Paralakhemundi
| Paralakhemundi ପାରଳାଖେମୁଣ୍ଡି |
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| Town of Historical Importance | |
 Paralakhemundi
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Odisha |
| District | Gajapati |
| Government | |
| • Chairman Of the Municipality | K LathaDevi |
| Elevation | 145 m (476 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 70,000 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Odia, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 761200 |
| Telephone code | 91-6815 |
| Vehicle registration | OD-20 |
| Website | gajapati |
Parlakhemundi is an ancient town and a municipality in Gajapati district in the Indian state of Odisha. Majority of the people in the town speak Odia. However a sizable population also speak in Telugu. The town and the District share its boundaries with Andhra Pradesh. Pathapatnam town in the Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradesh is considered as twin town to Paralakhemundi due to its close proximity. Both towns are separated by the Mahendra Tanaya River.
Contents
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[1] Parlakhemundi had a population of 42,991. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Parlakhemundi has an average literacy rate of 69%, lower than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 61%. In Parlakhemundi, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Paralakhemundi has an estimated population of 70,000 in the year 2011.[citation needed] Majority of the people are Hindu; Christians being the second largest religious community.
History
Paralakhemundi is an ancient Zamindari lying in the western corner of the southern portion of the Ganjam district, and it is bounded in the west by the district of Visakhapatnam and on the north by the Jeypore state and the eastern ghats which are called Maliyas or tribal agencies. The town of Paralakhemundi is: "a straggling town in plan much like the letter ‘L’ scattered around the foot of the well wooded hill which is the distinctive feature of the place. The horizontal portion of the ‘L’ faces south, and at the corner where the ‘L’ and the vertical portion join, is situated the palace(Gajapati Palace), a most picturesque group of building". This group of buildings was designed and built by Mr. Chisholm.
The Kimedi country, consisting of Paralakhemundi, Padda kimedi and Chinna Kimedi, was under a single ruler till 1607. Paralakhemedi came under British influence in 1768.
Paralakhemundi owes much of its present-day Existence to sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo. Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo, Maharaja of Paralakhemundi of the Gajapati Dynasty, was the direct descendant of the historic dynasty of the Eastern Ganga dynasty Gajapati kings that ruled Odisha for more than seven centuries. During the regime of these kings, the boundaries of Odisha extended from the Ganges in the north to Udoyagiri in Nellore district in the South. Kolahomee, one of the sons of Gajapati Kapilendra Dev, the Gajapati monarch in the later half of the 15th Century came to this part of Paralakhemundi (then in Ganjam district) and founded the Royal family of Paralakhemundi.
Gajapati district has been named after Maharaja Sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Dev, the Raja Sahib of Paralakhemundi estate. He was honoured as the 1st Prime Minister of the State of Odisha after it was created in 1st Apr 1936, remembered for his contribution in the formation of a separate Odisha State and inclusion of Paralakhemundi estate in Odisha. Gajapati district came into being with effect from 2 October 1992. Prior to this it was a part (Sub-Division) of Ganjam district.
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File:Paralakhemundi, Odisha 761200 - Google Maps Page 1.jpg
Paralakhemundi Map
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| The Gajapati Dynasty of Paralakhemundi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * Historical Data unreliable | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extracted from the book "Paralakhemundi, Lekha O Lekhaka" |
Geography and climate
Paralakhemundi lies in the south-east of the east Indian state of Odisha. It is on the banks of Mahendratanaya river. Paralakhemundi borders with a town called Pathapatnam of Andhra Pradesh. The town is located on a hilly terrain. The climate is subtropical with high humidity. The temperature varies between 18-48 degree Celsius. Summer is extremely hot with some thunderstorms and minor cyclones, which occasionally cause power outages. Paralakhemundi receives rainfall from the southwest monsoons and the wettest months are July, August and September.
Education
The town of paralakhemundi has many educational institutions. Some institutes have been there for over 100 years. These were initiated under the erstwhile rulers of the princely state. Maharaja Boys High School (1857), SKCG College (1896), Maharaja Girls High School (1919) are the ones operational even today. The rulers of yester-years understood the importance of education and promoted education of the girl child about a hundred years ago.
