Chennur Silk Sarees

Chennur silk sarees shine brightly with their elegance and rich history. Hailing from Chennur, a small village in Nirmal District, Telangana State, India. These sarees are a representation of a beautiful and ancient craft. Let’s explore the story of Chennur silk sarees, their unique features, and why they continue to attract fashion lovers, especially the younger generation.

The Kalamkari Hand Painted Chennur Silk Saree is a masterpiece of Indian textile artistry. Crafted from exquisite Chennur silk, this saree features intricate hand-painted Kalamkari motifs that tell captivating stories of tradition and culture. The vibrant colors and detailed designs make it a visual delight, showcasing the skill of skilled artisans.

Chennur is famous for its silk weaving tradition. This craft has been passed down through generations, with families perfecting the art of making stunning silk sarees. The village is close to Tussar and Mulberry silk fields, which provide the high-quality silk threads used in these sarees. This connection to nature and tradition is a key part of Chennur silk’s story.

The tradition of Chennur silk has roots that go back to the prosperous Golconda Sultanate in Hyderabad during the Middle Ages. The Mughals, who supported this craft, referred to the artisans as "qualamkars," a term that eventually evolved into "kalamkari." This historical connection highlights the rich heritage behind Chennur silk.

These sarees are known for their intricate designs. Skilled weavers use traditional techniques to create beautiful patterns. Both handlooms and modern tools are used to achieve these designs.

Chennur silk sarees are versatile and elegant. They can be worn with elaborate gold designs or kept simple, depending on the occasion. Their graceful drape makes them suitable for weddings, festivals, and other special events.

Recently, younger generations have rediscovered Chennur silk sarees. 

1. Cultural Pride: Young people appreciate the cultural connection that Chennur silk sarees provide. They are more than just fashion; they are a link to heritage and tradition.

2. Sustainable Choice: Chennur silk sarees are made using eco-friendly methods, making them a great option for those interested in sustainable fashion.

3. Unique Style: The exclusive designs and luxurious fabric make Chennur silk sarees stand out from mass-produced clothes. They offer a unique and timeless style.

4. Flexibility: These sarees can be styled in many ways, allowing young people to mix traditional and modern looks for different events.

A basic seed multiplication and training centre belonging to Central Silk Board (CSB), in Chennur stood in the top in the country by registering production of 3.20 lakh tasar silkworm eggs in the last five years, bringing recognition to Telangana.

Tussar silk is one of the most sought-after fibres in the world owing to its rich texture and natural colour, it is also one of the rarest forms of natural fibre.

Cocoons of Tasar, a variety of silk, contain many insects that are processed to produce exquisite silk thread used in manufacturing saris and other clothing. The cocoons are traditionally grown by the tribals by camping in the forests as means of livelihood for many decades. They are cultivated on leaves of Terminalia Arjuna (Tellla Maddi) and Yeru Maddi trees spread in 2,100 hectares in Chennur area of Mancherial and 1,000 hectares of forests in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.

More than 800 farmers in Vemanpelli, Kotapalli, Kannepalli and Nennal mandals of Mancherial district and Bejjur and Koutala mandals in Kumurambheem Asifabad district are cultivating cocoons in 3,100 hectares of land. Traders from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha come to buy the cocoons sold in an open auction in Chennur every year.

https://telanganatoday.com/silkworm-egg-production-csbs-bsm-pc-chennur-bags-award

https://thriyasilks.com/blogs/the-saree-journal/discovering-the-charm-of-chennur-silk-sarees

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Shankaramma Fort

Shankaramma Fort is located in Shankarampet village and Mandal, Medak District, Telangana State, India.

The fort, which was under Papannapet Samsthanam (kingdom), about 70 kilometres from the district headquarters, has been located in a hilly area of this small village. The locals inform that Rani Shankaramma constructed the fort in 1760 which consists of Devidi (residential place for the inmates of the fort) and Chavidi (meeting place).

