RAJAHMUNDRY

       From the Ages Rajahmundy city has been a Cultural hub of the state. The city is harbored for several historical remains. It seems that every area of the city is engulfed with the remains of the past . We try to  present you some of the places that are to be visited in the city.

 Sri Gowthami Grandhalayam                     

Sri Gowthami Grandhalayam is a library that has a collection of around 60,000 books. The library contains books of different languages on various subjects. This library is a combination of Vasuraya Grandhalayam Library, which was established by Vasudeva Subbarayadu and Ratnakavi Grandhalayam Library, established by Kokkonda Venkataratnam. Sri Gowthami Grandhalayam was merged with many small libraries, which was registered in 1920, while it received its name in 1898. The library is one of the prominent places among natives and tourists.     Aryabhatta Science and Technology Society

Aryabhatta Science and Technology Society is a museum and a knowledge centre, which was constructed in 2005 by the President, P. Satyanarayana Murty. This museum preserves some of the antique creations, which belong to India and other artefacts that were imported from China and Italy. Furthermore, this museum has several halls, which organise exhibitions on subjects like Geography, Geology, Physics and many more. The museum also has some of the beautiful models of submarines, helicopter and warships. Besides these, this museum also presents some of the beautiful historical monuments in the form of models. It also includes preserved snakes and reptiles, out of which a 10 ft long Python is the main attraction.    Damerla Rama Rao Art Gallery is dedicated to Rama Rao, who was born on 8th March 1897 in Rajahmundry. He was dedicated towards painting and sketching since his childhood. The greatest achievement of his life was that he directly got admitted to the final year of Fine Arts Course in Mumbai School of Arts. The gallery displays his art works and is visited by tourists and natives alike.    Timing:   9 am - 12 pm and 2 pm - 5 pm (Friday Holiday)   Alcot Gardens

Alcot Gardens was named after Mr. Alcot, who was the leader of Divya Gyana Samaj. The site was used for conducting various assemblies and meetings of this samaj. The garden is popular among tourists and natives as a picnic spot.

  Town Hall                     

Town Hall is considered as the first Town Hall of the state of Andhra Pradesh. Sri Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu built this Town Hall in 1891 with his own resources. This place houses a library, which was visited by many national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Bipinchandra Pal and Subhash Chandra Bose.

 Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills                     

Andhra Pradesh Paper Mill is considered among the largest producers of paper and boards. It was established on 29th June 1964, and on 10th July 1964, it was rewarded with the Certificate of Commencement of Business. This mill comprises 5 paper machines, which produce different variety of paper. Andhra Pradesh Paper Mill was formed with the incorporation of funds and highly qualified management of Bangurs of Calcutta, which is a renowned industry. Furthermore, this company is an employer of around 4,000 families and provides indirect employment to another 10,000 families.

 Iskcon Temple                     

Iskcon Temple, popularly known as Gowthami Ghat, is a recreational centre and is among the popular tourist attractions in Rajahmundry. After the Iskcon of Bangalore, it is considered as the second largest Iskcon temple in southern region, which covers an area of about 2 acres. The temple is built on the banks of Godavari River by the Iskcon group. It is believed that many rishis have performed tapasya at this temple. The temple is also known as Ramananda Raya Gaudiya Math as Lord Sri Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya exchanged words at this site. Idols of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath, Subhadra Devi, Sri Sri Govinda Srinivasa, Sri Sri Jaganath Baladeva, Sri Sri Krishna Chaitanya and Prabhu Nityananda are housed in the temple.  History states that around 500 years ago, Shri Krishna Chaitanya Maha Prabhu was worshipped as the incarnation of Lord Shri Krishna. He is also considered as the first saint to start the movement of ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ sankeerthana.