The SKCG Autonomous College, Paralakhemundi, named after the illustrious Sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati, enjoys the reputation of being the second oldest college of the state after the Revenshaw College of cuttack. It has affiliation in almost all major disciplines in the faculties of Arts, Science and commerce. From the session 1996-97, P.G. Courses in Mathematics has been added to the already existing post-graduate teaching facilities in Economics, Chemistry, Oriya, Commerce and Life Sciences. Besides teaching facilities for Honours courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Computer Applications, English, Oriya, Sanskrit, Geography, history, Political Science and Economics, the College also offers teaching in subjects like Telugu, Hindi, Logic, Philosophy and Home Science. The Indira Gandhi National Open University has opened a center in this college. The college has a sanctioned strength of 2016 students and 83 faculty positions.The alumni of this College occupied and continue to occupy positions of distinction and pride in public life. The college celebrated its centenary from 10 to 12 January 2001.
The Women's' College, Paralakhemundi was established in the year 1983 and was initially affiliated to Berhampur University for IA (Intermediate in Arts) course. Later it was affiliated to the Council of Higher secondary Education, Odisha, Bhubaneswar for the +2 Arts Course. The College came under G.I.A. fold since 1988. The College has received Permanent recognition from Government in the year 2003–2004.The College was included in u/s @ 2(f) and 12(B) Act of the U.G.C. from 2006 to 2007.
There is a Teacher's Training Institute in the town that trains and graduates teachers. It helps in imparting training on the latest methodologies of teaching to the Teachers of Primary and Upper Primary Schools. It also provides CT Training to prospective students on Teaching and certifies the apprenticeship expertise.
Jagannath Institute for Technology and Management (JITM) was established in the year 1997. The institute was set up with the aim to bring technical education to the rural areas and produce highly skilled technical personnel for various sectors in the industry. The institute has been rechristened as Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) recently. Students from all over Odisha and neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are studying in this institute, which provides Engineering and Management degrees in several disciplines.
Sanskrit college is one of the oldest colleges in Paralakhemundi. It is affiliated to Puri Sanskrit University. Students here learn the ancient language of Sanskrit and thus help in keeping the language alive and making it relevant in today's context. Several other private-public partnered colleges have come up recently in the town and in the periphery of the town. MBA Degree College, Law College, Nursing College, Sri Ram College Kasinagar are a few of them.
There are several primary, upper primary and high schools in the town. Some of the prominent schools are MRBH, MRGH, Mahendra Giri High School, Gandhi School, Apanna Paricha School, Goura Chandra School. Some of the prominent private schools are the Saraswati Sishu Mandir, Sri Arabinda Purnanga Sikhya Kendra, Priyadarshini Convent School, Sri Satya Sai School. The town also has a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) and a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) set-up by the ministry of HRD, Central Union Government.
Civic Administration
The Paralakhemundi Municipality is in charge of the civic administration of the town. As the headquarters of the Gajapati district, it houses several district-level headquarters of government and private organizations.
Paralakhemundi being a Princely state before independence, has had streets named and occupied by people depending on the type of jobs they performed at the King's Court. Now the streets are inhabited by people occupied differently but the name of the streets remain the same old ones. Some of the old and prominent streets of paralakhemundi are,
- The Palace Street
- The Deo (Royal) Street,
- The Anka (Scientists) Street
- The Beborta Street
- The Karan (treasurer/revenue) Street
- The Odia Katika Street
- The Dhoba (Washerman) street
- The Odia Bhandari (Barber) Street
- The Chitrakaar (Painter) Street
- The Brahmin (Worshipper) Street
- The Rajguru (Royal Advisors) Street
- The Paika (Fighter) Street
- The Parala Street
- The Kumbhara (Pot Maker) Street
- The Jangam Street
Economy
Paralakhemundi is situated among the eastern ghats where there are vast plains and number of small streams and rivers. This has enabled cultivation as the chief source of income here. People cultivate mainly paddy, which is grown twice-a-year in the fields, once during Kharif and once during Rabi seasons. However many farmers also cultivate cash crops like Sugar Cane, Maize and Smoking Leaves. Some even cultivate long term cash crops like Mango Plantation, Cashew, Banana etc. The latest trend is that farmers are getting inclined to grow cotton in their fields, which apparently is more profitable to them. Apart from Cultivation and Industries related to cultivation like Rice Mills, Mango Pulp Factories, Cashew Factories, Rice Flake Industries, Sugar Mill, the town is poorly industrialized. However, some medium scale granite factories have been set-up in the surroundings of the town.The other source of income of the residents is through the Handicrafts that are made by them, which they are learning traditionally from generation to generation. The economy is sustainable but is not flourishing due to lack of industrialization and exposure to bigger markets. The backwardness in economy is chiefly due to the poor connectivity and lack of proper infrastructure available.
