common rural life such as women performing kitchen chores, men working in fields or experiencing merry, festival settings, etc. The costumes and settings reflect the culture of Telangana. It offers a glimpse into the rich heritage of Telangana and India through art tourism. The colors and details depict mythological stories and daily life events.

Education

In Badampet village of Telangana’s Sangareddy district, NGO Kudali Centre uses a 3ft by 10ft scroll painting in vivid colours to educate farmers about the perils of mono-cropping. Moving away from organic cultivation of food crops to just cotton, the farmers have seen chemical pesticide costs rising through the roof every year. Farmer suicides are common in the area. Kudali uses a Cheriyal (or Cherial) painting made by national award winner artist D Vaikuntam Nakash to educate the illiterate farmers regarding organic farming.

In another part of the state, a microfinance company has put up six Cheriyal scroll paintings in its office to explain loan, digital marketing and other concepts to semi-literate people wanting to better understand microcredit and its uses.

Cheriyal Painting is widely popular due to the unique rural element which renders an aura of exclusivity and charm for the art items. It represents the pride of Telangana, especially the region’s tryst with such rare and unique art forms. 

For Cheriyal paintings, the background colour is mostly red though green or white may be used some times. The colours are derived from natural sources like white from seashells and black from soot. The most used colours are golden yellow, brown, white, green, orange, black and blue.

Vinay says it takes a month to finish a 3ft by 5ft scroll painting where the whole family is involved in painting. It sells for about Rs35,000 while bigger pieces can take about 6 months for completion.

Some Nakashi artisans have started relocating to Hyderabad in search of a better market. The demand is higher in bigger cities of Chennai, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The artisans also have tie-ups with e-tailers like Amazon besides local websites -- Craftiee, Tvami and Kala Chaupaal Trust, which directly purchase products from them.

The artists also participate in exhibitions and sell their products through various handicraft shops in government museums. “During the pandemic the handicraft stores were not functioning, we received most of our orders through social media. On an average, we got ten orders per month which generated around Rs8000,” says Sai Kiran.

The state government has supported these artists by issuing IDs to acknowledged artisans, giving them employment, buying their handicrafts, and offering them projects.

Geographical Indication (GI) tag

Cheriyal scroll painting also received Intellectual Property Rights Protection, commonly called the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in the year 2008. It is a matter of academic interest for painters all over India and the world, who study the art work with attention to detail and efforts are on to preserve this rich tradition for posterity by actively promoting the tradition of Cheriyal Painting.

A slice of Cheriyal is in Rashtrapati Nilayam,” says artist Dhanalakota Saikiran as he walks us through the 163-foot kitchen tunnel at Rashatrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad. Ever since the President’s official winter retreat was thrown open to the public after a makeover, people have been making a beeline to peek into the estate that serves as the Southern sojourn. A covered corridor connecting the kitchen and dining hall, is now resplendent with murals, masks, and animal heads in the Telangana folk art form of Cheriyal.

With changing times, the popularity of Cheriyal scrolls and the accompanying musical narrative tradition faced a decline. To sustain themselves, these artists have adapted themselves to the changing needs and tastes. Today, the size of these scrolls has been minimised and the number of frames per painting has been decreased too. This is because these paintings are now used more as decorative pieces in households, rather than as storytelling aids.

Cheriyal masks are made of sawdust and fine powder of tamarind seeds. Ganesh, another Cheriyal artist, says it takes six days to prepare these masks which travel hundreds of miles to beautify the corridors of huge mansions. His wife is also actively involved in the craft much like other women of the Nakashi community.

Creating these masks requires patience and attention to detail. Various clay or cement molds are prepared in advance to hasten the molding process.

A fine powder of tamarind seeds, river shells, or coconut shells is boiled in hot water. After an hour, the mixture is collected in a dish, mixed with sawdust, and neatly kneaded into dough.

This dough is then spread evenly onto the desired mold before other facial features are added to the light brown base structure. Sculpting the nose, eyes, and lips requires close attention.

The structure is dried until it becomes rock hard. Upon drying the base structure is smoothened using sandpaper and a thin cotton fabric is spread out on the entire surface of the mask.

A fine paste of rice starch, white clay, and tree lack is evenly applied over the cotton fabric. The paste leaves the surface bright white on drying thereby readying it for color application.

Bright colors like red, yellow, green, blue, white, are used for the base coat. Further detailing of eyes, lips, and ornaments are done using a brush made from squirrel hair. Lastly, varnish is applied to enhance durability.

The seven Nakashi families of Cheriyal create around 250 masks a month.

The process is quicker during summers while it takes these longer to dry during winter and monsoons. If not dried properly fungus can surface due to the presence of tamarind paste.

"We have 20-25 different molds which are used to make faces of mythological characters like kings, queens, village women, Ardhnareshwara, Ganesha, Rama, Sita, Hanuman," says Ganesh.

Among these, the masks for Rama, Sita, and Hanuman are high in demand and cost Rs500. The masks are about 3 inches to 12 inches long. 

The smaller masks cost around Rs300 while the bigger ones range between Rs2000 and Rs3000. The price can even go up to Rs6000, depending on the complexity of the piece.

Ganesh and others have also collaborated with government training centers, imparting the knowledge of mask-making to the younger generation. He has been actively training young students for two years with the help of the state government in an attempt to promote this art form.

Cheriyal masks were used by villagers of the region during festivals to honor the local Goddesses. Dancers wore these masks as a mark of respect for the deities. Gradually, they became popular and people started using them for home decor.

"Cheriyal masks have a national as well as an international appeal but there are only a handful of people who have mastered this art. It will empower women, and they can easily make around Rs20,000 by making the masks from the comfort of their homes," says Ganesh. He gives a daily wage of Rs300 to workers who work at his workshop.

The stories of ancestors beyond what granny knew or could remember, stories of heroes that made them proud, stories that they would sleep with and dream about. Today, the Kunapulis were coming to perform Markandeya Puranam for the Padmasalis and the show will go on anywhere from 3 nights to 20 nights. Later, the Dakkalis will come to perform Jamba Puranam for the Madigas and this cycle of performances will continue till genealogies of 7 local castes (the barber, toddy tapper, washerman, fisherman, leather worker, weaver and farmer) have been recited by bards from their sub-caste.

A non-descript village like any other in rural India and crowded with houses that has pretty wooden doors, Cheriyal is easy to find but not the Nakaashs. It took a lot of asking around and negotiating through narrow streets where one led to the other like a never ending maze to finally reach the humble house of an artist. Once inside his living room cum showroom cum godown, Mallesham carefully unwrapped the colourful frames of Cheriyal paintings depicting both the deities and the everyday life of people in the region.