Rallabandi Subbarao Government Museum                     

Rallabandi Subbarao Government Museum was established in 1967. It displays the cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh and preserves the collection of rare coins and pottery items. Besides these, it also exhibits the ancient palm-leaf manuscripts and inscriptions. Timing:   10:30 am – 5 pm (Except Fridays and Public Holidays)     Kambham Choultry and Kambala Tank

          This is the only choultry in the country where death ceremonies only take place. It was constructed by Mr. Kambham Narasinga Rao Pantulu between 1845-1850 with his own resources. Kambala tank (Kambhala Cheruvu - Kambham vari Cheruvu) was also the dug during this time. The soil that came after digging this pond was used for making bricks to construct the choultry. Even in Varansi (Kasi) also we can't find a separate choultry that undertakes the death ceremonies. People come from different parts of the country to conduct ceremonies to this choultry. This choultry is in ruins now. The water from different villages and other places join this pond. We can find water in this pond in all the seasons. The Government thought of constructing a Stadium in this place. But the public opposed the government and now it is converted into boating club & amusement park.

 Paul Chowk

          This area was named after Mr. Bipin Chandra Paul who came to Rajahmundry in April 1907 during the Vandemataram movement. The present Kotipalli Bus Stand was his stage of speeches then. He gave speeches for 5 days continuously at this place. The senior citizens of Rajahmundry who are above 50 years might have known this history. The area covering the Petrol Bunk, Jetty Towers, Bus Stand and the three parks comes under Paul Chowk.

Seshaiah Metta

          The area behind the District Court is known as Seshaiahmetta. It is said that Rajahmundry was on Panchagiris (Five Hills) and one of them was Sesha Giri (A hill named Sesha) and the place was named after it. But the story according to the historians is quite different. According to them the name of this place took it's transformation from "Sher Sahib Metta" to "Seshaiah metta". Sher Sahib was one of the ruler of Rajahmundry during the Mohammedan rule and the present Old - Post Office building was his residence.

Subrahmanya Maidanam

          Subramanya Maidanam was known as Police Parade Grounds till 1947 15th August. On the Independence Day Col. D. S. Raju named it as Subrahmanya Maidanam after the name of Dr. Brahmajosyula Subrahmanyam, who was a freedom fighter from Rajahmundry.

Merakaveedhi Telagalu

          In 1565, the Vijayanagara empire came to an end. Many people (most of them being soldiers of the defeated Vijayanagara army) shifted from Chandragiri to this area (near the present Town hall) and settled there. These people belong to Telaga caste. Some of the Surnames/First names of these families are Kandaala, Potula, Kattula, Muttangi, Yarra, Narra, Neelam, Kanchumarthi, Nadipalli, Bayapunida. Most of the people from these families had served as Senapathi's (Captains) in Vijayanagara army. Even now also we can find some armors and some other weapons with some of these families. The deity of these families is Sri Venugopala Swami and the procession of the Diety used to go through this street. All these people are Vaishnavas.

Nagula Cheruvu

          The present Municipal stadium was Nagula Cheruvu. Nearly more than a century ago a man called Nagulu got this pond dug for the use of general public. Mr. Potula Veerabhadra Rao who was an athlete became Municipal Chairman in the year 1955. In 1956, he got the Stadium constructed. The Stadium was inaugurated by the Central Minister Mr. Surjit Singh Majigya for a Football Tourney. The market here is named after the same pond as Nagula Cheruvu Bazaar.

Sraddanand Ghat

          Sraddanand Ghat was formed in the year 1920 near the Old Samacharam Office. This ghat was named after Saint Sraddananda, the head of Aryasamaj - Delhi. He lost his breath in the freedom movement. There was a bust size statue of Mr. Bose. People used to believe that Rajahmundry will get floods if the statue sinks in the river water up to its top. This statue was removed during the Godavari Pushkarams in 1991. (Pushkaram - The festival celebrated once in 12years for the rivers in India.) Many people including Acharya Kripalani, Mr. Prakasam, Mr. Tenneti Viswanadham, Mr. Kala Venkat Rao etc. used to address the public here. Foot steps are the gallery for the people who listen them.

Rangaraju Peta

          Some people from Rajasthan and Maharashtra came to Rajahmundry in 1870 and settled near Fort gate. They used to paint colors to clothes and pots etc. They belong to Bondhili religion. Ratnam pen works which is famous all over India has its head office in this area.

