Rayagada

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Rayagada
Rayagada
State - District(s)	Orissa - Rayagada
Coordinates	19.17° N 83.42° E
Area - Elevation	- 207 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density	57,732 -

Rayagada is a city and a municipality in Rayagada District in the Indian state of Orissa.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Introduction
4 History
5 The Tribals of Rayagada
6 Economy
7 Tourist Attractions
- 7.1 Fairs and Festivals
8 Education
9 Literary Contributions
10 References
11 See also

[edit] Geography

Rayagada is located at 19.17° N 83.42° E^[1]. It has an average elevation of 207 metres (679 feet).

Rayagada is a district of meadows, forests, water falls and terraced valleys, peopled by colourful tribals and many Primitive Tribal Groups. The scenic beauty and heritage on the land is an unexplored paradise. The systematic relationship between men and nature is a feast to the eyes of an outsider. It has its own appeal for the lap of nature.

The pattern of people living in the district show unit in diversity of races, languages and culture. The Schedule Tribes living in the district posses dissimilar economics ranging from food gathering to settled cultivation. Their languages/dialects, societies and culture show inter-societal/ cultural variations because of the persistence of ethnic mosaic formed by communities belonging to scheduled Tribes, Scheduled castes and other castes groups.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Rayagada had a population of 57,732. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Rayagada has an average literacy rate of 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 56%. In Rayagada, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Introduction

There are various communities living in Rayagada notably being Oriyas, Telugus, Sindhis, Gujratis and Marwaris who have settled since long and have become a distinct identity of the place. Tribals too comprise a significant population of the place. All the festivals relating to these communities are celebrated with pomp and fervour.

[edit] History

In the third century B.C, during the reign of Ashoka the Great, it was under Kalinga empire.The hilly track between Bansadhara and Nagabali was famous for spices¹. Rastriks were defeated by Kharvela, the only Aryan Emperor of Orissa,during the Chawpagada battle ² . During Ganga Vansi and Surya Vansi Kings, it was under Dadarnab Dev of Gudari Kataka ³ This region went to Bahamanis when MukundDev was defeated at Gohera Tikiri in 1519. It was under Nandapur Kingdom for brief period of 47 years. BiswambarDev who was defeated and killed by Hasin Khan was perhaps the third king installed at Rayagada. Still, the Sati Kunda Goddess Majhi Ghairani and the mudfort around it speaks much about its evidence.
In subsequent years it was under Bobilli, a Tahasil of Vijayanagaram. During the English regime, Rayagada came under Jeypore administration and later was part of Koraput District. As part of the extension plan of districts in the Orissa state, On 2nd October 1992 Rayagda District was carved out of the erstwhile Koraput district.

[edit] The Tribals of Rayagada

The district has a predominant tribal population of 57.52%. Keeping this in view all the 11 blocks of the district have been covered under tribal sub-plan with 3 micro projects in operation for the pre-literate indigenous tribal communities.

The physiography of Rayagada gives a prefect platform for the tribals in sustaining their ethno-cultural identity in the district. Forest area covers an extent of 4785.36 Sq. K.M. out of which 777.27 Sq. Km is Reserved forest.

The district has been the homeland of various tribal communities with their sub-tribes, who are found in different level of development depending upon their assimilation with the so-called mainstream or modern communities. . In the ethno-cultural map of Orissa, Among the many tribal communities, two tribes stand out quite prominently for their educational backwardness and continuing ethnic and cultural identity are The kondhas and the Souras

[edit] Economy

Rayagada as a place flourished due to the existence of Jeypore Sugar Factory and the Metal and Ferro Alloys company. The Jeypore Sugar Company(JEYSUCO) also has a distillary attached. Various grades of sugar are made here. However this company had to close down during the late nineties. The Metal and Ferro Alloys continues its production.

THE JEYPORE SUGARS LTD was established by the BRITISH which attracted loads of people from nearby states to rayagada.The industrial atmosphere,great location and availability of resources around made Rayagada a prominanat town in orissa. Being a place with busy environment it attracted bussinessmen like BH.Rama Shastry. His heir BH.RAMAKRISHNA(sai) is continuing his bussiness.

[edit] Tourist Attractions

Rayagada, the district of many charms, is a thrill to the searching eyes. It has the facilities to serve as a base for visiting the near by place of interest.

