Kalahandi district is a district of Odisha in India. Archaeological evidence of Stone Age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilised, cultured and urban human settlement about 2000 years ago in the region. In South Asia it is believed that the lands of Kalahandi district and Koraput district were the ancient places where people started cultivation of paddy. In ancient time it was known as Mahakantara and Karunda Mandal, which means treasure of precious stones like karandam (corundum/manik), garnet, beruz, neelam, and alexandrite, etc. Manikeswari is the clan deity of Kalahandi may also signify its historical name.
Bhawanipatna is a city and the headquarter of Kalahandi district in the state of Odisha, India. Bhawanipatna has numerous temples dedicated to different deities of the Hindu pantheon. It is named after the presiding deity, Bhawani-Shankar, and Patna, which means "place" in Odia.
Gunupur is a Municipality and one of the sub-divisional headquarters of Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the second biggest town in Rayagada district.
Junagarh is a town and a notified area council in Kalahandi district in the Indian state of Odisha. MLA of Junagarh is Captain Divya Shankar Mishra. It was the capital of the former state of Kalahandi. Junagarh is 26 km from Bhawanipatna, connecting National Highway 201.This highway recently has been termed as National Highway 26.
Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Orissa state in eastern India.
Ampani is a town in the Kalahandi district of the state of Odisha, in India. It is a gram panchayat that comes under Kokasara tehsil. It is 15 km from its main town and blocks Kokasara.
The history of Kalahandi goes back to the primitive period where a well-civilized, urbanized, and cultured people inhabited this land mass around 2000 years ago. The world's largest celt of Stone Age and the largest cemetery of the megalithic age have been discovered in Kalahandi. This shows the region had a civilized culture since the pre-historic era. Asurgarh near Narla in Kalahandi was one of the oldest metropolises in Odisha whereas the other one was Sisupalgarh near Bhubaneswar. Some other historical forts in the region includes Budhigarh, Amthagarh, Belkhandi and Dadpur-Jajjaldeypur. This land was unconquered by the great Ashoka, who fought the great Kalinga War, as per Ashokan record. In medieval period the region had played a prominent role to link South India, Eastern India and Central India region and witnessed the battle ground for Somavamsi, Chola, Kalachuris of Kalyani and Eastern Ganga dynasty. Kalahandi region was the main route for Chola to attack Subarnapur.
Festivals of Kalahandi are rich in nature as the place is a melting point of South Odisha and Western Odisha. Kalahandi, a district of Odisha, shelters a substantial tribal population residing both in hills and plain land. It is a place where people of different cultures, traditions, languages and beliefs live together.
Majhighariani Temple is a shrine to a goddess in the Rayagada township of Odisha. It was built by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati of the Suryavansh dynasty of Nandapur - Jeypore kingdom. It is believed that he made Rayagada his capital and after the construction of the temple he went on to conquer a vast dominion and expanded his kingdom from parts of Bengal to Telangana in south.
Bhawanipatna is classified as one of the major tourist destinations by the tourism Department of Government of Odisha. All the tourist attraction in Kalahandi region comes under Bhawanipatna jurisdiction. Though tourist potential of Kalahandi has not been exploited optimally due to poor marketing, political negligence and infrastructure development, the land is very rich in terms of water fall, forest and wild life, natural and scenic beauty, tribal life, mountains, agriculture field, historical sites and handicrafts. The best time to visit Kalahandi region is from October to March. April–June is hard Summer and the mercury may rise to 45 degree C and June to August is the Monsoon Season. It occasionally rains in September, but do not miss the great festival like Nuakhai in September and Dassara in end of September or early October. Beginning of Dessara marks the pleasant weather condition till the celebration of Chaitra in February/March.
Manikeswari is one of the popular Hindu deities in Odisha. There are many Manikeswari temples present in Western and Southern part of Odisha.
The Government College of Engineering, Kalahandi (GCEK), is a public engineering autonomous college under the state government of Odisha at Bhawanipatna in the Kalahandi district. The college was established in the year 2009 as a constituent college of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) to offer undergraduate B.Tech degree program. Later in the year 2015, the college started offering two postgraduate M.Tech degree programs. It is now an autonomous college from 21 January 2021 along with PMEC, Bramhapur and GCE, Keonjhar.
Maa Markama Temple located at Bissam Cuttack village of Rayagada district is a place of tourist interest. It is the only shrine of Devi Maa Markama and Maa karkama in the Indian state of Odisha. The temple of Maa Karkama is situated next to the temple of Maa Markama. The legend says that the Devi is being worshiped for centuries. However, the temple was constructed in the recent past. A junior college and a university college in Bissam Cuttack are named after Maa Markama. The temple is one of the places of tourist attractions in the Rayagada district. Dussehra and chaitra Paraba are celebrated every year at the temple. The nearest railhead is Chatikona, which is 7 km from Bissam Cuttack.
Bhawanipatna is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Kalahandi district, Odisha.
Kalahandi State, also known as Karond State, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was recognized as a state in 1874 and had its capital in Bhawanipatna. Its last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1948. The present titular head of the state is Anant Pratap Deo who resides in the Kalahandi Palace in Bhawanipatna
Kashipur is a block and tehsil in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is known for the Utkal Aluminium International Limited (UAIL)
Durgi is a census village & Panchayat Headquarter of Bissam Cuttack Block in Rayagada district of Odisha, India. There are total 439 families residing in this village. The wards/ villages comes under Durgi Panchayat are:- Durgi, Bhaleri, Kundanpadar, Rengabai, Barangpadar, Thambalpadhu, Budhanagar, Kachapai, Kalipadar, Kurankul, Tentili Kalipadar, Mulipada, Dharamguda, Balipadar, Haduguda, Huruguda, Khariguda and IAY Colony.
Chatar Jatra or Chatar Yatra is a traditional festival celebrated by the people of Kalahandi District, Orissa, India. The festival involves Maa Manikeswari, the family goddess of the Kalahandi King's family.
Maharaja Pratap Keshari Deo was an Indian politician. He was the last ruler of Kalahandi State from 1939 to 1947. Post-independence, he was elected from the Kalahandi in Odisha to the Lower House of the Indian Parliament the Lok Sabha. He was deputy Leader of the Opposition, Orissa Legislative Assembly, 1952—1956.
Gandabahali is a village in Sinapali Block in the south of Nuapada District in Odisha, India.
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