Papikondalu Cruise

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Sunday, August 16, 2009

Papikondalu Cruise on Independence Day -2009!



We returned home this morning from another memorable trip to Papikondalu, a 130

Kms., 9&1/2 hour boat cruise on River Godavari with the Eastern Ghats on either side of



the river. My wife Lalitha, my son Srikanth and I have gone on this trip. Lalitha and I

have gone there before but for my son it is his first trip. He was so thrilled with the

beauty of the area that he clicked as many as 215 photos of the hills and water en-route

River Godavari and also captured much of the journey on Handycam. Earlier we had gone to Papikondalu up to Perantalapalli from Bhadrachalam side, a cruise

of 90 Kms. from Sri Ramagiri town. And this Trip was from Purushothamapatnam town

on Rajahmundry side up to Perantalapalli and back, a cruise of 130 Kms. While the first

tour was on our own, this one was a tour conducted by IRCTC-Indian Railway Catering

and Tourism Corporation. We started from Secunderabad on 14th

August night by

Gouthami-Express Train to Rajahmundry. We were received at Rajahmundry Station by

IRCTC representative at 6:30 A.M. on 15th

August. He dropped us at a hotel for

freshening up. We were then picked up at 08:00 A.M. and transferred to a bus which took

us to Purushothamapatnam which is 45 Kms. from Rajahmundry. This journey was also

pleasant not because of the bus or road but due to the greenery of fields and trees allalong the way up to the horizon in any direction. At Purushothamapatnam; at 9:45 A.M

we boarded an Air-conditioned, 120-Seater boat called Sree Bhageeradhi. Breakfast

consisting of Idli and Vada was served followed by tea. The boat started at 10:00 A.M.

on a 65 Kms. journey to Perantalapalli. The boat personnel made detailed announcements

all along the way about the places along the banks, about the hills and the river in ancient

times and now. Several Telugu movies are shot along this beautiful stretch of Godavari,

so the narration included details of these movies, scenes and actors. As our boat cruised ahead we were shown some places and stopped at some. The first

major site we saw was that of the proposed Polavaram Dam. We passed through some

tribal villages in the hills that were visible on the shores like Devipatnam, Singanapalle,

Tekuluru and Koruturu of the East Godavari and West Godavari Districts which are

separated by the river. We also stopped at Rampachodavaram where the tiled British

police station attacked by Sri Alluri Sita Rama Raju was shown to us. We also stopped at

Gandi Pochamma temple and Perantalapalli in Khammam District. At Perantalapalli

there is a Shiva temple on top of a hill. This temple was established by Sri Balananda

Swamiji in the year 1927 who also strived for the development of the locals called Konda

Koyas and Konda Reddies. The temple and the ashram there are called µSri Krishna

Munivaatam¶. And the water falls adjacent to the temple as Munivaatam waterfalls. Our boat turned back here and now traveling downstream we stopped for a while at Kolluru

village where there is a provision for a night stay in the bamboo huts along the river bank. There was on board entertainment in the form of dance, jokes and Tambola. After the

artists on board danced to the tunes of three Telugu songs, I and Lalitha were called on to

the stage as a specially selected couple. Then on stage to everyone¶s entertainment our



marriage was performed by making us enact all the important marriage rituals. This was

followed by more dance programs by small children, youngsters and couples on board

who were asked to dance on their own but mostly by imitating a dance master dancing in

front of them to some very popular Telugu movie songs. After the morning entertainment

show, a fairly good lunch was served on the top deck of the boat. Srikanth ordered for Chicken fry at the time of boarding the boat so that was served to us separately. This

lunch for the tourists was picked up from a place along the shore. The boat also has a

canteen from where some readymade and cooked snacks, tea and soft drinks were

circulated on the boat and sold. We kept moving freely the whole day long, along all sides of the boat enjoying the

beautiful scenery all around. We sat in the Air-conditioned lower deck at times but

mostly enjoyed our time on the top deck and around the outer railing of the boat. With

plenty of river water all around us and small to mighty hills on either side of the river

with thick green forests on them is a very beautiful experience beyond my description. Asyou enter Khammam district the river narrows down between two hills to about 400

metres and the depth of the river here is about 100 metres. And the height of the two hills

about 525 metres. Passing between these two hills is said to clear all the sins committed

by us. Sins in Telugu means Papaalu and hence the name Papikondalu. But the most

popular version for the name Papikondalu is because the river is like Papida ± that is the

parting of hair on our head and the hills are like the hair on either side of the parting

(Papida) and hence the name Papikondalu. The weather was very good; just warm, mostly cloudy with strong breeze and it also

rained for sometime in the evening making it a wonderful day. We got down from Sree

Bhageeradhi at Purushothamapatnam at 7:20 P.M. Tourists took their own time to board

the bus to Rajahmundry which started at 7:45 P.M. causing some tension as we had to

catch the night train to Secunderabad. We reached the IRCTC/tourist office at

Rajahmundry by 9:15 P.M. and soon we were transferred to the station and provided with

dinner packets. We started from Rajahmundry at 9:40 P.M. by Gouthami-Express Train and arrived at

Secunderabad at 6:35 A.M. on 16th

August. In 34 hours we covered 1000 Kms. by train,

100Kms. by road and 130 Kms. by boat but did not feel any strain because of therefreshing scenic beauty of Godavari and Papikondalu. To meet the demands of a

growing population, to provide water to the people of Vishakapatnam and to divert the

water from River Godavari to River Krishna for irrigational benefits Polavaram Dam is

being constructed. And this would soon submerge the beauty of the place forever and as

for the tribals who would be displaced in lakhs I hope they will be kept happy and as for

the animals and all other living creatures of these forests, I pray God to protect them.



Posted by Raghu N at 10:22 PM

3 comments:

Snjhawar said...

Nice blog Mr.Raghu. We had similar experience, however we have opted with a Tour

Operator - GLOBAL TOURISM PROMOTIONS who gave us very professional services,

and our Night Halt at KOLLURU BAMBOO COTTAGES was unforgettable experience,

with good Andhra food.

Mr.Srinivas was very helpful and straight forward in providing correct information, with

a very impressive website www.mytravelindia.org

He can be contacted on 9440082627.

November 19, 2009 6:51 AM

lokesh said...

This post has been removed by the author.

November 22, 2009 1:27 AM

lokesh said...

hy i also enjoyed this trip very much for more information contact maruthi tours

04023221877,9492574397

January 28, 2010 6:36 AM

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