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[[Image:Rayalaseema.png|thumb|Highlighted in Green]]
[[File:Uggani bajji .jpg|thumb|Uggani bajji; typical snack of Rayalaseema]]
'''Rayalaseema''' ({{lang-te|రాయలసీమ}}) is a geographic region in the state of [[Andhra Pradesh]] in [[India]]. It includes the districts of [[Anantapur District|Anantapur]], [[Chittoor District|Chittoor]], [[Cuddapah District|Kadapa]], [[Kurnool District|Kurnool]]. It has a total area of 67,299 sq km. These [[Telugu language|Telugu]] speaking districts were part of [[Madras Presidency]] until 1953 when Telugu speaking districts of Madras presidency were carved out to form [[Andhra state]].[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19531001&printsec=frontpage]  Between 1953 and 1956, this region was part of [[Andhra state]]. In 1956, Andhra state was merged with [[Telangana]] to form [[Andhra Pradesh]] state.[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19560221&printsec=frontpage]  The Rayalaseema was ruled by Sri Krishna Devaraya. Rayalaseema was the original home of [[Eastern Chalukya]]s. They gradually extended their sway over Karnata country because of the pressure from Cholas kings. Although Rayalaseema is a small region compared to the rest of Telugu speaking regions, its contribution to [[Telugu people|Telugu]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Urdu]], arts, culture and literature is immense.

Before and around the period of Chalukya, i.e., 7CE period, it is also called as "Hiranyaka Rastramu". Only during and after Vijayanagara era, it is called as Rayala seema.

During British period nijam ceded this area to British people so it is also called as [[Ceded Districts|''Ceded Area'']], but in order to remove traces of British rule it was renamed as ''Rayalaseema'' as 'seema' was an administrative unit of the Vijayanagara Empire similar to today's districts.


==Origin of the Name==
The name Rayalaseema became popular only in 20th century. Earlier this region was known as Datta Mandalalu as these backward districts were [[ceded districts|ceded]]<ref>given as gift</ref> to the British rulers by the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]] in gratitude for British help in several wars. But at the beginning of the 20th century many intellectuals of this region were under the opinion that this name was insulting to the prestige of the public at large. On 17th and 18 November 1928 the Andhra Maha Sabha meeting was held in Nandyal town. Here a serious discussion came about on the naming of this region among the participant leaders. [[Chilukuri Narayana Rao]] suggested the name Rayalaseema as the Rayala Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire ruled mainly this region and a culture with a proud heritage had flourished. (Earlier it was thought that this name was given by [[Gadicherla Harisarvottama Rao]]. This statement was in debate for long time but after thorough research it was found that Chilukuri must be credited). The name "Rayalaseema" was widely accepted and well received by the intellectuals and people at large.<ref>page 7 of the book RAYALASEEMA MUKHACHITRAM</ref> When coastal Andhra leaders started a "separate Andhra" movement to secede from Madras state the Rayalaseema leaders did not support it initially mainly due to the doubts about the development of this area if united with Andhra after the separation. To clear the doubts of the Rayalasema people the "Sribagh pact" was made on 16 November 1937.<ref>page 118 of the book History of modern Andhra written by P.R.RAO</ref>

==Culture==

=== Literature ===
Telugu culture reached its zenith during the [[Vijayanagara]] rule under [[Sri Krishnadevaraya]].
Amongst ''Ashta Diggajas'', [[Allasani Peddana]], [[Dhoorjati]], [[Nandi Timmana]], [[Maadayyagari Mallana]] and [[Ayyalaraju RamaBhadrudu]] are from this region.

Poets like [[Vemana]], [[Sri Potuluri Virabrahmendra Swami]] from Kadapa district played a great role in educating the common people through their literary works. It is also claimed by some experts that [[Pothana]], who penned Andhra Mahabhagavatham, was actually born at Ontimitta village of Kadapa District.

