Kurnool is a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the southern part of India. It is the largest city of the area serving as the administrative hub of the state with a population of more than 50,00,000 approximately. Kurnool used to be the capital of Andhra Pradesh from the year 1953 to 1956 and it acts as a major location for insurance firms and banking companies.
Kurnool is located in the southern banks of rivers Handri and Tungabhadra, in the west-central part of Andhra Pradesh. It is the largest of the four districts of Andhra Pradesh while the other three are Kadapa, Anantapur and Chittore. This region earlier was under the influence of the Hindu King, Sri Krishnadevaraya.
The name of the place as Kurnool was derived from Kandanavolu, which is a Telugu name found in the ancient inscriptions and in literature. In the year 1687, the last Mogul Emperor Aurungzeb conquered the Deccan and later on let the Nizams control the Andhra centre of Kurnool.
After some time, the Nizams and the Nawabs declared independence and later on ruled their independent regions of Hyderabad and Kurnool. The first ruler of Kurnool was Nawab Alaf Khan Bahadur and after his tenure, his descendants ruled the area for over 200 years. In the early 18th century, the Nawabs along with the sultans fought against the British Empire.
The climatic conditions in Kurnool keep on changing. There are seasonal variations in the temperature throughout the year with summers being very hot in the months of April and May. The temperature is at its peak in the month of May with the months of January and February being the pleasant ones.
The popular celebrations held here include the Car festival of Kurnool, held during the months of November and December for eight days from Margasira Suddha Triodasi. This festival is dedicated to Sri Ajaneyaswami. Other than the festivals, the popular places to visit in the city are the ruins of the historical fort of the 15th century with several Persian and Arabic influences.
Other popular tourist destinations include the ancient prison of Kurnool Fort by the name of Kondareddy Burz. Located on the banks of the River Handri is the 17th century tomb of Abdul Wahab and the ruins of the palace of the last Hindu ruler, Gopal Raju. The places with religious importance are the temples of Nagareswarasawami, Peta Anjaneyaswami, Venugoplaswami, Iswaraswami, Saibaba and Birla Mandir or Satyanarayaswami.
The original name of Kurnool was Kandenaolua, a Telugu name by which it was referred in the old inscriptions and literature. Legend has it that in the 11th century AD, during the rule of Chalukyas of Badami, bullock carts that came here to dig the sand and carry stones to construct the temple at Alampur, halted here to lubricate their cart wheels with oils supplied by some oil merchants.
The city was then known as the Kandenapalli or the city of Kandena (grease). The city was also called as the city of Skanda or Kumaraswamy (the chief God of Wars). In some inscriptions, Kurnool is referred to as Kannadu or Keru Nadu (Karu means 'black', Nadu means 'territory').
When the town came under British rule, it was subsequently named as Kurnool. Kurnool was a centre of both religious and the political activities in pre colonial age. One can still see the ruins of the huge fort, which occupies most of the old part of Kurnool, the famous Konda Reddy buruju (which has a hidden underground tunnel that ends at Alampur fort, which has a sacred temple from centuries) etc.
The temples which are near and around Kurnool have history dating back to centuries and the architectural marvel of the temples is unique. Still not much information is available either about the Hindu rulers or the Muslim rulers of this city.