PUTTAPARTI

About Puttaparti

Puttaparthi is a town in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The original name of Puttaparthi was Gollapalli. The town is located on the banks of Chitravathi River which is a tributary of Pennar River, and is surrounded by undulating hills.[3] While this small town may not have much to offer in terms of natural splendour and beauty, the place is a religious destination popularly known by the world at large as the birthplace of Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and for the ashram which he founded, known as Prasanthi Nilayam.The official language in Puttaparthi is Telugu, the language spoken by Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Other common languages spoken in Puttaparthi are Kannada, English, Tamil and Hindi. Various national and international languages are understood and spoken due to the presence of national and international devotees. The climate is generally hot and dry throughout the year,[4] summer temperatures ranging from 34 C-42 C, (93F-108F) and winter 22 C-27 C (71F-80F).[5] The hotter months are from March until July and the milder months are from November until January.[4] "The southwest monsoons play a major role in determining the climate. The northeast monsoons are responsible for about one-third of the total rainfall. Some rainfall may be expected during the months of July and August and again from October to December."[5] Puttaparthi is 475 meters (1558 feet) above sea level.The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation operates bus services from Puttaparthi bus station.[7] People visit Puttapathi from all over India, and most State transport services also ply their own buses to this place. Puttaparthi is well connected by road to all parts of Anantapur district, the district headquarters Anantapur (84 kilometres (52 mi)), the state capital Hyderabad, Telangana (441 kilometres (274 mi)), Bangalore (154 kilometres (96 mi)) and Chennai (375 kilometres (233 mi)). Puttaparthi has a railway station named as Sri Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam which started functioning from 23 November 2000, which was Baba's 75th birth anniversary. It is about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the ashram. This station falls under the Bangalore Division of the South Western Railway and lies on the Bangalore-Guntakal railway line. It is easy to reach the town from the railway station in 20-25 mins, through various modes of transport like cabs, autorickshaws and APSRTC buses. The town is connected directly by train to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Kolkata.Puttaparthi Airport is a domestic airport situated in the town. The nearest International airport is the Kempegowda International Airport at Devanahalli, a suburb of Bangalore which is about 119 kilometres (74 mi) from Puttaparthi.