Mahal is a small town located in Kalikiri

Kalikiri

Kalikiri is a town with a population of around 25,000 in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The town is famous for its huge tomato market, which supplies tons of tomatoes to other Districts in Andhra Pradesh and other states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala.-Geography:Kalikiri is located at...

 mandal of 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...

 in 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 place has not seen much development over the years mainly due to lack of economic and educational infrastructure in the town forcing majority of educated to migrate to different areas. Agriculture which is a primary source of income for majority is monsoon dependent, which has made it vulnerable over the past few decades due to continuous failing monsoons.

History

This place borders Kadapa district which has a vast and diverse history. Kadapa was under the rule of Pallavas, Telugu Cholas, Kakatiyas Vijayanagara kings and Nizam Nawabs. There are lots of small but mostly ruined temples and other structures around the town reflecting its association with history dating back to Pallavas period. A shivalayam on the banks of Bahuda river is also a piece that relates the towns history dating back to the Hindu Kings. The core Mahal town constitutes large Muslim population primarily settled during the Muslim rule. Some of the Muslim population are of Afghan descent. In late 1980s a treasure hunter's expedition has ended up finding a Ranganayaka Swamy's idol. The idol is carved out of a rare quality of stone which is greenish in texture.