ABOUT MADANAPALLE
Madanapalle is a town and a Municipality located in the Chittoor district. It is one of the big Revenue Division of Chittoor District in India, it covers almost half of the Chittoor district. A fast-growing city at the center of an agricultural region noted for agricultural products such as tomato, mango, groundnut, tamarind etc., Mainly the TOMATO market in Madanapalle is the biggest tomato market in Andhra Pradesh. The tomatoes from here are supplied to the most of the southern states & some of the northern states in India.It is also famous for silk and silk products like sarees and other casuals. The quality of silk product is recognisable.
Dr. Annie Besant
Madanapalle is known as educational and cultural center from the days of Dr.Annie Besant, the great theosophist. A visit by Annie Besant to Madanapalle in 1910 led to the establishment of the College. At her instance, well known Theosophists like F.T. Brooks, C.S. Trilokikar, Earnest Wood and others visited Madanapalle to carry out educational activities. In 1913 Mrs. Besant formed the Theosophical Educational Trust (TET) in Madanapalle and applied for the necessary affiliation to start a College. On March 7,1915, the Senate of the University approved for the establishment of the College in Madanapalle. This historic college was the first ever degree College for the entire Rayalaseema area. C.S. Trilokikar became the first Principal of the Madanapalle College. B. Rajagopalan, D. Guruswamy, a student of Sarvepalle Radhakrishnan, M.V. Venkateswaran, who later was in-charge of the Indian Branch of the League of Nations, were few among the early members of the Faculty appointed by Annie Besant. In 1916 Annie Besant started the Home Rule Movement and naturally Madanapalle Theosophical College became a great centre of nationalist activity. The students and staff of the College exhibited intense patriotic fervour when the news reached about the internment of Annie Besant in Ooty in June 1916 . A huge procession was taken out in the town by the students of the College. This however was the first instance in the country of an organized student participation during the National movement..
Though Annie Besant was released in September, the College was disaffiliated by the University of Madras. Undaunted by such an act of the government, Annie Besant named the College as Wood National College and got it affiliated to the National University which she formed in Madras with Rabindranath Tagore as its Chancellor.
The visit of Rabindranath Tagore to Madanapalle
The visit of Rabindranath Tagore to Madanapalle College, in 1919 as the Chancellor, became memorable when the present tunes to his song, our Indian National Anthem “JANAGANAMANA” were composed by Margaret Cousins, the wife of the Principal, James H. Cousins. From Madanapalle, the present way of singing the National Anthem spread to other parts of the country. It is said that Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate translated our Indian National Anthem “JANAGANAMANA” from Bengali to English in Besant Theosophical College as the Morning Song of India. Today, in the library of the Besant Theosophical College in Madanapalle, the framed original English translation is displayed.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
The town is famous as the birth place of “Jiddu Krishnamurti” referred to as world teacher, the greatest philosopher and the founder of Krishnamurti Foundation of America and Krishnamurti Foundation of India. One of the prominent places of Madanapalle is the old house of Jiddu Krishnamurti that is now renovated and is proposed for public library. The Krishnamurti Foundation is conducting a school in Rishivalley, a place for natural greenery and serene environment. The school is reputed for its holistic approach to education in the spirit of Krishnamurti’s pedagogical vision. Rishi Valley’s setting is spectacular – some 375 acres of an independent valley, surrounded by ancient hills, and tiny villages. Community service and a range of extracurricular activities constitute an integral part of a student’s schooling, as do discussions in (or out of) classrooms, assemblies and club meetings. EducationWorld ranks the boarding school as the best residential school in India.
Horsley Hills near the Madanapalle
Another place of importance is Horsley Hills near the Madanapalle, one of the coolest place in Andhra Pradesh. It is also called Andhra Ooty. Horesly Hills is a picturesque hamlet in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated at an altitude of 4,100 ft this serene hill station is named after W.D. Horsley, the collector of Cuddapah district. The scenic drive to this mesmerizing hamlet is extremely panoramic and scenic and has thick vegetation of trees lining on both sides of the road. The other major draw for the travelers is the relaxing climate of the Horsley Hills which ranges from 20°C to 32°C even in summers. The hill is lush with dense forest and thick greenness and has a wide variety of trees.
Arogyavaram Medical Centre
Arogyavaram Medical Centre, formerly known as Union Mission Tuberculosis Sanatorium is a well equipped 350 bedded General Hospital , and was inaugurated in the year 1915 by The Lord Pentland, The Governor of Madras. It has rendered a pioneering service in the treatment of Tuberculosis in this country. With the Ushering in of the era of Domiciliary care of TB the need for sanatorium diminished. Today TB has re-emerged to be the number one killer disease with great losses in terms of human life and disability. With the existing social, religious and cultural restrictions on the women in this part of the country, the problem of women with TB is an emergency on its own. The climate is more or less equitable and hence all seasons are beneficial for the treatment of any disease.
