Odisha

Geography of Odisha

• The state Odisha is situated between the geographical coordinates of 81.27'E and 87.29' East longitude and 17.49' N and 22.34' North latitude .
• It is the  9th largest state of India with an area of around 155707 sq km . Bay of  Bengal fences its boundaries from the eastern side with a coastline of around 450 km.
• Madhya Pradesh lies on its western part while it has Andhra Pradesh on its South; towards the North it has West Bengal as its neighbour.

Coastal Plains

• The coastal plains of Odisha stretch from Subarnarekha in the North to Rushikulya in the South. They are narrow in the north , widest in the middle, narrowest in the lake Chilka coast and broad in the south.
• The coastal plains are the gifts of six major rivers, which bring silt from their catchments, has reclaimed this area from the depths of the Bay of Bengal.
• The rivers from north to south are the Subarnarekha, thew Budhabalanga, the Baitarani, the Brahamani, the Mahanadi and the Rushikulya.

Mountainous Region

• The mountainous region of Odisha covers about three-fourth of the area of the state. The tegion is a part of Indian peninsula.
•  Morphologically this region can be divided into the following units .
• The Simulia and Meghasana mountains .
• The Baitarani and Brahamani interfluos. The watershed between the Brahamani and the Mahanadi.

Rolling Uplands 

• The rolling uplands are lower in elevation than the plateaus. They are the products of continued river action are rich in soil nutrients and are situated in the Koelsankh basin of the upper Brahamani in the IB the Suktel and the tell of the middle Mahanadi and the Sabari basins.
• The rolling uplands may be grouped as follows: the Rajganjpur uplands, the Jharsuguda uplands, the Bargarh uplands, the Balangir - Titlagarh uplands-the Patnagarh uplands, the Malkanigir uplands and the Rairangapur uplands.

Rivers 

• Mahanadi is the major river of Odisha and sixth largest river in India . It originates from the Amarkantak hills of the Bastar plateau in Raipur district of Chhatisgarh .
• The Brahamani is the second largest river in Odisha. It originates two major rivers like the Sankh and the Koel from the Chhotangpur plateau of Bihar and both join at Veda Vyasa near Rourkela of Sundergarh district of Odisha forming the major River Brahamani.
• The Baitarani originates from the Gonasika hills of the Keonjhar district. It id 365 km. long and its catchment area spreads over 12790 sq. km.
• Subarnarekha originates from Chhotnagpur plateau of Bihar . It is 433 km (70 km. in Odisha)  and has a catchment area of 19500 km.
• The Budhabalanga originates from the eastern sloops of the Similipala massif. It is about 175 km.
• The Rushikulya originates from Rushikulya hills of the Eastern Ghats in Phulbani district . It is 165 km long.

Waterfalls & Lakes 

• The Barehipani and Joranda (Similipal) in Myurbhanja district Sanaghagara and Badaghagara in Keonjhar district .
• Padhanpuri in Deogarh district Khandadhar(Banei) in Sundargarh district Phurliharan , Khandabaladhar, and Rabandhar in kalahandi district Kentamari and Putudi in Boudh and Phulbani district DumDuma in Malakangiri district and Bogra in Koraput district are some of the major waterfalls of Odisha .
• The Chilka Lake is blackish water lagoon located in the southern part of the Odisha coastal plane . Its salinity declines to a minimum during the monsoon.

Andhra Pradesh

Religions

• People in Andhra Pradesh are highly pious to follow their own religion . The main religions in this State are Hinduism , Christianity, Buddhism and Islam .
• Large number of temples, stupas, churches and mosques exists in the state . Among all these , Hinduism is the major religion practiced by vast number of people .
• Muslims are concentrated in Secunderabad and Hyderabad . The tribal populations of Andhra Pradesh live with their own belief .

Occupation

• Agriculture is the major occupation of  Andhra Pradesh and nearly 70 % of the population is dependent on farming .
• Rice is the staple food of  Telugu and also they are largest producer of rice in India along with other cash crops like Tobacco, Groundnut, Chillies, Turmeric, Oilseeds, Cotton, Sugar, and Jute.

Music

• Science olden days, Andhra Pradesh is well known for their luxurious musical heritage . This place is the homeland of three geniuses in carnatic music world - Shyama Sastri, Muthuswami Dixitar and Thyagaraja.
• Omnipresent Telugu language in Andhra delivers original effect and spirit of the melodious carnatic music.
• Folk music is also known to be emerged from the divine carnatic music. This magnificent art is passed to generations through various compositions incorporating discrete information about music.

Dances

• Rich culture is always prevalent in the state of Andhra Pradesh . A huge Collection of performing arts emerged from Andhra including music, drama and dance to our world.
• The most popular form of classical dance, Kuchipudi originated from Andhra Pradesh. Categorised to be one among the best dance forms in the world, this Kuchipudi is analogous to Bharat Natyam.
• Apart from Kuchipudi, there are also other dance forms originated from Andhra Pradesh. Perini, an outstanding dance form also originated here. This is a warrior dance form often referred to dance of god Shiva.

Fairs & Festivals

• The spirits of people are kept alive with festivals and fairs . Similar to others states, religious festivals like Sankranti, Diwali, Eid-ul-Fitr and Holi is celebrated here too.
• Apart from religious festivals, state government also organises various cultural festivals including Rayalaseema Food and Dance Festival Deccan Festival, Visakha Festival and many more.

Art and Craft

• The Telugu People are patrons of arts and crafts and they are pioneers in the field of metal ware , carpets ,wood and stone carvings exquisite silver filigree , brass and sheet metalware .
• Kalamkari, Bidri, Nirmal, paintings, fascinating weaves from pochampalli, Gadwal , Venkatagiri and a number of other centres have earned a name all over the world .
• Kalamkari is supposed to be famous worldwide which is done using a quill and printing in done on the fabric with vegetable dye .

Clothing & Fashion

• The large number of cotton together with their innovative dye isolation from plants is done here.
• The traditional Golconda mine is the homeland for various precious gems like hope and Kohinoor diamond.
• The fashion industry of Andhra Pradesh carries voni(half saree), full sarees designed through Bidri, Nirmal paintings, Kalamkari, together with wonderful weaves of Venkatagiri, Pochampalli and Gadwal depicts.
• Several gold jewelry models including Aravanke, Vaddana, Buttalu, Kasula haram are the finest illustrations for their constantly emerging tradition.