Kalikiri is a town with a population of around 25,000 in the Chittoor district

Chittoor district

Chittoor District , also known as Chittur, is a district of India's Andhra Pradesh state. The district headquarters is Chittoor City. The district has a population of 4,170,468 according to 2011 census of India. Chittoor district is famous for the Tirupati, Kanipakam and Sri Kalahasti temples...

 of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The town is famous for its huge tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

 market, which supplies tons of tomatoes to other Districts in Andhra Pradesh and other states like Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 and Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

.

Geography

Kalikiri is located at 13.6333°N 78.8000°E. It has an average elevation of 545 meters (1791 feet).www.kalikiri.com

The place falls in the route between madanapalli and Tirupathi. This is 45 km from Madanapalli. The place is very scenic and has a rural flavour.

Important features

• It is very close to the two main cities of south India Bangalore
  Bangalore
  Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
  
   and Chennai
  Chennai
  Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
  
  . Chennai is around 220 km and Bangalore is in the range of 150 km.
• The main deity of the town is Yellamma, where there is an annual festival conducted to worship the deity. The annual festival (named Thirunaala in telugu) is a very famous event among the population in and around Kalikiri. The event attracts more than 100,000 people combined in the 10-day event. One of the attractions of the event are the "chandni bandlu" (decorated vehicles) that are paraded around the temple as a mark of respect to the deity. This custom started when farmers used to decorate bullock carts and parade them. Recently we have some of the vehicles being decorated at a cost of almost Rs1L to Rs2L. The whole event takes in a festival atmosphere as these beautifully decorated vehicles along with all the people associated with the vehicle come dancing into the town in middle of the night to parade their vehicle around the temple. Of course there is a lot of good food and wine on the night attracting and enthusing the crowds late into the night making it a spectacular event for people taking part in it.

• For more information on Kalikiri Grama Devatha Yellamma please click on the below webpage:

https://sites.google.com/site/goddessyellamma/Home

• The parading of these vehicles starts from midnight as the vehicles keep pouring in from all the nearby villages.
• The event ends with Lanka Dahanam. An effigy of Ravana is erected with all crackers wound around it, and burnt.
• The culture here is an influence of Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. Going by how festivals, marriages and other ceremonies are conducted the culture can be said to be an amalgamation of Rayalaseema and Dravidian cultures. The place is an example of a typical Indian country side with lots of open space
• A large number of Telugu
  Telugu language
  Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
  
  -speaking Muslims (Dudekula) live here, it is the place where we can find artistic culture of telugu Muslims unlike in any other part of the state. Jama Masjid
  Jama Masjid
  Jama Masjid also Jami Masjid, refers to the Friday Mosque, where Jummah or weekly Friday noon congregation prayers of Muslims take place...
  
   here is very famous in surrounding towns for its artistic architecture and customs, Muslims celebrate the Festivals (Ramzan, Bakrid) in very grand manner. Hindus and Muslims together celebrate the festival as a symbol of friendship between the communities. Muslims offer their guests Seviya (a form of sweet) and Biryani (A rice preparation mixed with meat).
• It is also named for the traditional treatment for paralysis with Ayurveda
  Ayurveda
  Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
  
  medicine, people come here for the treatment from far places even from other states.
• Recently SAI BABA Temple has Constructed in kalikiri. This is Very Nice with good number of Devotees every day.
• There is one more famous Temple called Ayyappa Swamy Temple.
• Kalikiri Has a great credit of celebrating all types of Festivals irrespective of Religions.
• It is in the folklore that Kalikiri got its name from two dancer sisters Kalki and Kulki who were gifted the land from the local ruler. Although this fact is not documented anywhere it is what is passed on from the older generation orally.
• Kalikiri has quite a few villages adjoining its suburbs. Notable are Reddivaripalli,Rajuvari Palli, Guttapalem , Pottekulavaripalli, Cheruvu Mundhara Palli.