Vizianagaram: V For Victory

One sultry afternoon, over 250 years ago in Bobbili, a bustling hot town in interior Andhra Pradesh, Devi Mallamma, the matron of the legendary Bobbili royal family, took it upon herself to teach the men the art of losing without losing face. She pulled out a sword and slit her neck. “Death is sweeter than defeat,” she proclaimed loudly. “Happy Death Day to you in three days, oh rival king,” she said hysterically, before she bit the dust.

The men in the family took the cue, rose to their feet and went on a carnage – killing women, children and all who remained in the fort. Not one protested. After all, being captives in the enemy’s hand is a fate worse than death. And the very word Bobbili means ‘ferocious tiger’ in Telugu. Mind you, the curse came true and the rival king was stabbed to death on the third night.

A fact stranger than fiction! Two-and-a-half-centuries after this dramatic episode, the forts have now turned into heritage monuments, the palaces have air-conditioning and a cacophony of cellphones dominates the jingles of the brass bells on the doors, but Bobbili has still not shaken off its imperial hangover. The surviving Raja Varu is still the man who inaugurates an event, gets elected to the Legislative Assembly unanimously, and the tales of the dynamic family are still sung as folk songs during Navratri.

Statue at Vizianagaram Fort

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

Underneath the royal garb of Vizianagaram is a dusty town that surprises you with lake-facing starred hotels, ‘high-speed’ Internet centres that still work on dial-ups and where the capsicum mushroom pizza comes with a small katora of coconut chutney!

The district offers a packed itinerary of forts, palaces, temples, lakes, pilgrim places, and the coast. Do the forts and palaces (in the same area) in one leg and the rest in the next leg.

TIP Mornings in Vizianagaram are pretty harsh so slather on that sun-block

Vizianagaram Fort

Dhritiman Mukherjee

Vizianagaram Fort

This fort is a spacious and sprawling campus with a cluster of buildings in stone. The fort is a generous contri-bution of the surviving Rajus (Anand and Ashok Gajapati Raju, both Andhra Pradesh politicians), and many of the buildings within have been converted into educational institutes. Colleges for women, men, schools and a music college are now in what were once the Rani’s Mahal, Raja’s Mahal, Prayer Hall, and so forth. The rear of the fort overlooks the picturesque Pedda Cheruvu (Big Lake), while the front offers a direct view of the temple of Goddess Pydithalli. There is a little temple on the campus, which has been there ever since the fort was built in the 18th century.

The Rani’s Mahal, a lovely structure shaped like a hemisphere with windows high enough to touch the ceiling and doubling up as ventilators, has been custommade to hold the moisture and ward off the heat. The front porch is a two-storeyed structure with circular domes and shapely windows to give a 360 degree view of the town. Gardens and water bodies around the fort give it a majestic look. The fort is the focus of the annual Sirimanu Festival held during the Dasara Navratri.

Timings 9.00am-6.00pm

Tourists enjoying a boat ride, Thatipudi Reservior

Thatipudi Reservoir

This beautiful reservoir, 35 km from Vizianagaram, is cosily cuddled by the mountains all around and the sweet River Gosthani flows fast and furious in between. And there’s a small hillock that has a guesthouse, a restaurant and lots of activity in the form of angling, trekking, swimming and bird-watching. The five lakeview cottages (Cell: 09951972246; Tariff:  ₹800-1,800) are just the kind of place that would appeal to people who want to do nothing but relax on a holiday. You will have to hire a boat to and from the cottage (₹1,000 per boat-20 seater, ₹50 per head if you share it with fellow travellers). There is also a restaurant here.

TIP Opt for a boat with a deck because of the heat

Punyagiri Hill

Punyagiri, a 20-minute drive from Thatipudi, is another surprise package. Be ready to trek over 200 stairs, most of them slippery because of the water spilling from across a turbulent waterfall. Dara Ganagamma is a magnificent waterfall that roars over the rocks spraying droplets 100 m as far as it goes. Hire one of the locals to show you around the place. While regaling you with local legends, they will also help you place your feet along the tricky path to the waterfall. The locals insist that Punyagiri Hill is the only other place, besides Sri Lanka, that boasts of the Ashoka tree under which Sita Devi spent time after her abduction. “Women with gynaecological problems get cured by worshipping this tree,” informs the temple priest.

The presiding deity is a Shivaling which is known to have a secrret underground source that keeps the Shivaling perennially wet and cool.

TIP It takes two hours to trek up and down the hill. Be back before it gets dark and carry a stick to ward off the monkeys. Don’t carry food or polythene packets up with you

Idol at the Dwadasa Temple

Dwadasa Temple, Kumili

‘Kumili’ means collapse and the village of Kumili is known to have risen from the ruins of a mud fort built by the Vizianagaram rajas. The entire village came together to build the Dwadasa (meaning 12) Temple Complex here, that houses 12 gods. From the first god Ganesha to Goddess Durga, Lord Surya and the new millennium god Sai Baba, there is a place for everyone. The façade is a little complicated with even mortals like Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu rubbing shoulders with the pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses who took part in the great Sagar Manthan (churning of the milky ocean). The statues, however, are colourful, vibrant and it is a treat to visit this temple.

