WGW_Bangalore

The name Wayanad is believed to be derived from the expression, vayal nadu, the 'village of paddy field'. However scholars have their own reasons to disagree. According to them, Wayanad, in earlier times was known as Mayakshetra (Maya's land). It later gave way to the name Mayanad and still later to Wayanad. Evidence in form of relics and edicts indicate inhabitation of the area as early as in the New Stone Age. However, recorded history is available only from the time of the 18th century. In earlier times the land was ruled over by the Veda rajas and later it came under the Pazhassi Raja of the Padinjare Kovilakom of the Kottayam family. During the reigns of Hyder Ali of Mysore, Wayanad was came under his rule, however with the defeat of his son, Tipu Sultan, at the hands of British, the entire Malabar region went to the British. This was followed by an intense revolution led by the Pazhassi Raja. The revolution ended only after the death of the raja himself.

The British reign ushered in an era of tea and other cash crop cultivation. Roads were laid down in the precarious areas of the regions thereby opening up newer land for cultivation. With the increase in the British power, organized cultivation came into limelight.

Post independence, when the state of Kerala was created in 1956, Wayanad formed a part of the Kannur district of Kerala. Later, its southern part was added to the Kozhikode district. Finally, in the year 1980 on 1st November, north and south Wayanad were merged together to form the 12th district of Kerala, Wayanad.

The history of Puttaparthi, as far as the world is concerned, began on November 23, 1926. Until then it was an obscure speck in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh State. Set in a narrow farming valley, the village was apparently called Gollapalli, the home of cowherds, before it became Puttaparthi.

Satyanarayana Raju was born in Puttaparthi on 23 November 1926. Since his childhood, he is said to have shown prodigious talents, unusual purity and compassion. Having been pronounced to be possessed by the divine, at the age of fourteen he calmly announced that he was the new incarnation of Sai Baba, who died eight years before Sathya was born.

With the passing of time, the fame of Sathya Sai Baba spread all over the world. Eventually a large group of followers grew. In 1950, the ashram was inaugurated. Now, through his miraculous powers, including the ability to materialize vibhuti or the sacred ash, with curative properties, Sai Baba has millions of devotees worldwide.

Legend has it that the rulers of Kancheepuram the Pallavas patronnized this shrine way back in the 9th Century AD the temple shot into fame with contributions started pouring in only during the time of Vijayanagara dynasty in 15th Century AD. From the year 1843 till about 1933, the administrative activities of the Tirumala temple were overseen by Mahants of the Hatiramji Mutt. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam was formed in 1933 and this autonomous body looks after the functioning of the temple complex even today.