Due to negligence, the fort has been covered with overgrown bushes and most of its structure has been ruined. One cooking room collapsed about six years ago and a small room, expectedly a pooja room, exists without roof. Some of the boulders, used for the construction of the fort, have been taken away for use by the locals.

http://avadhanir.blogspot.com/2012/12/shankaramma-fort-shrouded-in-negligence.html

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Sadashivpet - Sarvatobhadra town design

Sadashivpet  or Sadasivapet is a town in Sangareddy district of Telangana, was planned on the basis of ‘Sarvatobhadra’ town design. 

Sarvatobhadra is typically suited for big towns and villages, where the site selected for planning a town/village is a square If you log on to Google Earth to search Sadasivapet, a town in Sangareddy district of Telangana, you will be surprised to find an exhilarating chequered square locket studded with diamonds tagged to a black cord that is national Highway No.9 connecting Hyderabad and Mumbai, surrounded by natural landscape.

This town conceived and founded by Rani Lingayamma daughter of Sadashiva Reddy (1632-1650) during her regime between 1680-1692. Raminedu, one of the ancestors of Sadashiva Reddy was gifted Kalpagooru Pargana by Sultan Ferosah of Bahmani Sultanate during 1400 – 1450 AD after the downfall of Recherla Padmanayaka Kings, who ruled the present Medak area.

Kakatiya kings reigned this area prior to the conquer by the Sultans - Andole was the capital and Sadashiva Reddy was the 5th ruler in the hierarchy of Raminedu. The present population is 45,500 as per 2011 census. The town is located at 1755 ft from sea level and its latitude and longitude are 17.400N and 77.580E respectively. In the ancient Vaastu texts like Manasara, Silparatna, Mayamata and Viswakarma Vaastu Shastra, different types of plans for Pattana, Nagaraa and Grama were described.

According to Manasara there are eight types of plans for designing towns 

1. Dandaka
2. Sarvatobhadra, 
3. Nandyavartha, 
4. Padmaka, 
5. Swastika, 
6. Prastara, 
7. Karmuka, 
8. Chaturmukha. 

Sadasivapet is planned as Sarvatobhadra type. This type of plan is adopted to design larger villages and also towns, where the selected site is a square. It is chessboard pattern town (grid-iron) with 10 divisions on each side making total 100 divisions facing to coordinal points.

In the ancient days if it is adopted by a town then a fort wall was constructed around it with ramparts and moat all around, but for villages, rampant and moat were not necessary. 

The central space called Brahmasthana should be occupied by a temple. 

Sadasivapet is divided into 10 divisions on each side. It is surrounded by a fort wall with four gates on four sides. The roads are laid exactly facing North – South and East-West direction. In central Space, which is called Brahmastana according to the Vaastu Shastras, a temple for Shiva was constructed. 

The specialty of this town is, it is satisfying the requirements of Koorma Vrusta Vaastu. In this, the central place (Brahmastana) will be at a higher level and the four sides and four corner points will be at low level. 

The central point of Sadasivapet is 25 feet elevated from the periphery. This is an eye-opener to the present day Vaastu Pandits who preach day and night that south-west (Niruthi) of the site must be higher and Northeast (Eeshanya) should be at lower level. 

This town is occupied by houses of various descriptions and inhabited by all classes of people as prescribed by Manasara. 

Jaipur Four to five decades after the founding of Sadasivapet, the old Jaipur in Rajasthan, was founded on November 17, 1727 by King Sawai Jai Singh (1700-1743). The architect for conceiving the plan of that town was Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. Many scholars have attributed the basic concept plan of Old Jaipur as being a Prastara type of mandala mentioned in Manasara, one of the ancient treatises on Hindu town planning. The scholars say that Prastara plan is both square or oblong in form and divided into four, nine or 16 major wards by an appropriate number of roads, which run East-West and North-South and the wards in turn planned as a chessboard pattern. Wards with the larger size plots are for people of higher ranks while the smaller plots are inhabited by people of lower ranks. 

