Gopal Darwaza, popularly known as ‘Gopal Diddi’, a dilapidated structure on the bank of Tungabhadra river speaks volumes about history and a gory past.

The entrance (northern gate) was part of the Kurnool fort which was built by vassals of Vijayanagara Kings in the 15th and 16th century. Araveeti dynasty ruled Kurnool fort on account of its close relations with the Vijyanagara kings.

However, two controversial accounts exist about the majestic entrance overlooking the river. According to one version, the last king of Kurnool Araveeti Gopala Raju, grandson of Araveeti Ramarayalu (son-in-law of Krishnadevaraya) used the entrance to reach to the river every day for a dip and worship in the Nagareswara and Anjaneya Swamy temples. Hence it was named Gopal Darwaza.

Another account is that Gopal Raja fled from the entrance when the army of Bijapur commander Abdul Wahab laid a siege to the fort. Palle Kesava Rao, a noted historian and writer, depicted in his book that Gopal Raja fought a fierce battle and died a heroic death in front of the temple of his beloved God Nagareswara. However, the next rulers wove the fleeing story to avoid backlash from public.

After the battle there was no trace of Gopal Raja and no account exists whether he had taken shelter anywhere. The valiant king who defended the fort even after the fall of Vijayanagara Kingdom could not have surrendered so meekly to invaders, says historian K. Maddaiah.

In fact, Gopal Raja repelled the attack of Abdul Wahab successfully in 1618 taking the help of his cousins from Owk, Penugonda and Ghani. After the fall of Vijayanagara kingdom in Tallikota battle in 1565, the Kurnool fort was offered to Bijapur as part of arrangement. But the Kurnool kings refused to surrender and revolted, which took another 50 years to get subdued.

In 1624, the Bijapur army renewed its attack on Kurnool fort and waited for a long time at Gondiparla, on the other side of the bank, and carried out the surprise attack during night. Gopal Raja, who was confident of repulsing the attack, could not secure support from his cousins this time.

Kondareddy Burj and Gopal Darwaza are the remnants of the sprawling Kurnool fort, built of red sandstone. A part of the long moat (trench) of the fort was levelled during British time and a street was constructed, which is named as Minchin Bazar, after a British official.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Kurnool – April 22nd, 2014

Sangameswara temple surfaced from the backwaters of Srisailam reservoir three days ago. Priests and devotees have been making hectic arrangements for conducting rituals for 12 weeks in summer.

It has been a kind of sojourn for the temple since 2003 when it surfaced for the first time after 20 years. The temple was the only structure which could not be relocated on the request of devotees under the rehabilitation. Scores of villages and temples were shifted to different places and some important idols were stored at the museum in Kurnool.

The temple remained under water for two decades and surfaced in 2003 when the dam authorities depleted the water in the reservoir. Since then, the temple has been surfacing when the level declined below 834 ft.

The irrigation officials draw water for power generation and to supply water to irrigation canals in winter and beginning of the summer. The depletion is likely to be intensified in the coming years when Hundri-Neeva, Veligonda and Srisailam Left Bank Canal start drawing water.

Meanwhile, the temple priests headed by Telakapalli Raghurama Sarma are gearing up for the daily rituals and weekly “homam”. The team planned Lalitha Sangemeswara Kalyanotsavam on June 9.

The volunteers cleaned up the premises while the priests conducted rituals sanctifying the temple. Mr. Raghurama Sarma underscored the need for strengthening the structure since the temple is showing signs of stress since it remained in water for 31 years.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Kurnool – April 16th, 2014

‘Centre likely to give its nod for renovation of the heritage site’

The sight of Kondapalli Fort located on the city outskirts, 16 km from Vijayawada to be precise, has always been a subject of curiosity to the passers-by.

The ramparts of the ancient ‘quilla’ seen from Mylavaram Road make people inquisitive to know all about this ‘mystified citadel’ built by Prolaya Vema Reddy in the 14 century.

The dilapidated structure, which is included in the mega tourism circuit proposed to be developed in this region to attract tourist inflow, is finally all set to get a facelift after elections.

