Andhra Pradesh is the third largest state
in India with an area of 275,000 sq. km. A state in
the southern region of India, Andhra Pradesh is bordered
on the south by Tamil Nadu state, on the west by Karnataka
state, on the north and northwest by Maharashtra state,
on the northeast by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa states,
and on the east by the Bay of Bengal. The northern area
of Andhra Pradesh is mountainous. The climate is generally
hot and humid. Annual rainfall is 125 cm. The Krishna
and The Godavari are the major river systems in the
state.
Andhra Pradesh has a very rich cultural background. Historians
date life in the area to the Palaeolithic age of some
3,00,000 years ago. Of course, recorded history points
to existence of societies as early as the sixth century
BC in the Krishna and Godavari valleys.
From such a background emerges the modern day Andhra
Pradesh, on the forefront not just alphabetically. Its
people are achievers who display a rare hospitality and
courtesy. The State is today on the top internationally
in regard to information technology and its capital Hyderabad
has metamorphosed into one of the best cities in the country.
Starting with a purely Andhra or Telugu culture, the
people of the State have over the years imbibed the graces
of Persian and Turkish cultures brought in by Muslim rulers.
A confluence of such cultures has created an exclusive
‘Deccani’ culture that combines hospitality, grace, appreciation
of beauty and a passion to excel.
It is this driving passion that has brought the State
to the foremost position today. It already has valuable
gifts that nature has endowed it with — a long coastline
bordered by clean beaches; hills, forests and a meteorologically
and socially pleasant climate.
It is not for nothing that global investors have found
Andhra Pradesh ideal for setting up their units. International
IT giants were among the first to be taken in by the Hi-tec
City near Hyderabad and its environs that form Cyberabad
— the IT destination.
Urbanisation of what was known as Andhra Desa covering
almost all the present Andhra Pradesh, the Deccan Plateau
and peninsular India started as early as the sixth century
BC and this is borne out by the accounts of Megasthenes,
Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupta Maurya,
in the third century BC. Megasthenes recorded the existence
of as many as 30 fortified towns in the region.
It was during this period that Buddhism and Jainism vied
with the already established Brahmanism. But it was after
the second Buddhist council in 380 BC that Andhra Desa
became a Buddhist stronghold with Dhanyakataka, today’s
Amaravati in Guntur district, as its centre.
After the fall of the Mauryan empire, the Satavahanas,
who had accepted the suzerainty of the Mauryas, united
as a single race. Their empire was vast and spread over
the peninsula. The rulers were followers of Brahmanism,
but the womenfolk practised Buddhism. It was during this
period that Buddhism spread from these shores to China,
the Far East and to Sri Lanka. The Amaravati school of
art developed into a distinctive style. The Satavahanas
proclaimed themselves Dakshinapathapatis – monarchs of
the South. (Dakshin later came to be described as the
Deccan.) |