Environmentally Friendly 

The stunning attraction of Cheriyal scrolls is due to their wholly environmentally friendly and sustainable components. The narrative is typically depicted in a sequence of horizontal panels. The flower border in the middle and resembles modern comic strips divide them. The scrolls are typically created in a vertical arrangement. The scrolls were frequently shown by hanging them from a tree and revealing them panel by panel as the events were narrated. Such type was most common during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The process of creating ancient Cheriyal paintings was entirely natural in antiquity. Everything from the brush to the canvas or linen to the paints was manufactured from natural materials. The distinctive Cheriyal masks are fashioned from tamarind and sawdust, which are then dried into clay. Without using any moulds, craftsmen meticulously hand-cast the features, such as eyes, lips, and nose.

The processes still remain the same wherein the canvas is prepared after coating and drying a handwoven cloth (mostly khadi cotton) with boiled rice starch, white clay, gum and boiled tamarind seed paste in layers. Every coating is allowed to dry thoroughly before the next is applied. When the canvas is dry and hard, an outline of the painting is made using indigo on an essentially red background and later colours are filled in. The colours used are natural derived mostly from seeds, flowers and stones like black from lamp soot mixed with gum from the thirumany tree, white from sea shells, red from tamarind seeds, brown from geru. The frame is marked by a floral border indicating the end of a scene on a scroll. Now, it is merely ornamentation as the scrolls have miniaturized into frames meant for hanging on a wall. Yet the scenes retain a strong local flavor as it follows the tradition of oral story telling.

History

The origin of Cheriyal Paintings can be traced back to 5,000 years. This style of artwork uses these paintings as a visual aid to recite tales from 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharata'. Also Read - Drivers of all VIP vehicles must undergo driving tests, says Ponnam Employing traditional techniques, Cheriyal paintings are created on cloth that might run to metres in length. In the present day, Cheriyal paintings are done in a variety of goods such as masks, marriage gifts, jewellery boxes, brass paintings and greeting cards. 

The story tellers would go to the ‘Nakaashs’ and recite their story that would be painted scene by scene, character by character onto a scroll. 

Employing traditional techniques, Cheriyal paintings are created on cloth that might run to metres in length. In the present day, Cheriyal paintings are done in a variety of goods such as masks, marriage gifts, jewellery boxes, brass paintings and greeting cards.

The traditions surrounding Cheriyal scroll paintings have contributed massively to our cultural memory. Hence, it is an art form that has garnered much fame, and rightfully so. People have been making these paintings for a very long time, creating both art and tourism. 

Some think they began in the 5th century. The earliest reference to this tradition dates back to the 12th century; the Kakatiya times where Ekamranatha in his literary text Pratapa Charitram indicates the presence of 1500 painter families living in and around Warangal. 

Even today the Nakaashs live in Cheriyal, a small village with winding alleys about 85 kms from Warangal city.

https://medium.com/@rooftopapp/10-aspects-of-cheriyal-paintings-39bf5f73a400

https://30stades.com/2021/02/15/cheriyal-telanganas-centuries-old-scroll-painting-masks-art-continue-to-educate-entertain/

https://blogvirasatehind.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/travel-shot-cheriyal-art-of-telangana/

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Telangana Tourism

Tourism in Telangana has very rich potential with its ancient history, art and culture, evidence of human habitation dating back to the Neolithic era. 

Telangana’s rich cultural heritage, history and topography have endowed the state with a variety of tourist destinations, from waterfalls and hills to temples and forts. With affordable travel and stay, a unique albeit delicious blend of South-indian and Nizami cuisines, amusement and adventure parks, hospitality, lakes, historical attractions and medical tourism, Telangana has a little something for every visitor.

The State also won four National Tourism Awards in the four categories of Best State (Comprehensive Development of Tourism), Best Golf Course (Hyderabad Gold Club), Best Railway Station (Secunderabad Railway Station) and Best Medical Tourism Facility (Apollo Hospitals) in 2022.

Heritage Tourism

From its ancient archaeological sites to its magnificent monuments, Telangana offers a fascinating journey through time.Telangana is home to numerous archaeological sites that provide a glimpse into its ancient past.

UNESCO world heritage site

The Rudreshwara temple also popularly known as the Ramappa temple (built during the Kakatiya period) situated in the Mulugu district of the state was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in June 2021. 

Telangana's First World Heritage Site: Ramappa Temple

Rural Tourism

Telangana has a tremendous potential for Rural Tourism and is a fascinating canvas of myriad colours, cultures and customs. Handicrafts represent perhaps the oldest traditions of living culture and Telangana has some of the richest sources of handicrafts. The rural handicrafts provide a valuable contribution to Telangana’s tourism product. 

Rural Tourism projects identified in Telangana, by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India are Pochampally Rural Tourism Project, Nalgonda District, Nirmal Rural Tourism project, Adilabad, Cheriyal Rural Tourism Project, Warangal and Pembarthi Rural Tourism Project Warangal.

Best world tourism villages by UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) 

 Pochampally, a village located in the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, best known for its beautifully woven ‘Ikat’ sarees was awarded as ‘one of the best world tourism villages’ by the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) in November 2021. 

National Best Rural Tourism Centres for 2023

Pemberthi, located in Jangaon district, is renowned for its exquisite handicrafts.

Chandlapur, situated in Siddipet district, is celebrated for producing prestigious Gollabhama sarees and its scenic charm, nestled amidst the Ranganayaka hills.

Adventure Tourism has lot of potential in Telangana, with many waterfalls and forest area with Rock Climbing, Camping and Trekking.

Rock climbing in Bhongir is quite popular near to hyderabad.

Cultural Tourism

The state is known for its vibrant cultural traditions, celebrated through music, dance, and festivals. Explore the folk dances of Telangana, such as Perini Sivatandavam, Bathukamma, and Lambadi, which reflect the essence of the region. Immerse yourself in the melodious strains of Telangana’s folk music, with its unique instruments and soul-stirring lyrics.

Telangana’s Living Traditions: While exploring Telangana’s heritage, encounter its living traditions that have stood the test of time. Witness the age-old craft of Bidriware, known for its intricate silver inlay work on metalware. Explore the handloom clusters of Pochampally and Gadwal, where master weavers create exquisite silk and cotton sarees. Engage with the skilled artisans who continue to preserve and promote these traditional crafts.

Ecotourism in Telangana is increasing with its green zone and hilly areas with very old hills and caves. Hiking, birdwatching, wildlife viewing, Water adventures, caves and climbing are some of the activities.

Religious Tourism in Telangana with its diverse culture has something for everyone, with its very old Hindu Temples, Jain Temples, Buddhist Temples, Gurudwaras, Churches and Mosques 

 

Shopping Tourism in Telangana has not been tapped much, has very old artisans making things generation after generation. We need to market the goods. 

Culinary Tourism 

Telangana is popularly known for its variety of food. Increase in the number of food bloggers is definitely indicative of the diversity of cuisine available in the state. The state offers different kinds of street food experiences, delicacies from different districts of the state and not to mention the ‘biryani capital’ of the country, Hyderabad.

