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Madanapalle – Shantiniketan of South India

Madanapalle –The official summer head quarters of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Madanapalle is an educational and cultural center from the days of Dr. Annie-Besant, the theosophist who chose this town for founding the Theosophical College. The medical institutions like the Govt Hospital, M.L.L Hospital, and Rajkumari Amrutkaur T.B.Research Center and Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Science (MITS) are worth mentioning.

Decades ago, the principal of Besant Theosophical College, Dr James Cousins had invited his close friend Rabindranath Tagore, the chancellor of the college, to Madanapalle town in Andhra Pradesh.

Top Indian Couple Blog by Nisha Jha and Vasudevan R - Madanapalle – Shantiniketan of South IndiaThat was the place which inspired Tagore to set the tune for the national anthem as it is sung today. He was so enchanted by the dreamy hills of Madanapalle that he sat down to translate the Jana Gana Mana, which he had written in Bengali. Tagore had called it the “Morning Song of India”.
When Tagore left Madanapalle after a week’s stay, he paid tribute to the town, calling it the ‘Shantiniketan of the South’.

We stayed overnight at Rishi Valley in their guest house which we had booked on phone. Next afternoon took a private cab for Bangalore airport for Rs 1600.00. The rates are different for different parts of the city. The school has a tie up with cabs.

The roads are not good in AP. In my previous post I forgot to mention about vast grape fields and Chamundi wineries & distilleries along the way. Unlike Maharashtra’s black soil here it was red soil everywhere. The wells were quite wide in diameter throughout the route from Mumbai to Bangalore.

As I wanted to squeeze out the maximum from this trip, I suggested seeing some silk factories (Google had helped me with just a single link) on our way back. Others were not keen but seeing my tempo agreed & after visiting the place had all praises for me.

madanapalle shantiniketan south indiaSo, we asked the cabbie to take us to some factory.

 

Within the town of Madanapalle, almost on the main road, there are many small factories weaving silk saris.

Top Indian Couple Blog by Nisha Jha and Vasudevan R - Madanapalle – Shantiniketan of South IndiaTop Indian Couple Blog by Nisha Jha and Vasudevan R - Madanapalle – Shantiniketan of South IndiaEach factory has 10-12 looming machines. The weaving average is two saris per person per day for double bordered saris. For brocaded saris the average is one sari per day. Not going into nitty-grittys here. If you have any query, fire them.

Top Indian Couple Blog by Nisha Jha and Vasudevan R - Madanapalle – Shantiniketan of South India

Who says child labour has abolished from the country ?

Reached Bangalore airport by 6 PM but after checking in, came to know that the flight was delayed by 2 & half hours. :((

Top Indian Couple Blog by Nisha Jha and Vasudevan R - Madanapalle – Shantiniketan of South IndiaAll in all, it was a good trip.

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33 thoughts on “Madanapalle – Shantiniketan of South India”

  1. You have been traveling a lot these days…great…I need to catch up with my traveling. 🙁

    Have u been to Kanchipuram? I am sure it would be a place of interest for you.

  2. Kalyan,
    Welcome here.
    Thank you. A praise for pictures coming from you means.. I am honoured.

    Thanks for your visit. Keep coming.

    Ajeya,
    No, I haven’t been to Kanchipuram. Yes, I too think so.

    Rcon,
    Yes, the cloth is silk.. a precious and auspicious one.

    BTR,
    Hmmm.. off late, you have become very clever, eh ? Turning the tables ?

    Have to repeat – good short post… Thank you.

  3. Hmm…so how often you take these fun trips….turning the table back…lol…!

    Have to repeat – good short post. I am also scheduled to go to Andhra for work purpose…will check this place as well along with others.

  4. O dia 25 de Abril de 1974 foi o dia do derrube da ditadura fascista em Portugal, a chamada REVOLUÇÃO DOS CRAVOS, e a queda do (poder) dos inimigos do povo. 25 de Abril, sempre.

    Day 25 of April of 1974 was the day of it knocks down of the dictatorship fascist in Portugal, the call REVOLUTION OF the flowers, and the fall of the power of the enemies of the people. 25 of April, forever!
    يوم 25 نيسان 1974 كان يوم تقرع عليها من الديكتاتوريه الفاشيه في البرتغال والدعوة للثورة الزهور ، وسقوط سلطة أعداء الشعب. 25 نيسان ، الى الابد!

    День 25 апреля 1974 года, в день он постучит в воздухе фашистской диктатуры в Португалии слово О РЕВОЛЮЦИИ цветы, и падение власти враги народа. 25 апреля, навсегда!
    Le jour 25 d’avril de 1974 était le jour de lui frappe vers le bas du fasciste de dictature au Portugal, de la RÉVOLUTION d’appel des fleurs, et de la chute de la puissance des ennemis du peuple. 25 d’avril, pour toujours !
    Tag 25 von April von 1974 war der Tag von ihm klopft unten vom Diktaturfaschisten in Portugal, von der Anruf REVOLUTION der Blumen und vom Fall der Energie der Feinde von den Leuten. 25 von April, für immer
    25天41974年的一天,它拍下來的法西斯獨裁政權,葡萄牙 號召革命的鮮花,秋天的權力得到人民的敵人. 25日,永不停息

  5. David,
    I understand your feelings but why is this comment here ?

    Je comprends vos sentiments mais pourquoi vous fais l’écrire ici sur mon blog ?