[[Bellary]] has had a rich past in Telugu drama, with famed [[dramatist]]s like [[Bellary Raghava]], [[Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu|Dharmavaraṃ Rāmakr̥ṣṇamācāryulu]] and [[Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao]] contributing to the Telugu literary drama from Bellary, supported by a number of drama theatres in the town. Today, the ''Raghava Kala Mandir'' in the town is named after Bellary Raghava.

Indian philosopher and spiritual teacher [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] and Sir [[Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy]] - an essayist, poet and educationist are from this region.

Notable Urdu Literary personalities from this region, [[Qaisi Qamarnagari]], [[Kareem Roomani]], [[Barq Kadapavi]], [[Ahmadnisar]] [[Madanapalle]], [[Qamar Ameeni]], [[Abdul Azeem]], [[Saghar Jayyadi]], [[Sathar Faizi]], [[N.M.Jalib]] [[Saaqui]] Kadapa.

=== Music ===
[[Tyagaraja]] - Ancestors of Tyagaraja, the celebrated composer amongst the Carnatic Music Trinity are from this area. Tyagaraja, a Mulakanadu Brahmin (a sub-sect originally prevalent only in RayalaSeema), in one of his compositions declares about the ancestors belonging to "Kakarla" village in the current day RayalaSeema.

[[Annamayya]] (a.k.a Tallapaka Annamacharya) - born in Kadapa district and credited to have composed over 16,000 Keerthanas on Lord Venkateswara, which are popular even today among the music lovers.<ref>a publication of T.T.D.in 2009 on the eve of Annamacharya's 400th birth anniversary celebrations</ref> Apart from the songs on Sri Venkateswara, he also composed  lullabies like ''Chandamama Raave, jaabilli raave'', which every Telugu mother sings.

[[Tarigonda Vengamamba]] - Belongs to Tarigonda near Tirupati and composed many songs and poems on Tharigonda Narasimha Swamy and Lord Venkateswara.

[[Rallapalli Anantha Krishna Sharma]] - Sangita Kalanidhi, a musicologist and scholar from Ananthapuram area.[http://sites.google.com/site/rallapallisharma]

[[SriPada Pinakapani]] - Settled in Kurnool (21st Century). He is guru of other Telugu stalwarts like [[Oleti Venkateswarlu]], [[Nedunuri Krishnamurti]], [[Nookala Chinna Satya Narayana]], [[Malladi Brothers]] and others.

===Pilgrimage===
[[File:A pillar at Ahobilam temple in Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh.jpg|thumb|A pillar at Ahobilam temple in Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh]]
Rayalaseema has many important places of pilgrimage for Hindus.
* [[Tirumala Venkateswara Temple]] - Abode of Lord Venkateswara.
* [[Srisailam]] - Abode of Mallikarjuna (Lord Shiva).
* [[Adoni]] - Sri [[Mahayogi Lakshmamma]] Avva Temple
* [[Ahobilam]] - Where Narasimha blessed Prahlada.
* [[Srikalahasti]] - Temple of Lord Shiva
* [[Mahanandi]] - Lord Shiva temple
* [[Yaganti eswara]] - Lord Shiva temple
* [[Raghavendra Swami|Mantralayam]] - One of the most important pilgrim places for [[Madhwas|Madhva]] sect of Brahmins.
* [[Puttaparthi]] - Abode of [[Sri Satya Sai Baba]].
* [[Kanipakam]] - Temple of Lord Ganapathi
* [[Kadiri]] - Lord LAKSHMI NARASIMHA SWAMY [Along with Prahalada].
* [[Kasapuram, Guntakal]] - Sri Nettikanti Anjaneya Swamy Temple, built during Krishna Devaraya regime.
* [[Lepakshi]] nandi temple in Ananthapuram district
* [[KonetiRayala Swamy Temple]] Famous for the temple of Lord Venkateshwara in Keelapatla Village, Chittoor Dt.
* [[Ontimitta]] - Famous for the temple of Sri Rama, where on the Sri Ramanavami day, Mutyalatalambralu is accorded to the lord by the state government along with Bhadrachalam.
* [[Bramhamgari Matam]] Famous for the temple Sri Pothuluri Veera Bramhendra Swamulavaru.
* [[Pushpagiri]] Famous for the temple Sri Chennakesava Swamy beside of Penna River
* [[Tallapaka]] birthplace of [[annamayya]]
* [[Tadipatri]] Famous for the temple of Lord Sri Rama and shiva
* [[Narayanavanam]] Famous for the temple of Lord Venkateswara
* [[Ardhagiri]] Famous for the temple of Lord Sri veeranjaneya
* [[Brahmagundam]] - Lord Brahmagundeswara swamy temple
*[[Gandi]]-Anjaneya swamy temple where lord rama moulded the idol of anjaneya