Hyderabad, known for its Biryani and its incredible range of food was designated by UNESCO as a ‘creative city of gastronomy’ in 2019. Hyderabad’s Haleem first received the Geographical Indicator (G.I) tag in 2010 which made Haleem, the first meat based dish from India to win the honour. The tag was renewed again in 2022. Haleem also won the ‘most popular G.I food’ beating out 17 other dishes in the country. These accolades are testament to the rich culinary experience the state has to offer. Other than these, Telangana has an abundant variety of foods for foodies of different kinds.

Medical Tourism

Hyderabad, the country’s healthcare capital. Hyderabad is one of the most imporatnt places for medical treatment & patients not only from India but from abroad also visit Hyderabad for treatment.

Best Medical Tourism Facility (Apollo Hospitals) in 2022.

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Dandari-Ghusadi Festival

The Dandari-Ghusadi or Gussadi festival of Telangana is celebrated by the tribal communities of the Raj Gond and Kolam tribes. The Dandari-Ghusadi season is all about a robust dance festival that is celebrated for about 10 days during Deepavli.  The festival ends on Diwali day with the Ghusadi tado taking off their attire ritualistically.

The celebrations usually begin with the tribals visiting the Padmalpuri Khako shrine at Gudirevu village of Dandepalli mandal in Mancherial district, on the banks of the Godavari river. On the occasion, the Adivasis present offerings to the river. They also end the festival at the Padmalpuri Khako as the shrine is of great importance for the people belonging to ethnic groups

It starts on the day we see a crescent moon and end on the dark moon day. We start the festival by performing the Sakshe Akadi and end it on the Devadi day. Once the Sakshe Akadi is performed, the tribals would attain the festive spirits and the entire week would witness the fervour of the fest.

The tribals’ love for music also becomes so evident during the festival time that one, if they visit to one of these villages, can find several instruments — like thudum, pepera, kalikom, dappu, ghumela, dhol, vetti and karra — that are not easily findable in our markets.

During the festive season, the Dandari and Gussadi dance troupes tour the tribal villages, stay there overnight, and perform traditional rituals. 

Adivasis celebrate Gussadi-Dandari dance festival with drums and rituals. They worship Yethmasarpe or god of soul. 

During the 10 days preceding Diwali, every Adivasi village across the four northern most districts of Telangana gets transformed into a festive arena where the Raj Gond and Kolam aboriginal tribes celebrate the exuberant Dandari-Ghusadi dance festival.  

The Dandari-Ghusadi dance festival, is an opportunity for the eligible bachelors to find their life partners and some 100 marriages are finalised in this manner in the Agency villages of Adilabad, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial and Nirmal districts, which were part of the undivided Adilabad.

The ethnic dance is an exhilarating visual display of tribal culture through which these ethnic tribes also look to foster marital alliances; it also provides a platform to promote awareness on key contemporary issues faced by the Adivasis.

The first day, we reached the village of Mallapur, where the Bhogi pooja was scheduled to start in the morning. As soon as we reached, the masks, dance sticks, peacock crowns and musical instruments, collectively known as Dandari-pen (pen meaning God in Gondi), were brought in front of the village head’s home and ceremoniously worshiped. After the rituals were complete all the men of the village came together to offer prayers and seek blessings.

Soon after, the women too gathered around the Dandari-pen and performed rituals of lighting lamps, incense sticks and breaking coconuts.

The Ghusadi-thado or Ghusarks, are a personification of the God of Creation and, as per Raj Gond mythology, are said to protect the marriage procession of Yetma, the daughter of the God of Creation. When she marries a Raj Gond, the procession travels through dense forests and hence the Ghusarks accompany her. The Dandar-Ghusadi is a re-enactment of this marriage procession in every Raj Gond/Kolam village in Northern Telangana.

Pittabongaram is another village a little over 5 km away from Mallapur. We were told that the Dandari-Ghusadi troupe from a village called Kannapur were visiting, and were guided to the scene of action. In front of the Dandari-pen, about 8 Ghusadi-thados were having their meal from the same plate. As soon as they were done, the hosts offered prayers to the Dandari-pen, and a Ghusarks donned their peacock crowns. A bugle made of the horns of an Indian bison was sounded, indicating start of the proceedings.

Ghusadi Dance

As the resounding beats of traditional percussion instruments coupled with tunes flowing out of the pepre (a smaller shehnai like wind instrument) waft around, the Ghusarks enter the arena in a line taking simple steps. With live music playing at a fairly even tempo, the dance sequences were characterised by simple repetitive steps with equally simple formations. And an energy had pervaded around leaving the entire audience eagerly waiting the next routine.

Needless to say, the performance was extremely engrossing, with the gentle swaying of the peacock crowns following the footsteps of the dancers, as well as the shadows they made on the ground beneath, all adding up to the audio-visual spectacle.

Later that evening, we revisited Mallapur, where the Ghusadi–thados were getting ready with help from para-poriks. Para-poriks are young adolescent boys who are also part of Dandari-Ghusadi troupe, but dressed in women’s clothing, as they are said to represent Yetma. Madavi Babu Rao, a Ghusark , was busy getting into his elaborate costume. His legs, hands and torso are smeared with ash and designs are also made. At times, Ghusarks also wear false moustaches and beards, but Babu Rao wasn’t going to sport them. Large strings of beads are placed around his neck and bells are tied around his waist as well as feet.

In addition to hundreds of peacock feathers, his extraordinary headgear also had a pair of ram horns, a small mirror and was decorated with colourful shiny flecks all around.

Throwing light on his role during the Dandari-Ghusadi festival, his mother explains, “This ritual is like a deeksha. He leaves home today and will probably return only after five days (at least). He will travel to the designated villages and during this period he must sit or sleep only on the deer-skin and will not even take a bath.”

“The Ghusarks are an embodiment of God and because God is pure and omnipotent, what is the need for a bath” Pusam Anand Rao, an elder reasons out why Ghusarks are not expected to sleep or wash themselves.

The entire village assembled around Durva Shambhu Patel’s home as they reverently wished the Ghusarks and the Dandari troupe the best for their onward journey. As the mood of celebration spread around, a few dances were performed first by the Ghusarks, and later by the women of the village.

The next morning, we headed to Pittabongaram once again, this time the arena shifted as another Ghusadi troupe from the village of Marutiguda was visiting.

The dance moves of the Ghusarks are but an imitation of the movement of the wild animals and cattle, more specifically the deer, peacock, rabbit, nilgai and bison. Having dwelt in the forests and sharing the habitat with wild life as well as domestic animals, these have also become an integral part of their rituals.

After the Ghusadi dance, the stage was cleared, and Mesram Raju and a group walked in to perform a skit. It revolved around a conversation between an elderly Adivasi couple and some officials from the revenue department, peppered with doses of humour that had the audience in splits.

The play was about the impact of the Purification of Land Records, an ongoing programme undertaken by the Telangana government for making necessary correction in records pertaining to agricultural lands. The performers tried to drive home the point that the correction of the land records will reveal the Adivasis as the true owners of the lands which had been encroached upon by non-tribals.