In 1946, M Fayazuddin, the then town planner to the Nizam’s local government published a surveyed map of Sadasivapet showing the road pattern and physical development. This plan shows vacant areas in South-East and North-East corners utilised for cultivation. A temple is shown in the centre of the city which is called Brahmastana(at present there is no such temple) and to the south East corner of Brahmastana ward is shown occupied by Gadi, which is supposed to be occupied by the ruler of the town. And different wards were shown as occupied by Vyshyas, Gold Smiths, Black Smiths, Stone Cutters, Kassabins (Katika), Hunters, Weekly Market, etc. 

The highest contour level is 1785 at the centre of the town, 1760 near the periphery of the town. The town was encircled with a fort wall comprising four gates on four sides leading to Nandi Kandi on East, Siddapuram on South, Kohir on West, Atmakur on North. Presently, there are no such gateways. 

After scrutinising the town map in Google Earth and the map prepared by M Fayazuddin, it is found that during the last six decades buildings have come up in the cultivated lands and spread outside the fort walls in a haphazard manner due to the urbanisation. One more unique thing of Sadasivpet is the usage of ancient land measuring unit called Nivarthana for each ward. 

Nivarthana is an area measuring unit in the medieval period. One 40 yds x 40 yds. This was mentioned in Abhona plates inscription of the Kalachuri ruler Sankaragana of 597 AD. (Source 1) Most of the wards of this town confirm to the Nivarthana measurement served by roads of 5 dandas (30ft) of width. Two main roads passing through the center of the town are 6 dandas (36ft). Generally, in town planning, the method of using rectangular blocks is in vogue. For instance, the contemporary Indian city, Chandigarh is planned with rectangular blocks measuring half a mile by three-fourth mile. But using square blocks is a unique concept. Further study regarding the sub-division of these blocks may reveal some innovative concept of ancient day Indian Planning. 

In independent India, no other ancient city other than Jaipur invited so much attention from the scholars, architects and town planners for its unique town planning based on the tenets of Vaastu Shastras. But only a few know that there is also one ancient town called Sadasivapet in Telangana built as per the principles of ancient science called Vaastu Shastras based on ancient land measuring unit, Nivarthana. 

The Government should take appropriate action to conserve this town for its uniqueness in town planning for the posterity. 

By: Avala Buchi Reddy The writer is former chairman of Indian Institute of Architects A.P. Chapter (1992-94).

https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2017-03-18/Sadasivpet-A-unique-ancient-town/287741?infinitescroll=1

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Chakaligattu Island

Chakaligattu Island is located in the middle of River Krishna amidst the huge reservoir of Nagarjunasagar having maximum plain area near Rekulavalyam is a small Village/hamlet in Chandampet Mandal and Peddagummadam is a small Village/hamlet in Pedda Adiserla Pally Mandal in Nalgonda District of Telangana State, India.

Can reach through Vizagcolony a small Village/hamlet in Chandampet Mandal or in Nalgonda District of Telangana State.

To the list of tourist places, an eco-adventure tourism destination could soon be added, if the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation is all prepared to expand Chakaligattu Island in the middle of River Krishna close to Nagarjunasagar in Nalgonda district.

The advantage for Chakaligattu Island is that it’s located amidst the huge reservoir of Nagarjunasagar having maximum plain area. The authorities feel that the island could be connected to both Nagarjuna Konda and the Buddhavanam Project.

Besides, world’s largest as well as famous masonary dam Nagarjunasagar across River Krishna, the TSTDC has set up an impressive Buddhist Tourist Destination – Buddhavanam, across 274 acres of land.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/the-ambitious-plan-to-develop-chakaligattu-island-as-tourist-destination/article66135486.ece

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Nadigudi Fort

Once a fort of Raja Nayani Venkata Ranga Rao of Munagala Paragana (province), located at Nadigudi in Suryapet district, is now a research centre of the Deccan Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute (DACRI).