“Proposals to launch renovation works at an estimated cost of Rs. 50 crore have been submitted and the Centre is most likely to give its nod since all components included are as per the guidelines,” says K. Lakshminarayana, Member, Hospitality Development and Promotion Board (HDPB) under the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

The Department of Tourism, in coordination with the Archaeological wing, will take up this long-pending project.

A government property near the fort will be used to set up a craft bazaar where the world famous Kondapalli toys from the nearby Kondapalli village will be showcased and made available to buyers coming from outside.

Sound and light show

The place will also reverberate with a sound and light show besides addition of wayside amenities for visitors and tourists, says Mr. Lakshminarayana.

Landscaping

Despite its historic importance, the fort has been left in a dilapidated state for long and has failed to attract tourist flow mainly because of the absence of proper facilities. Landscaping of the area and setting up eat-outs at the fort form part of the master plan.

Development of this project is a gigantic task and if implemented fully, the landscaping alone could swallow funds to the tune of Rs. 5 crore, said a source.

“Clearance of the debris is a marathon task,” agrees Mr. Lakshminarayana.

Tourism circuit

Bhavani Island on River Krishna, the Gandhi Hill and a few other projects are included in the tourism circuit. “The idea is to offer a full-fledged tourism package to people visiting this region that will soon flaunt many such new attractions,” says Mr. Lakshminarayana.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by P. Sujatha Varma / Vijayawada – April 11th, 2014

The balance of the rocks has always fascinated Lata Marur who’s specialised in ‘rock art’

‘Nalla’ is black and ‘konda’ is hill in Telugu, explains artist Lata Marur about Nalgonda, her home town that is rich with rocks of black granite. She thinks that her connection with the rocks started from there. “Our home there is surrounded by rocky hills with a Dargah on top. Every summer visiting our grandparents there, the first thing to do would be to climb the rocks and write our name on them. Maybe my name is still there!”

She is fascinated by the balancing act that our rock formations are replete with. “The balance looks so precarious that initially you are scared to go close, in case the rock falls! But when you go and touch the rock, you see that it is so strong.” In fact this wonder generating visual has been commonplace in Hyderabad.

“When we were small, for Sankranti Bommalu Koluvu, my mother used to give us siblings different spots to work on. My sister helped mom set the dolls on the steps, my brother would do something with cars, making a path with lights etc. I would do one corner with pebbles and rocks, balancing them and making hill-like formations. When we moved to Hyderabad, I was 11 years old. We were looking for a house in Srinagar Colony which was then full of lovely rock formations. When I saw them balancing I thought someone actually had made the formation balance. Recalling my own rock balancing efforts at Sankranti, I exclaimed in childlike admiration “Who did this?! How did they make these balance?! It was only as I grew up that I learnt of geology and weathering that explained it for me.”

Lata Marur has created a series of rock sketches around the Dashavatara. “Going toward Shamirpet, I saw a rock that looked like Rama: straight, rock-like and peaceful. That is when the Dashavatara rock series began. I saw a horse in one of the rocks on the way to Nalgonda recalling Kalki, the avatar that comes on a horse. There are lots of rocks in the fields on the way to Bangalore and one particular rock has a huge lion-like face. It recalled Narasimhavatara for me. It is inspiring how the farmers have instinctively left the rocks alone and not taken them out to enlarge their fields. The drive is a pleasure because of those rocks and similarly for the Nalgonda rocks.”

Talking of rocks destroyed in the development of the city, one of her favourites used to be on the road in front of Daspalla Hotel. “It was formed like an easy-chair. That whole formation is gone and there is a building there now.” It is in this context that “Rockatantra”, a book with her sketches and accompanying stories by her husband Vijay Marur, brings rocks to life, giving them a voice amidst their own destruction.

She rationalises that “It is not easy to protect all the rocks. You cannot expect civilisation to stop to keep rocks. But when a rock is protected I feel really happy. I am also glad the awareness is higher now about the ecological and aesthetic value of the rocks and people are incorporating rocks into their gardens and homes.”

Clearly there is a balance to be sought in how we respond to our development demands while also preserving an age old contributor to our city’s unique geographic aesthetic and ecological health. An inspiring example of such miraculous seeming balance lies all around us in our rocks.

(The writer is a documentary film maker, writer and teacher.)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Uma Magal / Hyderabad – April 10th, 2014