“We hope to get justice through the land record purification. The exercise should reveal the extent to which the lands of our gullible ethnic people is under encroachment,” Raju sounded optimistic. 

Dandari Dance

It was now the turn of Dandaris to take centre stage, as they stand in a large circle with sticks in their hand. The lilting music is dotted intermittently with the dancers tapping each other’s sticks.

The Ghusarks make an inner circle while the Dandaris dance in the outer periphery. When a routine is soon to change, the leader hums “Cha-choi Cha-choi” and the rest of dancers respond by humming “chaah-ve”, in acknowledgement.

It is noteworthy that both the Dandari-Ghusadi troupes (host and visiting) dance together effortlessly as if they had rehearsed sufficiently. No dancer in either troupe misses a step or a beat nor does he move out of a formation.

The Dandari dance offers the eligible bachelors of the visiting troupe an opportunity to impress and draw the attention of the parents of unmarried girls with their dancing skills. A girl watching the courtship dance, which runs for a night and a day, can inform their parents if a boy catches her fancy. After the conclusion of the festival, the families of the girls and boys follow up on the nuptials mutually.

For about ten days before Diwali, the Dandari-Ghusadi troupes in every tribal village make it a point visit as well as host troupes from other villages. The villages they visit are where their sisters or daughters have been given in marriage. All these visits are decided before hand and the troupes from other villages are welcome with great fanfare. The Dandari-Ghusadi festival is a fine example of how the tribal men keep in touch with the women from their family even after she leaves after marriage. These rituals of the forest dwellers help them stay interconnected and also underscores the importance they attached to fostering marital ties and maintaining kinship.

https://floatstheboat.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/dandari-ghusadi-the-dance-of-the-tribals-from-telangana/

Raj Gonds – Reflections in a Peacock Crown

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Bonalu

Bonalu is a folk festival for Mother Goddess, which is very famous and people love to celebrate this festival during rainy season month of Ashada around July/August and goes on usually for twenty-two days. A minimum of twenty days is conceptually required to fulfil the promises given to mother goddess by carrying out pooja on the very first day and last day.

Bonalu derived from Bhojanalu meaning food, which is offered to mother goddess. Bonalu involves the worship of Mother Goddess in regional forms like Gangalamma, Ellamma/Yellamma, Mutyalamma, Mallanna, Maisamma, Peddhamma, Dokkalamma, Ankalamma, Poleramma, Maremma, Nookalamma and Samakka and Pochamma.

Women carrying Bonalu are believed to possess the spirit of Mother Goddess, and when they go towards the temple, people pour water on their feet to pacify the spirit, who is believed to be aggressive. Every group of devotees offer a Thottelu (a small colorful, paper structure supported by sticks), as a mark of respect to the goddess.

According to mythology, Potharaju the brother of the Mother Goddess. His role is played in the procession by a well-built, bare-bodied man, wearing a small tightly draped red dhoti, bells on his ankles, and anointed with turmeric on his body and vermilion on his forehead. He dances to resounding drums in the procession. Potharaju always dances in front of the Palaharam Bandi, i.e., the procession. He is considered the initiator of the festivities and the protector of the community. He leads the female dancers who are under the spell of the Mother Goddess (known as shigam) to the temple, with lashing whips and emerald neem leaves (margosa) tied around their waists, accompanied by trumpets and drums.

A non-vegetarian family feast follows after the great offering. The meat used to prepare the meal is the meat of a goat or a rooster, that has been ceremonially slaughtered, and later partaken as a meal. Peasants take whatever food they can as a display of affection to the earth goddess and eat it later. Toddy (palm wine) workers also offer toddy which they tap for their livelihood. There is no special scriptural mandate on what has to be offered. As per tradition, offerings are made to the goddess which consists of toddy, along with fowls, sheep and goat. Animals killed for community meals are not considered sacrifices.

Rangam (or Performing the Oracle), is held the next morning of the festival. A woman standing atop of an earthen pot invokes Goddess Mahakali onto her and performs the custom. She foretells the year ahead for the devotees asking about the future. This takes place before the procession is started

The prominent temples in the Secunderabad "Lashkar Bonalu" include Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthanam, Sri Gandimaissamma Temple, Sri Devi Pochamma Temple, Sri Muthyalamma Temple, Sri Peddamma Temple, Sri Dokkalamma Temple, Sri Muthyalamma Temple, and Sri Peenugula Mallanna Temple, among others. Out of these temples, Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple, and Sri Devi Pochamma Temple are government temples, government officials and legislators also visit and take part in the festivities.

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Kinnera

Kinnera is a two-stringed instrument made using indigenous materials like bamboo, dried outer shell of round bottle gourd, honeycomb, bull horn, beads, mirrors and peacock feathers.

Scholar and poet Jayadhir Thirumala Rao says that the origins of the kinnera can be traced back to “around the 4th century AD, in and around the Deccan plateau”. “The Chenchu tribe [also known as Chenchus or Chenchulu], who were part of the Nallamalla forest, used to play the instrument while singing and narrating ballads or stories of heroes,” said Rao. “The Dakkali tribe of Mahbubnagar district in Telangana [in the area near the Nallamalla forest] was performing it at least from the 12th century. The Dakkalis are a sub-caste of the Madiga caste, once considered outcastes.”

The kinnera has several variations – it comes with seven, nine, 12 or 13 frets. The larger-sized ones have three resonators, while the smaller ones have only two. Much like the Saraswati veena, the instrument is made with organic materials. Its neck is crafted of bamboo, and the resonators from sun-dried and hollowed-out bottle gourds. Pangolin scales are used for the frets, and honey wax for binding. The strings were once fashioned out of women’s hair, horse-tail hair and even animal nerves, but have long been replaced with thin metallic strings.

The ballads accompanying the music are usually drawn from historical incidents, the lives of local heroes, and sometimes songs from the Jamba Puranam. The Jamba Puranam is one of around 40 Puranas in Telugu that differ from the Sanskrit Puranas, in that their content is specific to a local community. The ballads are often interspersed with simple and short, often dramatic, monologues. The tone of voice, facial expressions and body language change with the song’s mood.

Padma Shri Darshanam Mogilaiah (born in 1951) also known as Kinnera Mogulaiah, is an artist from Ausalikunta, Lingal mandal, Nagarkurnool district, Telangana State, India is one among a few surviving performers of a tribal musical instrument known by the name Kinnera. Mogulaiah learned the art of playing kinnera from his father Yellaiah.

He has had not much formal education and has had no steady job with an assured income. He has seen much hardships and his life had been very difficult eking out a living doing odd jobs like a daily wager in construction sites. He had worked as a laborer for 14 years in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal. He had also worked at a construction site in Mumbai.

Mogilaiah's forefathers were pioneers in making and playing kinneras having different numbers of stairs. His father had made a nine-stair kinnera. Mogilaiah was the first person to create a 12-stair kinnera and he is the only artist who makes and plays the 12-step kinnera. In the year 2022, Govt of India honoured him with the Padma Shri award for his contributions as a kinnera musician.