The 150-year-old fort was renovated by the DACRI and was inaugurated on Saturday. It houses over 2.5 lakh rare books and over one lakh palm-leaf manuscripts.The fort, built in 1870, was handed over to the DACRI six months ago after its director, Kurra Jitendra Babu, requested Santosh Reddy, the grandson of Nayani Venkata Ranga Rao, to do so to develop it into a research centre.

On Saturday, the renovated fort was inaugurated by Hampi Sri Virupaksha Vidyaranya Mahasamsthanam pontiff Sri Vidyaranya Bharathi Swami. Among those who were present include Santosh Reddy, Veamana Peetham president Ch Anjaneya Reddy, Telangana History Congress president Vaikuntham, former MLC Mandali Buddha Prasad and others. Speaking on the occasion, the DACRI director said it would take around 200 years to translate and print all the books that were at the research centre.

Meanwhile, the residents of Nadigudi expressed happiness over their village housing the research centre. The two-day meeting of the Telangana History Congress too began at the newly-inaugurated research centre on Saturday. As many as 10 books were released during the meeting.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2020/Jan/19/150-year-old-fort-at-telanganas-nadigudi-springs-back-to-life-as-research-centre-2091508.html

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Kailash Fort

Kailash Fort is just 160 km from Hyderabad on the Hyderabad-Sangareddy-Nanded road but hardly anyone knows about the 9th century fort constructed by Rashtrakutas. The fort has wells, temples, dargahs, cannons and godowns. 

1857-58 AD :  Raja Kunwar Deep Singh Gaur

The fort has a rich history and rose to prominence in 1857-58, Raja Kunwar Deep Singh Gaur trained troops inside the fort and was later poisoned for three years.

Col A K Singh, the 10th generation scion of the Gaur Rajputs is now fighting a lone battle to save the fort from crumbling. He says, “The fort is unique in many ways, it has the longest cannon in Telangana, has 52 bastions and the fort is oval shaped and is approximately 1500 mtrs long and 1000 metres wide.

It has the potential to become a major tourist attraction only if the government is willing.” Neglected and forsaken, the fort is surrounded by three water bodies and two temples; Balaji mandir and Ram and Hanuman mandir. “The 1000 year old Balaji mandir and the longest cannon can be major attractions.

The fort can be developed as an eco-tourist spot as there is jungle area, ample provision for trekking and enough flora and fauna, avers Jaswant Singh, a resident of Toopran.

https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hans/2015-06-06/A-unique-fort-lies-neglected/155708

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Nandi Vaddeman

Nandi Vaddeman formerly known as Vardhamaanapuram is a village in Bijinepally mandal, Nagarkurnool district, Telangana State, India.

Gona Buddha Reddy (author of Ranganatha Ramayanam), Gannaredddy and Vittala Reddy, ruled from Vardhamanapuram as the subordinate chiefs of the Kakatiyas in 12th and 13th centuries AD.

Vaddavani-500 or Vaddemana-500 may be modern Nandi Vaddeman, formerly known as Vardhamaanapuram and Kodur in Nagarkurnool district is part of Kandurnadu for sometime.

Haihaya Chiefs

1033 AD - 1042 AD : Kanduru Anemarasa or Anemarasa I or Yanemarasa I

Ayyarasa of Haihaya family was ruling Kandurnadu under Somesvara I.

1047 AD - 1049 AD : Sankarasa
25th August, 1048 AD : Malleswaram, Kollapur
Introduces a new subordinate chief named Sankarasar who was a crest jewel of the Chaluky family, who bears a string of epithets such as Bhupakandarpa, vairi kula kala sarpam, sangram viram, Raja marthandam, Kshatra pavitram, Ganda trinetram, Udara narayanam and Chakra kuta dharavar sa pura dahana, etc. which are almost similar to those met with in the inscriptions of Bijjarasa and Kanduru Anemarasar. The record further states that the above chief, on the auspicious occasion of pavitra arohana, made a gift of land 13 marttars in the village of Kulakuliya in Vaddemana-500, to the pontiff Chidisvara pandita of Agastheswara. The record was composed by Bijjaya who performed pattala karena and sandhvigrahi.