  6. Another interesting article! Most of the times, we see and admire just the end product, and are completely unaware of what goes behind it.
    On my recent visit to Dharamsala, I got a chance to visit one of the workshops of Tibetan woollen carpets, run by a co-operative. They had beautiful hand-made carpets, and we were amazed to learn that a single 6 X 4 carpet takes almost a month to make. The good thing was that they were not employing child labor.

  7. I can understand your enthusiasm about the place. It looks beautiful. As far as child labour is concerned much more has to be done…

  8. Sigma,
    Thank you. Yes, I agree. I am always interested to know what goes behind the curtains. 🙂

    Yeah, I am aware of the carpet weaving thing. We had four ‘Gabba’s from Kashmir.. all hand embroidered ones which takes around 1 month’s time to make.

    Thanks for your encouraging comments. 🙂

    Gil,
    Thank you. Yes, I agree with you.

  9. Nabeel,
    Welcome again.

    Somehow I feel these small shops don’t get much recognition. What do you say ?

    Katch P,
    Welcome again and thank you.

  10. I echo Ajeya’s sentiments, you have been traveling a lot! And it feels like I have not been anywhere in ages!

  11. Mridula,
    I won’t say anything. 🙂

    Kuntal,
    I welcome you here. Oh yes, have traveled a lot but not getting time to pen them all. 🙁

    May be i will start a new blog with my original pics… Let me know when you start that. I’ll be your regular visitor.

    Thanks for dropping by. Keep coming.

  12. Excellent post.. the stories behind are really interesting.. But sorry buddy, some of the pics look dull. Your Flickr posting are amazing, I had quickly gone through it and left a comment in one of them.
    Keep Travelling.

  13. Pijush,
    Welcome here on my blog. Thank you very much for liking it.

    But sorry buddy, some of the pics look dull.. Oh, which pictures are you talking about ? Looks like you haven’t gone through all the posts.

    Well, I have mentioned in some places that I have both types of pictures here.. digital as well as scanned ones (taken from still camera). The scanned ones are a bit dull… can’t help it. Scanner is the culprit, can’t get the same quality as original.

  14. Yes, scan may be the reason. I can suggest you to enhance the pic quality by some s/w like Picasa (Little more light, Saturation, Sharpen, I am feeling Lucky etc).
    Thanks for visiting my blog.
    I have linked your Travel Blog in my one.

  15. Pijush,
    I have never used used Picasa for anything except uploading the photographs. Do I have to download a s/w for that ?

    Thanks.

    Sam,
    Welcome to my blog and thank you.

    Keep coming.

  16. Of course I remember you..what I dont remember though is your blog being related to travel, was it always like this? Its really really nice…enjoyed going thru it..thanks for stopping by my little space once a while, I know I suck in updating it but I have so many things going on the past few months its not funny..lol..

    Are you on the road or back after your travels?

  17. Great pics. Really happy to see this. I was born and bought up in Madanapalle. I am really surprise to hear that you know a lot of things about my place which are known to only a few in Andhra Pradesh. Seems you have missed Horsely hills in you journey. This place is the actually official summer resort of AP Governer. This was developed by Horsley, the then collector of Cuddapah, during british reign.
    This hill resort stands at an altitude of 4400 ft above the sea. The climate here is extremely good through out the year, but you have less amenities over the top. The T B curing center is the first of its kind in South India. Infact Rabindhranath Tagore came to this town to get heal his ailing Aunt’s health by the suggestion from his friend James cousins.

    Seems you travel a lot.
    Happy Journey.

  18. Pijush, Wanderer, Deepak,
    Thank you.

    Chaitanya,
    First I welcome you to my blog.

    Thank you very much for the appreciation.
    If you become regular here, you’ll come to know that I always try to experience the place instead of just seeing it. I try to use local transport, though I am not very talkative, I observe surroundings & people and sometimes speak to them to find out more about the place.

    I was aware of Horsely hills but since our schedule was very tight we had to give it a miss. But it is definitely on my list. Don’t worry this is not my last trip there, many more to come. 🙂

    Yes, I travel a lot. What I have recorded here is not even 30% of the total places I have seen.

    Once again, thanks for your visit & lovely comment.

    Keep coming.

  19. Anrosh,
    Welcome here.

    Not taking camera is a big challenge. I always carry one with me to capture those memorable moments.

    Thanks for your visit, keep coming. We’ll learn a few things together.

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