Turupupalli

Turupupalli is a village located on the banks of the river Bahuda in Chittoor District in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The word Turupu means East and the word palli means village. So the name of the village means Eastern village. Probably, it is named based on the location with respect to other villages in ancient times.

Location

It is located 20 KM from Madanapalle and the nearest town is Chintaparti. Also it is two and a half hours by bus from famous shrine place Tirupati. There are hills surrounding the village enhancing its scenic beauty. Mountain ranges housing the famous Horsley Hills are nearby. Some other mountains nearby are Nallakonda , Obulesukonda etc ... . Bahuda river flows beside the village and is a major source of water for agriculture. Small Channels from the river feed major crops and also the presence of river enhances the underground water making the wells full of water even in summer seasons.

About Turupupalli

People in Turupupalli are farmers with their major source of income from cultivation. They grow various crops like Paddy, Sugarcane, Ground nuts, Tomato, Brinjal, Ladiesfinger ( Okra ), Tamarind, Coconuts and much more. Among them , Paddy , Ground nut and Tomatoes are the major source of income. All these crops are seasonal. Water for Paddy and Tomato is generally, dependent on underground water and water from adjoining river Bahuda. Water for Ground nut is majorly dependent on rain water and so the income dependents on Monsoons.

People in the village are very friendly and help the strangers with food and accommodation and side by you in times of need.

There is a temple in Turupupalli and people spend Saturday nights doing bhajans ( Songs about god) in the temple. The bhajans will be sung by middle aged and old experienced people and will be followed by youngsters. Also the temple is well decorated during festivals.

Festivals in Turupallli are exciting and filled with lots of joy and happiness among farmers. Lots of festivals are related to nature. Important of them are Malakala Pournami which signifies the start of cultivation season and Makara Sankranti which signifies the end of harvesting season.

During makara sankranti all the people will clean and decorate their Oxen, cows and buffaloes with costly decoratives, paint, balloons etc ... In the morning of the day of festival, they worship god and offer Dosa ( Indian Pan cake ) and other food items to god by releasing them in water in a nearby well or pond which is located towards the east of the village. In the afternoon children and few adults collect grains, jaggery, sugar, pulses from each house to make prasadam ( auspicious food ) in the evening. As time tends towards evening, all the people, well dressed will start moving towards an open ground where Bhogi will be performed. Bhogi is a large flame in an open ground.All the oxen , cows etc... will be brought to this congregation with all the decoration. There will be competition between people to best decorate their domestic animals. It is believed that every person should see the bhogi flame for wellbeing. As the oxen and cows are also considered a major part in their life and sacred , they are also made to see the auspicious bhogi flmae by taking them to the congregation in the open ground. After, watching the bhogi flame, people eat prasadam and march back to their homes. Also they take a part of the prasadam to Oxen and cows for their good.

Also, evenings in the village are exciting with people returning from farm lands and after completing supper, will start discussions on various topics ranging from international issues to local politics. It is quite amazing how knowledgeable they are, though present in a village atmosphere.