He received the state’s highest honours, the Ugadi Puraskaram, in 2015. There is even a chapter on him in a social studies school textbook. Another member of the Dakkali tribe, Pochayya, who hails from the Mahabubnagar district, was honoured by the University of Hyderabad in 2015.

But such honours and awards have failed to make a difference in the lives of these artists. Their performances are few and far between – at the occasional academic meet or art festivals – and remuneration has been dwindling. Most of them are forced to live off the doles from the Madigas.

Dakkali Balamma, the only woman perfomer of the kinnera, is 95 years old. The only proof of the umbilical connection between the Chenchu tribal. When Balamma was younger, the residents of her village said, she would ride around on a horse, much to the awe of her Dakkali tribe. Her voice, at the time, was more powerful, and her impressive performances with the kinnera in the district’s villages were rewarded with money, food and clothes by the Madigas, the patron class. Fortunes changed with time. By the time Balamma died in December 2018, she was penniless. The villagers had to pool in money for her last rites.

Balamma was among the dozen or so people in India still playing the instrument. The kinnera is a stringed instrument native to the nomadic tribes in the Deccan plateau, such as the Dakkali and the Chenchu. A kinnera performance involves vocals and music, and the ballads are sung primarily in rustic Telugu. But today, it is an all but forgotten practice.

Panduga Sayanna-The Robinhood of Telangana

Even after 125 years, when Dakkali Folk artists narrate the heroic tale of Pandugolla Sayanna still reverberates and echoes in the villages in Wanaparthy and one can visualize Sayanna before them when the Dakkali folk artist narrates the story using a Kinnara instrument.

Panduga Sayanna was a hero of the poor who fought against the feudal society and atrocious rule of the Deshmukhs, Patels and Zamindars, who fleeced the poor and tortured the Dalits and downtrodden classes during the period of Nizam rule between 1980 and 1900.

A few Scholars called Pandugolla Sayanna a Social Bandit. Others called him as Robinhood of Telangana. Few others went to the extent of calling him a Revolutionary Hero.

Common people opined that Pandugolla Sayanna was neither a thief nor a bandit. He was the “Hero” of the poor people. He was a brave and heroic man who saved and reinstated poor people’s health, wealth, and lives. They considered him as their own “blood relative”.

Pandugolla Sayanna was born in a Meruginipalle village in Palamoor (Mahaboobnagar). He was born into a “Tenuga” family. (Tenuga meaning person engaging in maintaining gardens, gardening work, and related works) on Muharram day. His parents could not afford to send him to school due to acute poverty. He was thus engaged in the family occupation.

As per the Dakhali folk artists' narration, it is believed that Sayanna was 6” feet and had a strong build physique. He had a long and sharp nose and a dark bushy mustache that he used to curl and extend to both ears. In due course, Sayanna built up relationships with Telugu Narasamma, a beautiful woman who became his companion too. She fell for his “Pedikadu nadumu” meaning, his waist measured one fist- to say, he had a slender waist and broad built-up shoulders measuring three fists. To say, Pandugolla Sayanna was well-built and handsome.

Just the mention of his name sent cold shivers to Nizam rulers and district officials. In order to capture Pandugolla Sayanna red handed “qufiya police” became shadow followers. Jamindar Venkata Reddy built up enmity with Pandugolla Sayanna and also intended to take revenge for his actions.

However, one fine day Pandugolla Sayanna was captured by Qufiya police with great difficulty with the support of landlords, and other wealthy people who intended Sayana’s captivity and remanded him in an Iron cage. Even after capturing and deploying him in an iron cage, police feared touching or going near Pandugolla Sayanna.

Rani Shankarama (1840-1912) of Vanaparthi Samasthana with soft corner was ready to pay a sum of Rs 10, 000/- (amount equivalent to the looted amount by Sayanna) to the police.

https://scroll.in/magazine/905049/fading-sounds-an-indian-musical-instrument-with-a-rich-history-is-on-the-cusp-of-extinction

https://sphoorthi-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/09/telangana-robin-hood-pandugolla-sayanna.html

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Runza or Runjha or Raunza or Runja

Runza  or Runjha or Raunza or Runja is a percussion musical instrument and a rare folk art from Telangana and it belongs to the Vishwakarma community, who take it as a sacred commitment. 

Avajamu, Dangaramu, Veeranamu are different synonyms for Ruza. A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument.

Runja is a two-faced drum of the medieval times. It had a uniformly cylindrical body, 13½ inches long. Each face had a diameter of 8 inches, fitted with rings over the edge.

Brass ia also used in the making of Runza. Its height is about 3 or 3 1/2 feet. The upper part is covered with goats skin, eleven holes are made above and below and eleven chord are tightly tied all over so as to make a sling (utter in Telugu). The Runzas bend the instrument slantwise, press it firmly with knee and by pulling the strings with their hands and using slender bamboo sticks, produce musical notes rapidly.

There is a legend about the origin of Runza. According to that, Vishwakamra was requested to provide the drums for the marriage of Parvathi and Parmeshwara. Then Viswakarma killed the giant called Rounjaka, made a Runza out of his skin and produced 32 kinds of melodious notes by playing on it. Vishwakaram Puranam explains that the marriage and Parameshwara was conducted with that Runza only.

Runza troupe usually consists of six members. Two members out of six, play on Thalas (cymbals) and the other two members play on Ruza, the remaining two members play on Sonnai or Kommuburas

Carrying an ancient art form in their hearts and minds are these professional story tellers of Telangana. With the help of scrolls or music instruments, these families narrate tailor-made stories from epics and mythological tales to particular Telugu communities. Faced with starvation and uncertainty amidst the pandemic, these nomadic groups now want to be the last generation to live off telling stories. The art will not be passed on to our children, they will not suffer like we did- they say.

Amar Runja, is one of the handful musicians in the country today who can play this ferocious sounding instrument. He narrates the story of the God, Vishwakarma, who is believed to be the creator of the universe.

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Saleshwaram jatara and waterfalls

Saleshwaram is located 25 km away from Farahabad gate in Amarabad Tiger Reserve in Nallamala Forest, Amarabad Mandal, Nagarkurnool district, Telangana State, India.

The annual Saleshwaram Jatara in the Nallamala forest area which comes under Amrabad Tiger Reserve is celebrated every year on Chiatra Pournami or the Full Moon Day in April and is open to visitors for only 5 days. 

On every Chaitra pouranmi i.e. the full moon day of March/April believed to attain the super natural powers and the wills of the devotees are fullfiled message spread throughout the State hence devotees come in large numbers chanting “Vastunna Lingamayya” .

“Saleshwaram Jathara” also known popularly as “Dakshina (Telangana) Amarnath Yathra”is being conducted every year for three days in the month of April, for the past 30 years. Nearly 5 lakh people from all over the country visit Saleshwaram during the Jathara every year. 