Transport
Paralakhemundi is connected to other parts of Odisha by the State Highway No.04 which connects Berhampur at one end and Rayagada on the other. The major towns around Paralakhemundi are, Gunpur 55 km, Rayagada 128 km, Brahmapur 112 km, Palasa 43 km, Srikakulam 68 km, Visakhapatnam 174 km. The state capital Bhubaneswar is about 280 km from the town and the High Court at Cuttack is about 305 km. The nearest National Highway (NH-5) is at around 40 km from Paralakhemundi, which can be reached at Narasanapeta or Palasa or Tekkali. Due to its geographical location as a town in the border area of two states Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Roadways has long been in the neglect and hence is a little difficult to reach the town from the nearby towns and cities. The OSRTC (Odisha State Road Transport Corporation), APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation), and private buses connect the town to other parts of Odisha and nearby towns of Andhra Pradesh. The town is well connected to Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur, Rayagada, Jeypore, Gunupur, Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Palasa, Bhawanipatna, Nabrangpur, Cuttack, Vijayanagaram, Rourkela, etc. by road.
Parlakhemundi is connected to Naupada railway junction on the main East Coast railway line from Kolkatta to Chennai by 90 km long (Gunpur to Naupada) 1676mm broad gauge line, that was converted from 762mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge in 2010-11 under Project Unigauge. The narrow gauge line called Paralakhemedi Light Railway (PLR) was established by Gajpati Rajas of Paralakhemundi, the erstwhile Raja of Paralakhemedi. The Raja of Paralakhemedi decided to connect his capital with Naupada, which was only 40 km away. With the then British Government giving sanction in 1898, work began in full earnest. The line was opened to traffic in 1900. This railway line was built at a cost of Rs 7 lakh. The operations of the PLR was taken over by the Bengal-Nagpur Railway (BNR) in 1902. In the first few years, the PLR had incurred losses but after 1910, it started making marginal profits and after 1924-25, the profits increased. This motivated the Raja to extend the line to Gunupur in two phases in 1929 and 1931. There are now a total of ten stations between Naupada and Gunupur. The Stations are, Naupada, Tekkali, Paddasan, Temburu, Ganguvada, Patapatnam, Paralakhemundi, Kasinagar, Lihuri, Bansadhara, Palasingi and Gunpur. The standard type of locomotive on PLR was the 20 ton 0-6-4 tank locomotive with small (27 inch diameter) coupled wheels and an axle load of only 4.75 tons. During the SER centenary celebrations in 1987, set of four postage stamps were released. One of the stamps featured the PL 691 locomotive.
The foundation-stone was finally laid for the Naupada-Paralakhemundi-Gunupur gauge conversion work at Naupada on September 27, 2002. With effect from April 1, 2003, PLR became a part of the East Coast Railway. The line was finally closed for gauge conversion on June 9, 2004. After conversion to broad gauge the Gunpur-Paralakhemundi-Naupada rail line was opened to public and from 21.08.2011 a regular train started from Gunupur to Puri via Paralakhemundi. A passenger train is also put in to service now, which connects Visakhapatnam with Gunpur via Paralakhemundi.
The nearest operational Major Railway Station is Palasa, which is 43 km away.
The nearest Airport is the Visakhapatnam Airport, which is at a distance of 180 km.
Art and Culture
Historically Paralakhemundi is known as a place for Art and Artists. The princely rulers had the penchant of promoting and sponsoring the artists. Sri Gopal Krushna Patnaik (1785-1862), an eminent Odia Poet of the eighteenth century was born at Parlakhemundi. He was contemporary of Kavisurya Baladev Rath. He was a lyric-poet. His writings on the Krishna Leela like, ‘Brajaku Chora Asichhi’, ‘Uthilu Ede Begi Kahinkire’, ‘Mo Krushna Chandrama’, ‘Dukhidhana Chandranana’ etc. lyrical poems were depicting the expression of affection.
