Main gate of Maa Binikeyee Peetha, Athmallik

Athmallik is a town and a notified area committee and one of the four subdivisions of Angul district in the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, India.

History

Athmallik was initially an estate (

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

) which was recognized as a

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

in 1874. Athmallik was one of the 26 feudatory states of Odisha. Kaintragarh was the capital of Athmallik State, being carved out of the erstwhile Baudh ex-feudatory state. In the 11th century, it became a separate princely state, established by King Prattap Deo, a scion of the Kadamba Dynasty. Prattap Deo was said to have found a ''Honda'' (Metal Vessel) which was considered to be lucky enough, after which the territory was then named as "Hondpa". In the course of time, one of the chiefs divided the ex-state into eight divisions and placed one sub-chief called "Malla" in each division with a view of suppressing the unruly tribes; on this basis the kingdom changed its name from "Hondpa" to "Athmallik". The state merged with Dhenknal from the rule of Kishore Chandra Dev in 1948 and remained under Dhenkanal District until 31 March 1993. Due to bifurcation of the District Athmallik, a Sub-Division, is now under Angul District, as from 1993.

Rajas

Rajas of the princedom are as follows:. * Jogendra Samant (1874 - 1877)right * Mahendra Deo Samant (4 Feb 1877 - 190.) * Bibhendra Deo Samant (190.- 3 Nov 1918) * Kishor Chandra Deo Samant (b. 1904) (3 Nov 1918 – 15 Aug 1947) * Raja Surajmani Deo Samant (b. 1995)

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Athmallik had a population of 11,383. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Athmallik has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 59% of the males and 41% of females literate. 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Outstanding personalities

Athmallik is the birthplace of the internationally renowned

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

artist Pradyumna Mahandia. Mahanndia was the portrait painter of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

before he went away to Sweden on a bicycle to reunite with his Swedish wife, Charlotte “Lotta” von Schedvin . Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a making a film on Mahandia's early life in Athmallik.

How to Go

Athmallik is located at 235 km from

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

, 200 km from

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

and 160 km from Sambalpur and is well connected by road. The nearest railhead is at Boinda, 36 km from here, connected with the major cities of India. Nearest Airport is at Bhubaneswar.

Accommodation

A circuit house (reservation authority is Sub-Collector, Athmallik), an Inspection Bungalow of public works department (reservation authority is Executive Engineer, R & B, Dhenkanal), a Guest house of Manjore Irrigation Project (reservation authority Executive Engineer) and a dharmasala managed by NAC provide accommodation facilities to the tourists. However the comfort loving travellers are advised to stay at Angul and cover the shrine in a day by hiring a vehicle.

Education

Athmallik has several educational institutions. It houses many Oriya, Hindi, and English-medium schools (School). Athamallik College (Junior & Degree) is the key centre for education in this area.

References

Bibliography

Pasayat, C. (1994), "Myth and Reality in Little Tradition: A Study of Dandanata in Orissa" in ''Man in India'', Vol.74, No.4, December 1994, pp. 413–427.

External links

* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Angul district