Saleshwaram waterfalls runs throughout the year from a height of 200ft and the source of water remains unknown. This waterfall reaches a Shivalinga revered as “Lingamayya” by the Chenchu tribes. The presence of a perennial waterfall here resembles a long serpent when splashing on the rocks adds to the beauty of this place. 

Breath-taking views of the layered rock formations, deep valleys with spectacular views only found in the most exotic locations of the world. Saleshwaram is located 16 km away from Farhabad forest checkpost and the temple comes under Appapur Gram Panchayat in Lingal mandal in Nagarkurnool district, Telangana, India.

The ancient Sri Ramalingeshwara Swamy temple of 6th century AD, located deep inside Nallamala forest, is about 1,000 feet deep inside a valley. The scene of the temple in moonlight is a treat to the eyes and a blessing to the soul. The temple lies next to a beautiful waterfall, coming down from a height of over 200 metres. The water flows through the temple and the devotees take a holy dip in it before taking a climb into the Garbhagudi. The linga is located in a cave which resides on a huge rock.

Reaching the temple involves a 16-km journey through the core area of the tiger reserve with another six kilometres of trek through the Nallamala hills.

The drive through the deep forest is sure to remain one of the best memories for visitors since they can see many wild animals like spotted deer, nilgai and wild boar.

The devotees have to walk at least three kilometers to reach the temple located down the valley. It is an arduous walk since there are sharp rocks all along the ground.

The devotees need to walk on narrow gorges of valley to reach down the deep valley where they can see waterfall falling from over 1,000 feet.

The devotes take a holy dip in the water and collect water in the bottles for those who could not make it as it is believed that it contains medicinal value.

Nature’s wonder which has been kept intact for thousands of years has once again started mesmerizing the devotees of Lord Shiva, who is devotedly called ‘Lingamaiah’ in this part of the world. The purest form of the nature located away from the mainstream society’s sight has opened its arms welcoming the devotees.

‘Sarveshwaram teertha kshetra,’ which later came to be known as ‘Saileshwaram’ and ‘Saleshwaram locally,’ which is a primitive religious site, located 30-40 kilo metre deep inside the Nallamala forests inside Amrabad Tiger Reserve where the rare Chenchu Adivasis have been living and serving Lord Shiva for ages.

As per local Chenchu mythology, ages ago, a Chenchu named Ravagadu had gone for hunting along with his wild dogs on the New Year’s Eve. When he couldn’t find water to drink anywhere, his dogs led him to a water body located near a cave, where water drops which looked like pearls were falling through the layers of rock formation. There, Bhole Baba had revealed himself to the Chenchu in bright gold and then vanished. That night, Lord Shiva appeared in his dream and asked him to erect a Shiva Linga and serve him.

The water which flows through layers of rock formed some thousands if not millions of years ago, carries with it all the medicinal values through the roots of nature, making it the purest form of water which has the ability to cure any disease. People have been visiting this nature’s wonder for ages and people believe that their sins can be washed-away here.

According to ‘Parvatha Purana,’ if a sinner enters this water body which is called ‘Shankhu Teertha,’ the water here becomes dirty but when a pure human enters, remains crystal clear. No wonder, while the water which comes from the top is crystal clear, once it touches the ground where devotees take bath, it changes colour due to plastic left over by pilgrims.
According to historic evidence, the Shiva Ling at Sarveshwaram had already become famous by 5th or 6th century. The layered rock formation in front of the sanctum sanctorum itself looks like a mammoth cave.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/devotees-make-a-beeline-to-saleshwaram-jatara/article8515715.ece

https://telanganatoday.com/deep-inside-the-nallamala-forests-saileshwaram-mesmerises-devotees

https://allevents.in/hyderabad/saleshwaram-trek-in-srisailam-forest-opened-only-once-a-year/80001403653972

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Devuni Gutta Temple

Devuni Gutta temple is located 2.5 km away from Kothur village, near Jangalapalli of Mulugu mandal in Mulugu district.

It is only when one chats up with the villagers of Kothur that the temple is mentioned. The journey to reach this temple is as interesting as the temple itself.

The temple is on a densely forested hill locally called ‘Devuni Gutta’. One has to walk from the village through a forest. About halfway up, the path becomes a water path — a stream or a rivulet that one can walk through. The watery path runs for a kilometre at least. Even as you enjoy the walk, you also get to see beautiful waterfalls at several places.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, one comes upon this absolutely stunning temple with carvings on all four walls sitting snug within a lush green environ. It looks like it is made of bricks but up close one can see that the blocks are a mixture of sand and stone. Lime mortar was used for plastering. The carvings were made on these square and rectangle shaped blocks. Sages, Buddhist monks, dancers, even some animals can be identified though on the sculpted stone, but a lot of has eroded over time. The sanctum sanctorum also has several such carvings. Historians estimate the age of the temple to be more than 2000 years.

Locals say there used to be a Shiv Linga inside the temple but it was stolen by treasure hunters about 50 years ago. Close to the temple is a pond. “The water in this pond seeps underground and flows down as a stream. This water is useful for us to irrigate our crops. What is not used flows into the Laknavaram Lake. Other-wise, if there’s no rain for 15 days, the pond dries up,” said a villager, Veeram-aneni Ravinder Rao.

If the district administration takes the required steps, this place could be another tourist spot for trekkers and adventurers, feel local tourists. But yes, a little more research would lead to more interesting details about the temple that would also enhance its touristy charm.

Dr Corinna Wessels-Mevissen, a senior art historian from Germany, who saw pictures of the temple, termed it as extremely interesting and said that it could turn out to be a discovery like no other.

"The style that may date to the late Gupta/post-Gupta periods is unknown to me. It may be linked to the early Odishan style of temple art or that of Rajim and Sirpur in Chhattisgarh. The presence of Amaravati-style spoils is of course interesting," she said.

Local historian Sriramoju Haragopal said the work on the temple suggests it could belong to the sixth or seventh century.
 

Source

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/310817/hidden-treasures-of-kothur-await-attention.html

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/040917/telangana-ancient-mulugu-temple-soon-to-become-tourist-attraction.html

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Durajpalli Peddagattu Jatara

Peddagattu Jatara also called as Gollagattu Jatara iis a is the festival done in the name of Lord Lingamanthulu Swamy and Goddess Choudamma every 2 years n Durajpalli, Chivemla Mandal, Suryapet District, Telangana, India.

It is celebrated prior to Maha Shivaratri in Magma masam the second biggest congregation of people after Medaram jatara in Jayashankar Bhupalpally. Atleast 25 lakh people are expected to take part in this event.

The presiding deities, Sri Lingamanthula Swamy, believed an in carnation of Lord Shiva, and his sister – Choudamma, are offered various pujas during the five-day fete.

Though primarily the Yadava community takes part in huge numbers, people from all castes and religions from across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Odisha, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu come to the place located just 5-km. from Suryapet.

According to history, this religious congregation has been celebrated since 16th century. Even it is still been celebrated with the government funds.

In the morning, the religious Deverapetta will be brought to temple premises in a procession from Kesaram village following the traditions.

