Kurmai
Kurmai or Kurmoi or Koormayi (Telugu: కూర్మాయి) is a village in Palamaner mandal of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Geography
Kurmai a village panchayat is in Palamaner Mandal of Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh is located at 13°09′54″N 78°44′09″E / 13.1650°N 78.7358°E.It has an average elevation of 648 meters (2,126 feet).
Kurmai is located on the road which connects Palamaner and M.P.Kotur about 5 km from Palamaner.Kurmai is on the bank of the river Koundinya. It is the panchayat headquarters which is the panchayat of the villages namely Mudivaripalli, Jallipeta, Pakeerupalli and Kurmai.
The two famous temples-Lord Shiva's temple and Kurma Varadaraja Swamy Temple are located on the west and east side of the village. A Post Office[1] is also located here.
Nearby Locations
The villages near Kurmai are Mudivaripalli, Jaliipeta, Bodireddipalli, Gadduru, Pakeerupalli, Jaravarapalli, Doddipalli, Kappalli, Panderupalli, Samudrapalli, Tavadapalli. And the town Palamaner is at 5 km distance and hardly takes 10 mins of time to reach.
Lord Shiva temple is at the entrance of the village. And there is also famous Kurma Varadaraja Swamy Temple located at the back way of the village and it is 0.2 km from the village.
Naming
The name of the village is originated by the word kurma which means tortoise as there is a historical and ancient temple called Kurma Varadaraja Swamy temple, where the God is the tortoise avatar(Kurmavataram) of the Lord Mahavishnu. Thus it evolved.
Holidays
Every year in the month of March a grand feast is celebrated for 5 days which is considered to be the auspicious. People in and around the village join the feast as it has become a tradition since many years.
Economics
The main occupation of the people of Kurmai is Agriculture. They cultivate sugarcane, groundnuts and other vegetables. Many people are depending on Sericulture,a commercial[2] crop which is be the other main crop here.
People in Kurmai speak Telugu and Kannada.
Temples
There is Lord Shiva's temple in the village. The idol of Lord Shiva was found in the field in 1990's as it was buried by the historians due to some reasons. This is one of the biggest Shiva Linga in south India. Hence the temple was built. This temple is visited by many people from different parts especially on Mondays.
Kurma Varadaraja Swamy Temple - Kurmai is located 5 km from Palamaner, Varadaraja Swamy Temple is the most famous historical temple, this is built by Pallava Rajas by lifting big stones, rebuilt by Late Chenge Gowda. Every year during the month of May, 5 days Jatara will be performed here, large number of people participates near by villages. The temple is maintained by the people of kurmai. This temple has a historical value. The auspicious 5 days of the feast are Dvajarohanam, Kalyanothsavam, Rathotsavam, Puspa Pallaki and Vasanthotsavam. On all the 5 days free meals(Annadanam) is provided to the devotees who visits the temple. People from Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka visit this Jatara every year.You can visit the website of the temple www.varadarajaswamy.org for the latest news.
Education
There is a Primary school[3] in the village where the people of the village get primary education.
Travel
One can reach Kurmai by bus/auto which has frequent autos from Palamaner. Nearest railway station is Chittoor 44 km from here. Nearest airport Tirupathi (114 km), Bangalore (138 km), Chennai (198 km).