Paralakhemundi is home to many forms of Art and Craft work.
Horn-work is the oldest craft of Paralakhemundi. The artisans of this art are called Maharanas. These artisans are said to have migrated from a place called Pitala in Ganjam district under the patronage of the Maharaja of Gajapati, Krishna Chandra Deb. The hornwork items include figurines, birds, animals and scenes from Indian mythology. The Palace Street is famous for its horn-work showrooms. The horn-works of Paralakhemundi were one of the important products of cottage industry. The horn-works of Paralakhemundi got a special place among the other craft works of Calcutta, Punjab, Kakinada and Trivandrum. The horn-works were made chiefly out of the horns of cattle which were supplied from the neighboring maliahs of the zamindari. The artists of Paralakhemundi first of all used to prepare birds from the horns. Gradually they prepared combs, elephants, horses, prawns, idols of Lord Jagannatha etc. The craft items are then sent to cities and art emporiums. The Horn-work artisans also have a Cooperative society that looks after the promotion and sales of their art work. These horn works are also highly popular in the international market.
The other Craft that was famous in the yester years was the Ivory-work. The artists of Paralakhemundi used to carve out beautiful works like throne, khatuli (cot) etc. out of ivory and bone. Forests in which a large number of elephants lived surrounded Paralakhemundi. Hence, ivory was plentifully available in Paralakhemundi. Sri. Radha Krushna Maharana & his son Sri. Purnachandra Maharana, Surendra Maharana and Bhaskara Maharana were experts in the field of ivory works during the British period.
Paralakhemundi is also known for crafts like the Jaikhadi bag, cane & bamboo work. The Chitrakar Sahi (Artist's Street) is famous for its clay, stone sculptures and water paintings. The chitrakar or painters could do wonders with their paint work. Some of the paint works include the Sculptures of Idols, Wall Painting, Fabric Painting, Painted Playing Cards, Paper Masks, Embossed Paper Idols and Souvenirs. Due to fading demand and economic considerations, now only a few artists are seen to practice the family tradition.
The town celebrates almost all festivities, all round the year. The Jagannath Ratha Yatra being the most revered one. The Jagannath Rath Yatra of Paralakhemundi is second only to the famous Puri festival. The three Idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balbhadra and Lord Subhadra are quite huge in size and are adorable. The Yatra or Car Festival, was patronized by the Gajapati kings. In the initial years the car festival would follow the traditions of puri and had three separate cars or rathas. However it became one car till 2012. In that year the concept of three cars was again implemented and since then, the three idols enjoy the festivities for nine days on their own cars.The believers throng the Jagannath Temple everyday and its worth watching the bhajan following the evening aarati/ceremonial rituals.
Dasahara, Gamhapurnima/Raksha Bandhan, Holi, Gajalakshmi Puja, Ganesh Puja, Kali Puja, Makar Sankranthi and Thakurani Yatra are major Hindu festivals observed in the town. Christmas and Ramzan are also celebrated very beautifully in the town. Traditionally the Thakurani yatra is conducted periodically for the local area Godess (Grama Devi), a ritual that continues for about a week. During the Thakurani Yatra, the residents make caricatures, children participate in fancy dresses to make fun and to spread awareness regarding current issues. During evening, cultural programs like drama, orchestra and Bhuta Keli (dramatised romance of Lord Krishna and his Consort Radha maa) are staged. Gaja Muhaan is one more local traditional festivity. This is celebrated after the harvest season is over. The fresh paddy is converted in to rice flakes, which are then made in to a conical shape by using jaggery as the binding material. Huge cones of the rice flakes are prepared and are offered to the local resident Goddess. The Rice Flake Cone (Gaja Muhaan) is then taken out for procession around the city with orchestra and band. The believers carry these huge rice flake cones on their heads and dance to the tunes of the band to appease the Goddess. The scene is to be seen to be believed.
Being part of the erstwhile Jamindari, the tradition of learning martial art through rituals is another salient feature of this town. The paikas or the erstwhile fighter community still practice the Indian Martial Art forms like the Cane Game (Badi Khela), Sword Playing Tricks, Knife Playing Tricks, Playing with fire ball and lots more. The paikas perform these arts during the Dushera after the Ayudha Puja (worshiping of the Armour) which enthralls the audience and reminds everyone about the traditions of the past.