The religious box ‘Deverapette’ which has the idols of Lord Lingamanthula Swamy- goddess Chowdamma and many other idols, holds the key to the celebration of Durajpalli Jatara. The religious box has an interesting story behind it.

Speaking to The Hindu , Menthaboina Chowadaiah Yadav, elder of the local Yadav community, said that a family in Cheekataipalem village of Thorrur mandal in Warangal district traditionally sends this box to Lingamanthula Swamy and Chowdamma temple, Durajpalli 10 days ahead of the commencement of the bi-annual Peddagattu jatara. This tradition is being followed for centuries, he adds.

Days ahead of the Peddagattu jathara, a ritual called ‘Disti Puja’ is performed at the temple. Then the ‘Deverapette’ will be shifted from Chowadiah Yadav’s home in Kesaram village. In the wee hours of the first day of jathara on Monday, the Deverapette would be brought to the temple in a procession. The Deverapette contains the idols of Pothuraju, Ganga, Yelamanchamma, Akumanchamma, Pothu Lingalu and many other gods, who are worshipped in rural parts of the Telangana. Interestingly, the family of Thanda Pullaiah, who are considered as priests in Yadav community, from Cheekatipalem village located 75 km apart from Durajpalli holds this box.

Since the families Menthaboina-Munna, both belong to Yadava community, and Golla Ganna Reddy, whose families were believed to have spotted the deities on Durajpalli hillock, centuries ago, get the opportunity to keep the box at their house in rotation.

These families which have Menthaboina as surname got the opportunity to keep ‘Deverapette’ at their house this year.

The box was kept at Chowdaiah Yadav’s home, who is the head of this community. On conclusion of five-day celebration of the fete, the ‘Deverapette’ will be kept at Menthaboina family’s home for 18 days, then it will be presented to other Lingamanthula Swamy temples in Nalgonda and Warangal districts.

Sources

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/all-set-for-fiveday-gollagattu-jatara/article6870580.ece

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peddagattu_jathara

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/divine-box-holds-key-to-peddagattu-jatara/article6873161.ece

http://nalgonda.info/te/peddagutta-fair-from-today-suryapet-nalgonda/peddagattu-jathara-in-nalgonda1/

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Telangana Step Wells

A grand stepwell at Kichanapally, Sangareddy

Imagine being in an arid, parched part of the youngest State of India. You badly want water, but all  you see is miles of nothingness. And suddenly you find several flights of stairs leading to water.

No, its not a mirage! These are ‘step wells’ - wonderful structures that are now virtually forgotten.

Stepwells in Telangana are found at old forts, temple complexes and on agricultural lands. They have also been political power centres.

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Makar Sankranti Festival

Sankranti means transmigration of the Sun from one Rashi (constellation of the zodiac in Indian astronomy) to the next. Hence, there are 12 Sankrantis in a year.

Why is it called Makar Sankranti?
On Makar Sankranti, the sun enters the sun-sign of Capricorn or Makara (the Indian rashi). Therefore the 'Makar' in the name. Thus, the name of the festival literally means the movement of the sun into Capricorn.

Though extremely popular as Makar Sankranti, the festival is predominantly a harvest festival and is celebrated throughout India, from north to south and east to west. While Makar Sankranti is most popular in West India, down south, the festival is known as Pongal and in the north, it is celebrated as Lohri. Uttarayan, Maghi, Khichdi are some other names of the same festival.

Makar Sankranti Festival is observed every year in the month of January falls on 14th or 15th .

Most Hindu festivals follow the position of the moon and are based on the lunar calendar. Thus, the dates of festivals change every year. But Makar Sankranti is a festival which falls on the same day every year as it follows the solar calendar. 

However, once every eighty years, due to revolution, the day is postponed by one day. Makar Sankranti is celebrated on the 14th of January every year (sometimes on the 15th) for now. 

From 2050, it is predicted that the festival will fall on the 15th January (and occasionally on the 16th).

Tilgul
Makar Sankranti is the festival of til-gul where sesame and jaggery laddoos or chikkis are distributed among all. They are generally accompanied by the saying, "Til-gul ghya ani gud gud bola", which translates to 'eat these sesame seeds and jaggery and speak sweet words'. The festival is one of bonding where every member of society is asked to bury the hatchet with enemies and foes and live in peace. Also, it is a superstition that during the festival, the Sun God forgets his anger on his son Shani and visits him. Thus, by distributing sweets, everyone is asked to spread joy around. Also, since the festival falls in winter, eating of sesame and jaggery is considered beneficial to health as they are warm foods. Thus, it is specifically this sweet that's distributed as it signifies bonding and good health.

In the early hours of sankranti festival “Haridas” the servant of lord Vishnu is seen by singing songs he visits every house and offer blessings.

Kite Flying

On this occasion every city and town seen with the flying-kites and sky seems to be color full, the craziest part is they enjoy by cutting neighbor’s kites, funny right?

There is a very interesting reason behind the kite-flying. Kite-flying in olden days was generally done in the early hours of the morning, when the sun's rays were bright but not too harsh. Also, during kite-flying, the human body was exposed to the sun for long hours. The early morning sun is considered beneficial for the skin and body. Since winter is also the time of a lot of infections and sickness, by basking in the sun, Hindus believed that the bad bacteria on their bodies would be cleared to a certain extent. Creating a fun way of sun basking where no one would even realise they were reaping benefits was through kite flying. Cool, right?

Pilgrimages

It is a 4 days long festival by claiming its own significance's of each day and the days are classified as:

Day 1 – BHOGI
Day 2 – MAKAR SANKRANTI
Day 3 – KANUMA
Day 4 – MUKKANUMA

Day 1 – BHOGI
The preceding day of sankranti is bhogi , on this day people discard the old things as it is a transition into new period . At the dawn, people lit a fire with the solid fuels and wooden furniture that is no longer in use, the sign of this act is sacrifices all the old habits, beliefs and attachments in the presence of god of fire.
In Hindus family the children usually less than 3 years old are showered with Indian fruit “Regi Pandlu “ in Telugu in order to protect the children from evil eye .
Landlords offer gifts to the workers in the form of clothes; money food and sweets are distributed to every one to spread sweet of happiness.

Day 2 – MAKAR SANKRANTI
During this day everyone wakes in the early morning and starts with their holy bath and wear new cloths and perform traditional offerings to ancestors and pray god.the women decorates the house as well as ground (entrance of house) by drawing beautiful patterns (muggu) on the ground “rangoli” in telugu and it is decorated with flowers and a hand pressed piles of cow dung called “gobbemma”.
On this day everyone in the family are reunion to share their happiness with all the members in family especially siblings.

Day 3 – KANUMA
The day after makar sankranti is kanuma this day is specially associated with farmers on this day every farmer pray and showcase their cattle with honour .The women in the family feeds the cattle to share love and affection towards animals .in general this is a Thank giving day to cattle.

