Kadapa City

Kadapa is one of the ancient and beautiful cities in Andhra Pradesh. Kadapa (Cuddapah) is located in south-central part of the Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Kadapa District. Kadapa city is surrounded on three sides by the Nallamala and Palakonda hills (These hills are a part of Eastern Ghats ).

Kadapa city is located at 14.47° N 78.82° E. It has an average elevation of 138 meters (452 feet).  As of 2001 India census, Kadapa city had a population of 1, 25,725. Kadapa has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5% of which male literacy is 76% and, female literacy is 64%. In Kadapa, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age

Behind the Name:

The name ‘Kadapa’ is derived from Telugu word ‘Gadapa’, which means threshold. The city is so named because it is the gateway from the north to the sacred hill-‘Tirumala’ of lord Venkateswara (Balaji). Devuni kadapa is the holy place (where ancient temple of Balaji is located) in Kadapa city , people believes that before setting up journey to ‘Tirumala’(holy place of Lord Venkateswara (Balaji)) i.e “Seven Hills”, they should come visit this place and set course the journey. Even people say that the name of the Kadapa is derived from this place as Devuni GADAPA (Which means threshold in Telugu). Finally, person behind the name is lord Venkateswara.

Spell Change:

Kadapa was spelt ‘Cuddapah’ previously, it was changed to ‘Kadapa‘ with effect from 19 August 2005 to reflect the actual Telugu pronunciation of the word.

History in Brief:

Kadapa city was a part of the Chola Empire from 11th -15th century. Muslims conquered it in 1565, and then the British took control of it in 1800. Although the town is an ancient one, it was probably extended by Neknam Khan, the famous Qutub Shahi commander, who called the extension ‘Neknamabad’. It is not probable that Nekanamabad was the name given to the whole town.

In any case, it fell into disuse as the records of 18th century refer to the Mayana rulers not as Nawabs of Nekanamabad but as the Nawabs of Kadapa. Except for some years in the beginning, Kadapa was the seat of the Mayana Nawabs in the 18th century. With the British occupation of the tract in 1800 A.D., Kadapa became the headquarters of one of the four Subordinate Collectors under Principal Collector, Major Munro.

In Kadapa there are the relics of the Kadapa Nawabs rule. Most prominent among these are two towers and the dargahs.

Places of Interest in this City:

• Lord Venkateswara Temple (Devuni Kadapa)
• Shilparamam
• Bhagavan Mahaveer Museum
• Saint Cathedral
• Chand Peera Gumbazh
• Ameen peer Dargah
• Vijaya Durga Temple
• C P Brown Library

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