===Tourism===

[[Tirumala Venkateswara Temple]] - Abode of Lord Venkateswara. The temple is the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world.

[[Gandikota]]-One of the famous fort in A.P. Gandikota was founded in 1123 by Kakaraja, a subordinate of Ahavamalla Someswara I, the Western Chalukyan king of Kalyana. The town played a significant role during the Kakatiya, Vijayanagara and Qutub Shahi periods.
Gandikota is a small village (Lat. 14° 49'5" N and Long. 78° 16'58 E) on the right bank of the river Pennar, 15&nbsp;km from Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh in India.Now Gandikota project is being built for the sake of kadapa district agriculture as the part of jalayagnam and developing tourism Eco-center.

[[Adoni|Shahi Jamia Masjid]], [[Adoni]]- One of the oldest construction in South India. The Jamma Masjid is located within the fort it's a fine piece of Muslim architecture. It was built somewhere around 1680 AD by Madu Qadiri, who was an Adil Shahi Governor.<ref>http://www.indiahotelreview.com/travel-guide/mantralayam/getaways-around-mantralyam-adoni-91-598.htm</ref>

[[Penukonda fort]] - One of the big fort in Rayalaseema. Second capital of Vijayanagara samrajyam. People believed it as [[Sri Krishnadevaraya]]'s summer spot. Gagan mahal, Khilla, thimmarasu samdhi, jine temple. From [[Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh|Anantapur]] 75&nbsp;km, from [[Banglore]]130 km. Nagaloor Anjeneyaswamy (8 feet height) temple in Nagalore (just 14&nbsp;km from Penukonda), villagers recently reconstructed the temple, they believe its around 800 years old.

[[Belum Caves]] - the second largest cave in Indian sub-continent and the longest caves in plains of Indian Subcontinent. It is located at Belum Village in [[Kolimigundla]] Mandal of [[Kurnool District]].

[[Gandi]], [[Kadapa]] District.

[[Gurramkonda]], [[Chandragiri]], [[Horsley Hills]] and [[Talakona]] of [[Chittoor]] district.

'''Thimmama Marrimanu''' - World's largest occupied banyan tree, it covers {{convert|5.2|acre|m2}}. Age of the tree 550 years. It holds a Guinness Book record. Near Kadiri, from Anantapur 120 kilometres, from Kadiri 20 kilometres.

[[Kadiri Sree Khadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple]], Kadiri, Anantapur Dist.

From Anantapur 90 kilometers, From Hindupur 85 kilometers, From [[Madanapalle]] 80 kilometers.

[[Penna ahobilam Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple]], Penna ahobilam, Uravakonda, Anantapur Dist.

From Anantapur 39 kilometers, From Uravakonda 11 kilometers, From Bellary 60 kilometers.

===Spiritual proponents===

*Annamayya - Spiritual guru also had written songs on Sri Venkateswara, an interesting mention of the lullaby ''Chandamama Raave, jaabilli raave'', which every Telugu mother sings.
* [[Ganapati Sachchidananda|Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji]] - Pontiff of Avadhoota Datta Peetham, is from Bommeparthy (Jayalakshmipuram) in Anantapuram district.
* [[Swami Poornananda ji]] - Avadhoota Swami of Srisailam.
* [[Vemana|Yogi Vemana]] - Poet
* [[Sri Pothuluri Veerabramhendra Swamy]] - Poet and clairvoyant.
* [[Sathya Sai Baba|Puttaparti Satya Sai baba]] - Spiritual and religious savant.
* [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] - Philosopher, Madanapalle.
* [[Mumtaz Ali]] - The [[Satsang]] Foundation, Madanapalle.
Mahanandi Temple:-
Mahanandi temple was famous for lord siva with special temple architecture.
It is near to nallamalla forest.Surrounding this temople eight more siva
temples there that why the nearby town is called as Nandyal (mean—combination of nandi alayas)