Day 4 - MUKKANUMA
Finally , the last day of sankranti is mukkanuma and farmers offer prayers to soil, rain and fire for helping them to harvest and some even offer gifts to goddess ( probably this will be animals).

The celebration of this day is mostly seen in coastal Andhra where all the members of family reunion to have have some fun filled activities, these activities mostly include cock fighting (kodi pandalu ) , bullock/Ox racing , kite flying .

Resources

http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/7-interesting-facts-you-did-not-know-about-makar-sankranti-229405.html

http://www.makarsankranti2017.com/2016/10/makar-sankranti-festival-information.html

http://www.india.com/buzz/makar-sankranti-2016-importance-significance-story-of-why-makar-sankranti-is-celebrated-860609/

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Bheemalpen Festival

Festival season for Adivasis has begun with ‘Bheemalpen’ festival which is popular as Bheemanna pujalu and they take ‘Devul’ (wooden deities) for bathing at sacred place ‘Demmala rajul’ near Dhammannapet in Utnoor mandal.

Adivasis celebrate Bheemalpen festival in the month of ‘Margashira’ every year. Adivasis are busy in celebrating their traditional festivals these days in the district.

Adivasis of Asifabad take their Devul to ‘Khariyar’ and Kerameri to ‘Patteda’, Tiryani to Danthanpalli ganga, Narnoor to Gundala ganga, Indravelli to ‘Pulikakchar’ and Adivasis of Neredigonda bathe their wooden deities in the Kuntala waterfalls. Most of the Adivasi jataras will follow their festivals in the Adilabad district.

Adivasis do their cooking with the new crops or beans like ‘chikkudu’, ‘Anapa’, pulses like redgram, rice only after performing special puja called Satti to the Bheemalpen.

Adivasis festivals continue with Jangubai to be held from January 11- February8 in the dense forests near Parandholi in Keremeri mandal on the borders of Maharashtra.

Mesram Mothirao of Gangapur village in Utnoor mandal who led a group of Adivasis to the Demmalrajul, said they have started their journey by walk and they returned to their village three days later after performing pujas to Bheemalpen. Bheemalpen festival is the first one in their festival season and they perform puja with devotion’, he said.

The wooden deities called ‘Devul’ (gods) are bathed (Gangasnan) and taken to their village and to be installed in the sacred place as usual. The Kolam and Gond Adivasis will perform special puja to the Bhemalpen in this season.

These rituals reflect the Adivasis’ sacred bond with the nature and crops they cultivate and sacredness attached to the food grains they consume.

Gondi Dharma Pracharak Sedmaki Seetharam said ‘Bheemaldev festival has much importance in the festival calendar of the Adivasis and they cannot avoid the Bheemalpen festival’.

He said Adivasis will be busy in their festivals Jangubai and Jallidevara (Persapen) which are important for the Adivasis and the popular Adivasi jataras will follow their festivals.

The popular Adivasis jataras are
Jagadamba jatara in Lingapur in Sirpur( U),
Kamdev in Narnoor
Keslapur in Indravelli
Budumdev in Shyampur in Utnoor
Mahadev in Sirpur (U)
Balaji in Kerameri
Bhadi jatara in Bela mandals


Source
http://srinivasjournalism.blogspot.com/2016/01/adivasis-welcome-season-of-festivals.html

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Dokra or Dhokra Metal Craft

Dokra Metal craft is quite popular in the tribal regions of Telangana. Dhokra or Dokra also known as bell metal craft is a tribal metal craft widely seen in Jainoor Mandal, Adilabad District of Telangana.

Dhokra is an ancient bell metal craft practiced by the Ojha metal-smiths of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Telangana – the style and workmanship of the artisan community being different in different states.

In Telangana, the Ojha artisans are also known as Wojaris or Ojjis who create brass metal art objects using the tedious but perfect lost wax technique while casting the metal.

The Dokra artifacts are made in brass and are unique in that the pieces do not have any joints. The method is by combining metallurgical skills with wax techniques employing the lost wax technique, a unique form where mould is used only once and broken, making this art the only one-of-its-kind in the world. 

The 100 Ojha families, a sub tribe of the Raj Gond Adivasis found in Keslaguda, Ushegaon and Jamgaon of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district and Tamsi mandal of Adilabad district, manufacture brass metal items using the lost wax technique since centuries. The artisans traditionally manufacture only items like lamps and bells of different sizes used by the Raj Gonds and Kolam tribe in agriculture and religious activity. 

A minor resurgence of Adivasi culture witnessed in the old undivided Adilabad district has provided scope for the traditional Ojha artisans to indulge in creativity. Due to the phenomenon ensuring good sales during the Dandari-Ghusadi festival gone by and also holding out the promise of the trend to continue in the religious season ahead, the Dhokra brass metal artisans are making artifacts which they had discontinued to produce since about three decades.

The artisans make bronze and brass objects using the casting technique called dhokra,where a clay model is the core,over which,wax threads are wrapped around to form a layer.This is again covered with yet another layer of clay which has an opening. Molten bronze or brass is poured into this opening, which melts the wax completely, replacing it with brass or bronze. The cast object needs the outer mould to be broken each time.

In Adilabad district, places like Ushegaon and Chittalbori are the main contributors of this art. What catches your eye in this beautiful craft is that each piece is different from the other.

The craft produces objects like figurines, tribal gods, etc.

This work has good demand both in the domestic and international market due to its aesthetic look and primitive simplicity. The work consists of folk motifs, peacocks, elephants, horses, measuring bowl, lamp caskets and other simple art forms and traditional designs.

There are many families in Adilabad district dedicated to this ancestral craft, which is a labor-intensive work.

Very often, the artisans take up only order based work with an advance. The purchase of raw materials would require an initial expenditure beyond their means, more so if the end products do not sell. Dhokra is a very labour intensive as making of a simple piece could consume 4-5 days while more complicated designs could take upto 2-3 weeks. The designs are usually traditional, though they are known to make contemporary designs on demand. The characteristic pieces include slender and elongated metal figurines, folk motifs, elephants, peacocks, horses and household articles like measuring bowls and lamps The unique feature of a dhokra artefact is that the pieces do not have any joints. The entire object is handcrafted with the final product that has a distinct texture depending on the wax strips used in its design.

Things have recently started looking up for the Ojhas of Adilabad as they have tapped into their local markets comprising of the Gond tribal homes and their seasonal jatras or fairs. The idols of local deities – Jangubai, Bheemalpen and Persapen are most popular as are other items used in worship. The study of their return to local markets is unique in the lives of all artisan communities.

Typically dhokra objects cost between Rs.300 -500.

Contact:
Bhujang Rao Ojha: +91 94-92-428293 [Keslaguda, Kerameri mandal]
Indrajeet Ojha: +91 9652950224 [Belsari Rampur village in Tamsi mandal]


Sources
http://www.telanganatourism.gov.in/partials/about/arts-crafts/dokra-metal-crafts.html
https://floatstheboat.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/adilabad-dhokra/

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