The Temple of Lord Markandeya

          This temple is on the Godavari bund. The actual place of this temple was a ruined Mosque near Chanda Satram (Satram - Choultry). After examining this old-ruined mosque the archeological experts confirmed it to be a Shiva temple. This temple was constructed by a rich person Mr. Gundu Sobhanadriswara Rao in the year 1818. The street in which he lived is named as Gundu vari Street. The main entrance of this temple was in this street. But now this gate is being used as secondary. The present Vysya Hostel was the residence of Mr.Gundu Sobhadriswara Rao.

Ramdasu peta

          This area was named after Mr. Yedla Ramadasu, a singer. He used to propagate vedanta, non-violence, truth etc. among the public with his folk songs. It is on the way to Korukonda Road, between Sanitarium and Quarry Colony. He died in 1917. We can find his tomb here. He used to work in the Sanitarium T. B. Center. The T.B. patients used to stay in this area.

Arya Puram

          The Sub Collector Mr. Lister divided the government land into 130 plots with 3 streets in 1895. Nearly 90% of priests got the places for minimum prices. This area was named after him as Lister Pet. Later it was renamed as Aryapuram as maximum residents of this area are Brahmins. This area was annexed into Municipality in 1890. The school in this area was also named after the Sub Collector as Listerpet Municipal high school. It was also renamed after some period as Sri Nannayya Municipal High School. The "Aryapuram Library" was established in 1910 in Dr. A. B. Nageswara Rao Street. In later days the name was changed to "Sri Rama Bala Bhakta Pustak Bhandagaram" and shifted to Vankayalavari Street. The Temple of Lord Sri Satyanarayana was built in 1935. These days also the majority of residents in Aryapuram are Brahmins.

Veerabhadra Puram

          In 1910 Mr. Duvvuri Veera Bhadra Rao divided his 100 Acres land into plots and sold them to Brahmins at very low prices and gave lands for free of cost to Washermen, ViswaBramins and others. It is in the mid of Kambala Tank, Subashnagar, Lalitha Nagar. Till 1930 the residents of this area refused to annex this area into Rajahmundry Municipality. He also gave a very big landscape near Kambala Tank to Sri Rama Krishna Mission and Math for free of cost. The authorities of this Mission sold this area. The place in which the present Income tax Office (AAYAKAR BHAVAN) was built was also the part of the same Sri Rama Krishna Math. The present place where Rama Krishna Math is situated was also given by Mr. Duvvuri Rama Krishna Rao.

Innispet

          This colony was formed due to the efforts of the then Sub Collector Mr. Innisin 1865. In its earlier stage the Innispet area covered from Kumari Talkies to Government Junior college. After 1910 till now Innispet has Veeresalingam Theistic Junior College and (Govt. Comprehensive College) Training College and Kumari Talkies as its borders.

Alcot Gardens

          The gardens in which the meetings of Divya Jnan Samaj were conducted by their leader Mr. Alcot are named after him as Alcot Gardens.

Jampet

          Due to drought in Jaami areas of Visakhapatnam weavers shifted their board to Rajahmundry. The Rajahmundry Municipality bought the gardens of Guava and divided them into plots and distributed among these people. Till then this place was named as Jampet. The statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the center of the Road was inaugurated by Andhra Kesari Sri Tanguturi Prakasam.

Danavaipet

          The history of this place is yet to be known. Till now two theories exists in naming this area. The first theory states that this place was named after the leader of washer men, "Danavai", who dug a pond called "Danavaigunta". This name was famous till 1950. The second theory is different. According to that theory this place was the place of one of the Army officials, "Dalavai" and hence it is named as Danavaipet.

Sitampet

          The area which was given to Pundits, Scientists and Priests by a rich man from Kandregula family in memory of his mother "Sitamma" is known as Sitampet. There was also one pond "Sitamma Cheruvu". It was converted into a park recently.

Devi Chowk

            One of the famous place in Rajahmundry is Devi Chowk a clock tower temple of Durga Maata the goddesses of power(Shakthi). Devotees who ever visits Rajahmundry never misses to visit the Durga Devi Temple at Devi Chowk. Dashehara or Devi Navaratru is celebrated in a befitting manner with lightings, skyscraped fireworks it seems as if sprinkling lights all over the city.