Muktidam, Govindapuram

An imposing structure with four white horses, a humongous chariot embellished with Omkaras, peacocks, dramatic wheels and Lord Krishna reciting the Bhagavad Gita forms the crux of the Muktidam at Govindapuram, 30 km from Vizianagaram. Mata Kanakadurga, a saintly lady, is known to have visualised a similar structure in a dream one day and heard the lord asking her to build the same at Govindapuram, named after Lord Krishna himself. The Muktidam has fantastic architecture and each bit of the chariot is a feast to the eyes. The white horses with rich saddles rise up to 36 ft!

The impressive chariot at Muktidam, Govindapuram

The entire structure is a riot of colours in imposing sizes. The garden at the Muktidam depicts mythological stories about the Mahasadhvis of India (Ahalya, Savitri, Arundhati). The walls of the temple are utilised to depict select anecdotes from Lord Krishna’s life.

Ramatheertam

Bliss is just 400 steps away at Ramatheertam, a hill known to have been privileged to house Lord Rama, Sita and his sibling Lakshmana during their exile. Your first instinct is to brush it off as just another story to promote the place. But research reveals that the trio had extensively trekked the Eastern Ghats and the Dandakaranaya forest (current day Deccan Plateau) before Sita’s abduction occurred. And indeed, there is a rock that looks deceptively like someone had dried a wet, handloom sari (complete with its warps and wefts visible) a few hours ago. And what can you say when you see the sarilike marks embedded in the rock?

Below is the Rama stone, where the god is known to answer to people who call out to him. The hills also have Buddhist relics, found on the same hill, placed at the summit. From atop the hill, the village looks like a diorama of a neat village with patches of green for fields, a snaky road running across and a river flowing forth.

The adjacent Gurubhakta Konda and Durga Konda hills also have Buddhist relics in abundance.

TIP Do take a local guide along or you may get lost on your way back. Also, trek these hills only during daylight and return to your hotel well before twilight

SVN View Palace

WHERE TO STAY

The town has two 3-star hotels with all the urban amenities including Internet connectivity and a bar. SVN View Palace (Tel: 08922-277770, Cell: 077998- 88859; Tariff:  ₹ 1,899-3,999) is a landmark in itself. This hotel is in the heart of the town with easy access to all the sights.

Hotel Mayura (Tel: 235999/ 777, Cell: 09618944188; Tariff:  ₹ 2,020-2,523) on the same road has decent rooms and a multicuisine restaurant.

Hotel Vytla Residency (Tel: 272250/51; Tariff:  ₹ 1,300-2,100) is a compact budget hotel with all the basic amenities.

WHERE TO EAT

The locals here believe in having a breakfast fit for an emperor – a platter of soft idlis and MLA Pesarattu. Nobody knows why it is called so but this combination of crisp pesarattu (moong dal dosa) stuffed with upma is a hit here. Kasturi, the coffee shop and Big Byte at Hotel SVN Lake Palace offer a typical Andhra breakfast. Hotel Blue Earth has Indian, Chinese and Thai cuisine.

Opt for a no-frills thali meal at an Andhra mess, a place a quick and no-nonsense affair. For less than ₹ 50, the mess offers a typical Andhra meal starting with pappu dal), vepudu (dry curry), non-vegetarian koora (wet curry), sambhar, charu, papad, curd and a dessert. Of course, lots of pickles, podis and other hot condiments to reflect the Andhra palate are thrown in.

Sri Annapoorna Mess opposite SVN Lake View Palace and the restaurant attached to Mayura are good bets. There are a few stand-and-eat Sandarshini places opposite the railway station.

The imposing façade of Bobbili Fort

AROUND VIZIANAGARAM

Bobbili Fort (57 km)

Known as the Bobbili Samsthanam by the locals, this ‘fort’ is actually a palace that looks stark white even though it seems a while since it has had a coat of paint. Apparently, sulphur mixed with egg yolk gave this palace its unique sheen. Two garish golden lions on the landing of the stairs reflect the Bobbili glory. Bobbili is a mutation of the words ‘Pedda Puli’, meaning ‘Big Tiger’.

The palace and the guesthouse, a few kilometres away, reflect the style of the erstwhile ruler, Rao Venkata Gopala Krishna Ranga Rao, or ‘Raja Varu’ for short. He shows off his private study that boasts of stuffed animals, polo trophies his predecessors won during the Colonial times and of course, lifesize portraits of his grandfather and great-grandfather.

The guesthouse is a white structure that wraps itself into a cosy circle from top to bottom. Should there be any danger from the enemy, a single door will keep the guesthouse intact while still offering a view of the outside. For those who enjoy warfare, the guesthouse has two floors filled with rusty swords and iron daggers. To gauge the popularity of the Bobbili clan, read the felicitations in flowery English and poetic Telugu.

A short walk from here is the Ranasthali, or the war field that witnessed the Bobbili Yudham. Today it has been reduced to a shallow piece of land filled with stagnant water. A lone statue known as Bobbili Stupam stands here, in commemoration of the valour the Bobbili kings displayed, and how the rival king was stabbed to death by a local hero called Tandrapapa Rayudu.

Timings 9.00am-6.00pm

TIP Get friendly with the diwan of the Raja Varu and you can have the keys to the lovely guesthouse that is otherwise not open to the general public

When to go October to March Location Vizianagaram enjoys a cosy setting between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, rubbing shoulders with Orissa to the north Air Nearest airport: Visakhapatnam Rail Nearest rail: Vizianagaram Junction