There is another festival known as Keehadamarus Festival which is celebrated on New Moon Day during month of Sravanam (July-August) at Vemayakunta in Adilabad. Unmarried girls sing songs on drum beats, eat gogri mixed with wheat or Bengalgram and jaggery and dance in the morning and in the night for nine days till 'Ashtami'.
Other popular festivals in and around Adilabad are Deccan Festival, Visaka Utsav, Lumbini Festival and Rayalaseema Food and Dance Festival. Holi, Diwali, Eid-Ul-Fitr, Christmas, Krishna Ashtami, Maha Shivrathri, Ugadi, Vajaya Dashmi, Milad-Un-Nabi, Nagapanchami, Muharram, Sankranthi, Sri Ram Navmi, Vishaka Utsav etc. which are celebrated with equal elan.
Art and Craft in Adilabad
Kondapalli dolls can be seen in markets in Adilabad. These are brought from Vijayawada and are wooden dolls. Other figures of animals, birds and even deities are available. Hand-crocheted laces are available which are used to beautify garments or simple used as table mats. Embroidery work, kalamkari paintings with vibrant colour and vegetable dyes, bidriware, Nirmal paintings made from gums, minerals and herbs etc. are art works from this region. All these craft materials are readily available during fairs.
Dances in Adilabad
Kuchipudi dance, Butta Bommalu (basket puppets) dance, Lambadi classical dance, Kolattam, Bhamakalpam, Veeranatyam, Burra Katha (form of story telling), Dhimsa are performed during festivals. Various art forms are given importance in this Telanaga town. The children learn music and dance from an early age to keep up their traditions.Dance, music and drama are popular here. Children also learn Carnatic music and try to emulate Carnatic music stalwarts like Thyagaraja, Shyama Shastri and Mathswami Dixitar. Compositions of Mangalapalli Bala Murali Krishna and Bhadrachala Ramadasu are popular too.
The culture in Adilabad is a mix of Persian traditions combined with South Indian culture and traditions. Famous poets of this region include Adikavi Pampa-kannada, Bheema kavi, Chekuri Rama Rao, Daasaradhi Rangacharyulu, Katta Bhagavantha Reddy, Himajwala, Hulukki Bhaskara, Vemulavada Bheemakavi and Dr. Kurella Vitalacharya whose poetry people love to read and even sing.
Cinema in Adilabad
People in Adilabad also love to watch Telugu cinema. A few cinema halls are there where they go and watch these movies and live their dreams for a couple of hours! Famous actors in Telanaga region are Vennela Kishore, Nithiin, Thagubothu Ramesh and Uttej. N. Shankar is a famous director of many films.Movie Theatres in Adilabad
- Ganesh Theatre in Ambedkar Chowk
- Maheswari Theatre in Netaji Chowk
- Natraj Theatre in Bhuktapur
Food Loved by People in Adilabad
Most of the people in Adilabad earn their living from agriculture. Cotton is grown in abundance here. They are augmenting their income by using sustainable farming practices such as water conservation, effective use of fertilizers and sprays, inter cropping and effective resource management.People in adilabad love really spicy food! They eat both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food which includes meat, fish and sea-food. Their staple diet includes millet roti. They cook curry using lentils (dal) tamarind, Asafoetida, tomato. Sajja Rotte (Penisetum), Uppudi Pindi (broken rice), Jonna Rotte (Sorghum), Vepudu, Potlakaya pulusu are dishes they love to eat! Kodi pulusu and Mamasm (meat) vepudu, Oorru Kodi Pulusu, Golichina Mamsam are non-vegetarian dishes. Common snacks include Chakinalu or Sakinalu (prepared during Sankranti festival), Karijelu, Madugulu, Pharda Pheni etc.
No doubt, people of Adilabad live life to the fullest with deep interest in the music, festivals and culture of their newly formed Telangana state.