==Politics==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2012}}
Rayalaseema is underdeveloped compared to the [[Coastal Andhra]] region of the state. The growing movement in Telangana to secede from Andhra Pradesh, as well as southern India's long droughts have caused several movements to coalesce around Rayalaseema's grievances. All of these movements are calling for greater official attention for the region, especially in the form of new water projects to harness the [[Krishna River|Krishna]] and [[Godavari River|Godavari]] rivers to the aid of the region's beleaguered farmers. Since Rayalaseema comprises only four districts, some people of Rayalaseema want to  advocates the inclusion of  neighbouring coastal Andhra districts of Nellore and Prakasam and even the Kannada-speaking district of [[Bellary District|Bellary]] in [[Karnataka]]  and demand for a separate Rayalaseema state, though people of coastal districts refuse for such proposal.

Various organizations like Rayalaseema Hakkula Ikya Vedika untiringly promoted by [[T G Venkatesh|Sri T G Venkatesh]] are demanding the establishment of second capital in Kurnool. Kurnool is an important city in the Rayalaseema region. It was the capital of Andhra State from 1 October 1953 to 1 November 1956 and at present is the headquarters of Kurnool District.

Though the area comprises 4 districts, several chief ministers came from this region. They include [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]] the former President of India,previous Chief Minister  [[Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy]], [[Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy]], [[Damodaram Sanjivayya]], [[Nara Chandrababu Naidu]] and even the current chief minister [[Kiran Kumar Reddy]] is from Rayalaseema region.

==Factionism==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2012}}
The peculiar phenomenon of factionism in Rayalaseema goes back to the times of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]]. Village chieftains known as [[Poligar]]s (to be clear Paalegarlu, thopugallu) were crucial for the survival of the kingdom. Vijayanagara rulers depended upon these chieftains for military support in times of crisis and granted a fair degree of autonomy. The British tried to eliminate factionism in the region by hanging a couple of the chieftains publicly, but failed to eradicate it. Land reforms to distribute land and wealth usurped by Palegars have met limited success, which resulted in another violent phenomenon known as [[Naxalism]]. Factionism has political patronage and is a flourishing activity today.

Factionism has been hindering the progress of Rayalaseema. Many politicians and families are associated with factionism, spending their valuable time to protect themselves from their opponents and planning how to attack or even kill their opponents. For surviving and managing their gangs, they indulge in rowdyism and asking commissions (or percentages) from the government projects. Because of this, some government projects (such as the new broad gauge railway line, irrigation related work etc.) were stopped or postponed. If any government servant does not listen to these factionists, they are threatened.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

==See also==
* [[Kosta/Coastal Andhra]]
* [[Telangana]]

==References==
{{No footnotes|date=December 2009}}
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2204/stories/20050225002403300.htm "Rayalaseema's bane"] on [[Frontline magazine|Frontline]]
* [http://www.rediff.com/news/dec/05war.htm "The Killing Fields of Rayalaseema"] on [[Rediff]]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060306162107/http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/july042004/n12.asp Article] in the [[Deccan Herald]] on the Rayalaseema separatist movement

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://mana-raayalaseema.blogspot.com Rayalaseema Tourist attractions]
* [http://www.namastherayalaseema.com]
* [http://www.mastanantapur.com Mastanantapur]
* [http://www.kadapa.info Information of Kadapa district]
* [http://www.satsang-foundation.org/ Founded by Sri Mumtaz Ali]

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[[Category:Regions of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Proposed states and union territories in India]]

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