Tenali

Tenali is the second biggest town in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.The confluence of 3 canals carrying water from Krishna River has earned Tenali the title of Andhra Paris.The availability of water has been conducive to the cultivation of rice in Tenali. Tenali has a rich cultural heritage. Tenali Raman, one of the Astadigghajs or 8 greats or of Telugu poetry, from the court of Vijayanagar king - Krishnadevaraya was born in Tumuluru village in Tenali. Tenali Ramakrishna was an actual poet who is one of the folk heroes of South India. Several movies, TV shows and animated series have been made on the witty antics of Tenali Raman.

Population
As per 2013 census, the total population of Tenali is 170,049 (Approx). The distribution of males and females are 81,324 and 83,325. Average literacy rate of Tenali is 82.63 percent of which male and female literacy is 86.98 and 78.41 percent respectively.

Weather
Tenali experiences humid weather ranging between 28 to 42 degrees Celsius during summers due to its proximity to the sea. July and November get the maximum rainfall and the town experiences a mild winter with temperatures ranging from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius.

Places to See
Tenali has a lot of ancient temples, some of these are:-
Patha Shivalayam - This is a Shiva temple built by Tenali Ramakrishna. It is located in an area called Ramalingeswara Aalayam
Ganganamma temple - It is the temple of the Tenali village goddess or Grama Devatha
Vaikuntapuram is a nice temple which is also known as Chinna or small Tirupathi
Perantalamma Temple is famous due to a 7 day festival known as Perantalamma Tirunalla. On 1 of the festival days, Perantalamma is taken on a chariot made of tree trunk(cidi) decorated with Gummadi Kaya (ash gourd). This chariot is taken to the streets of Tenali at night and brought back to the temple in morning. This ceremony is called Gummadi Cidi. On another day, Meeka Cidi ceremony is performed where the goddess is taken on a chariot with a Lamb tied to it.
Vinayaka Vigraham is the highest statue of Lord Ganesh in South India with a total height of 60 feet. Thousands of people gather hereevery year to celebrate vinayaka chavithi.
The Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (A.E.L.C) constructed in 1925 is located in the heart of Tenali.
Sree Yalavarthy Anjaneya Sastry Veda Pathashala, established in 1893 is one of the oldest Vedic schools of Andhra Pradesh.

How to Reach

By Train
Tenali is a junction on the Kolkata-Chennai line and most of the trains stop at this station. There are direct trains to Tenali from Hyderabad, New Delhi and Bangalore.

By Road
State transport buses connect Tenali to most of the other towns and cities within Andhra Pradesh such as Guntur, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. Private buses are available from Hyderabad to Tenali.