1050 AD - 1052 AD : Kumara Vijayaaditya I younger son of Somesvara I
1051 AD : As per Mallesvaram in the Kollapur Inscription Saka 973, Vijayaaditya I younger son of Somesvara I (1042 - 1068 AD) ruling Kandurnadu

Vardhamanapura Cholas or Chodas
1104 AD - 1157 AD : Bhimachoda III
Bhimachoda III was ruling with Vardhamanapura as his capital. Current Nandi Vaddeman in Nagar Kurnool District.

Thus, Kakatiya Rudradeva launched an expedition against Telugu Choda chiefs between 1157 and 1162. In this expedition rudradeva attacked Vardhamanapuram and drove Bhimachoda III along with his followers to forest.

Gona Chiefs

1190 AD - 1217 AD : Gona Buddha reddi I Gona Budda Reddy 

ruled a kingdom from Vardhamaanapuram (currently known as Nandi Vaddemaan) in NagarKurnool 

1219 AD - 1230 AD: Gona Ganapayya or Vithala son of Gona Buddha reddi I
1219 AD : Nagadevapalli, Nagarkurnool. This inscription is on a slab laying in front of Hanuman Temple. Very much damaged. It mentions the chief Gona Ganapayya who made a grant for the merit of his over lord Kakatiya 
Ganapatideva and his father Buddireddi, who is described as Eruva gonga, Kodvaluri puravaradhisvara and vitaranotsaha.

Malyala Chiefs

Budapuram, Vardamana Puram are the centres for Malyala Kings who were the Feudatories of Kakatiyas. 1245 AD - 1276 AD: Malyala Gunda Senani son of Bachavarudhini
Capital : Budapura, Vardhamanpura
Wife : Kuppambika (younger sister of Gona Ganna Reddy)
General of Ganapatideva, Rudramdevi

Atmakur Amarchinta Samsthanam

1278 AD - 1350 AD : Chinna Gopi Reddy I
Gopal Reddy’s sons Pedda Gopi Reddy and Chinna Gopi Reddy further established their supremacy in this region. They were also bestowed with several other villages in Amarachinta, Waddeman, Utkur and Kodechurparaganas by Gona Kata Reddy, the sons of Gona Buddha Reddy. Their position had increased from Nadagoud to Sarnadagoud.

1653 AD - 1675 AD : Emmedi Gopi Reddy II

Contemporary of Abdullah Qutub Shah (1626 to 1672) who acknowledged his help in the war.

1675 AD - 1680 AD : Sarva Reddy

1680 AD - 1687 AD : Chinna Reddy

Heritage Structures
Nature and Indian Culture Foundation (NICF) in association with Pleach India Foundation (PIF) cleaned up 12th century heritage structures at Nandivaddeman village in Bijinepalli mandal in Nagarkurnool district on Sunday on the eve of World Tourism Day in tune with this year’s theme ‘Inclusive Tourism Development’.

Dr. E. Sivanagireddy-Sthapati, archaeologist and PIF CEO and Patnam Krishnamraju, president, NICF, cleared vegetation around five temples – Bhadrakali Temple located amidst paddy fields without any access, triple shrines locally known as Trimurti temples abutting huge mud fort wall and Nandiswara temple where a huge bull sculpture carved out of black granite stone exists, located two km from the village.

The vegetation was cleared as part of the awareness programme called ‘Preserve Heritage for Posterity’. Nearly 30 activists from NICF Trust and 10 volunteers from PIF and 10 locals led by Vanga Sudarshan Goud and Sarpanch Nandivaddeman laboured the entire day and made the much neglected monuments presentable to local visitors and tourists.

Nandi Vaddeman Nandeeswara Saneeswara Swamy Temple

https://telanganatoday.com/heritage-structures-in-nagarkurnool-get-makeover

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