Maa Majhighariani temple - Maa Majhighariani is famous in Southern Division of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Most of the devotees are coming from Madhyapradesh Chatishgarh, Andhrapradesh including undivided Koraput District. Only the face of the Maa MajhiGhariani is worshiped. During Sunday, Wednesday and Friday a large number of Devotees are coming to this place for worshiping the Goddess. The temple is famous for Chaitra-Parba i.e. March-April of every year.
Hatipathar - Only 3 km from the district headquarter. It is a place of great scenic beauty with two water falls on the course of river Nagavali. The scenic beauty is impressive and the boulders here appear like huge elephants. It is 133 km from Koraput. Ironically we cannot visit that that place after heavy rains in 2006 which changed the course of the river Nagabali.
Laxminarayan temple - Famous Laxminarayan Temple situated at IMFA Factory, Therubali. The deities Laxminarayan, Hanuman, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra and Lord Siva also worshiped by thousands devotees.
Paikapada - The place Paikapada is famous for so many Siva Lingams. The deities like Lord Jagannath, Maa Dhakineswar Kalika, Samudra etc. are worshiped here. The car festival of Lord Jagannath is also celebrated and during Sivaratri a large number of pilgrims come to observe the function. The Place is situated near Theruballi. It is believed that there are 99,99,999 shivlingams (only one less to 1 crore) in & around Paikapada shrine.
Chatikona - It is located about 48 km from Rayagada surrounded by a series of valleys and wooden hills of varying colours and the place is a center of pilgrimage for the temple of Mahadev. It offers picnickers gorgeous view of the waterfall. The Siva temple is the focus of hectic activities on Siva Ratri. The Dongaria Kondha of Chatikona represent the primitive section of the tribe.
Minajhola - It is only 134 km from Rayagada. It is a beauty spot of nature, has a siva temple at the confluence of three rivers. It is situated in the heart of dense forest, rich in wild life. Sivaratri is a popular festival of this place. Though there is no good all weather road yet the place is worth visiting. Regular bus service is available from Rayagada and Gunupur up to Gudari. The rest 25 km. Road is Jeepable.
Devagiri - The Devagiri hill rises to a height of 120.2 meters. Unlike other hills it is not narrower upwards. The top of the hill is a flat platform of rectangular plain, which can be approached only from the northern side. There are 476 steps which are the unique feature of the Devagiri. At the top of the hill, there are perennial poles of water called Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Bhargavi and Indradyumna. There is a cave looking like two Jaws, The Siva Lingam is enshrined at the meeting point of the Jaws. Sivaratri is its biggest festival, which draws a large crowd every year. It is 50 km from Rayagada. Regular bus services are available from Rayagada to Kalyansingpur and the sacred hill is close to Kalyansingpur.
Padampur - Housing the shrine of Manikeswari Siva. It is identified to be the seat of Dharmakirti, the Budhist-Logician-philosopher. It is 90 km from Rayagada.

[edit] Fairs and Festivals

Chaitra Parba of Maa Maji Ghariani Goddess
Rath Yatra at Rayagada in the month of July
Kali Puja at Block Colony, Rayagada in the month of November.
Laxmi Puja at New Colony, Rayagada in the month of October.
Dasehera at J.K.Pur & Brahmin street, Rayagada in the month of October.
Annual celebration of Gram Devata during March- April (9 days) at Rayagada

[edit] Education

Though a tribal dominated area, the focus on education has been there since long. GCD high school holds a prominent place being the oldest in the region. The other schools in the region are sacred heart school. Its an english medium school and affliated to ICSE, Delhi. Rayagada college imparts education at +2 and +3 (Graduate) levels. Also the area has seen a rise in engineering colleges which apart from B.Tech in Engineering also have facilities for MCA, MBA and Bio-Technology courses.Centre for World Education Service (CWES) is among the academic institution, a NOT Profit making volunteer organization initiating to rise the level of education in the District by facilitating the people studying different professional courses trough distance Education. CWES is also looking to the exploitation of the talent of local educated youth providing skill development and vocational training.

[edit] Literary Contributions

RAYAGADA is well known for its contribution to literature in almost all languages, english ,hindi,telugu and oriya to be precise.Among the writers and poets BH.NAGESHWARA RAO holds a unique position.

[edit] References

1. As evident by Andhra Historical Journal XXVII edition at page 46.
2. The rock inscription of Allahbad inscribed by Mahamantri Harisena provides evidence to this effect.
3. A rock inscription found at Pataleswar temple in Brahmi script provides an evidence to this effect.