Famous for its rich heritage and love for art, the town has an art school where children are trained in Odishi Dance and Odishi Sangeet (Songs). The Bhakti Sangeet group encourages young artists to sing and spreads the culture of harmony and togetherness through the devotional songs.
Sports
Cricket is the major sport of the town. Volleyball, basketball, hockey being the other popular sports in the town. Little boys and girls can still be seen playing silly in the evening. The town has a small stadium named Gajapati Stadium. College ground is also a preferable venue for cricket, football matches. There are several other large play grounds that host some district and state level sport events. Cricket being the major game, it is played almost in every street. There are many cricket clubs and small organizers who organize multi team cricket tournaments mainly during winter. Also, a tennis court adds to the sports facilities of the town.
Heritage and Tourism
The small and historic town has many heritage places and places for tourist attraction. The places of attraction are
- Gajapati Palace
- The Jagannath Temple Complex
- The Large Water Reservoirs of Ram Sagar and Sita Sagar
- BN Palace and the Mahendra Tanaya River
- The SKCG College, Maharaja Boys High School (MRBH) and Maharaja Girls High School (MRGH)
- The Chitrakaar Street, the Horn-Craft
- The Gopala Krushna Pathagaar (Library)
- The Bhoi Sahi Hill
- The Countryside visit through a travel on the PLR Train
Some of the other attractions nearby are,
- The Ganda Hati Water Falls (26 km by NH 326A)
- The Budhist Settlement Chandragiri (88 km by NH 326A)
- Tribal Culture and Forests of Gumma and Gaiba (28 km)
- Mahendragiri 4976 ft high peak (48 km by SH4)
- Lihuri Gopinath (During Holi Festival) (46 km via koturu)
- The Alada Church (36 km by SH4)
- Sri Kurmam Temple at Srikakulam (70 km by NH5)
- Sri Mukhalingam (33 km)
- Sri Radhaswami Temple of Mandasa (47 km by SH4)
- Tapta Pani (Hot Spring) (90 km by NH 326A)
Famous Sons of the Soil
Paralakhemundi is the home to many achievers and famous personalities. Some of the famous personalities born here are,
- Sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati (26 Apr 1892-25 May 1974), King of the princely state, Educationist, Nationalist, Integrationist
- Sri Gopal Krushna Patnaik (1785-1862), Poet who wrote poems on the childhood memories of Lord Krishna
- Padmasree Dr Satyanarayana Rajguru, Poet, writer, dramatist, director, actor, freedom fighter, linguist, orator, historian and a research scholar. He received Padmashree in 1974 and Sarala Samman in 1989
- Kabiraj Dr Annanta Tripathy Sharma (1905-), Linguist, Ayurvedic Doctor, Lesgislator and Parliamentarian
- Sri Satyanarayana Panda, Dramatist, Actor, Singer, Director, Ayurvedic Researcher
- Narayana Mangaraj, a minister in the King's Court, composed Haribhakti Sudhakar
- Pandit Gopinath Nanda (1869-1924), Linguist, Scholar, written Odia Bhasatatwa
- Shyam Sundar Rajguru (1863-1909), Educationist, Leader and Integrationist, established Utkal Hiteishini Sabha
- Sri Trinath Sahu (1941-2012), Leader, Legislator
Politics
Current MLA from Paralakhemundi Assembly Constituency is Mr. Kengam Surya Rao Indian National Congress (INC) won the seat in State elections in 2014 trailing K.Narayana Rao (Biju Janata Dal), who won last elections in 2009. Trinath Sahu of INC, who won the seat in State elections in 2004 and also in 2000 and in 1985. He also won this seat as an independent candidate in 1995. Previous MLAs from this seat were Darapu Lachana Naidu who won this seat representing JD in 1990, and Bijoy Kumar Jena who won this seat as independent candidate in both 1980 and in 1977.[2]
Paralakhemundi is part of Berhampur (Lok Sabha constituency).[3]
Important Links
- Gajapati District
- Gajapati District Tenders
- Odisha Government
- Chief Minister Grievance Cell
- SKCG College Paralakhemundi
- Kendriya Vidyalaya Paralakhemundi
- Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
- Centurian University of Technology and Management (CUTM)
- MKCG Medical Coolege
- Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC)
- Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC)
- Indian Rail Reservation (IRCTC)
