Summary: Besides her entertainment and tourism aspects, Vijayawada holds the pride of being the best city for education as well.

When it comes to educational sector, Vijayawada was initially in the receiving end. Just because the city was not chosen as the educational destination during British Rule, the city was continued to be overlooked by student and parent community even after the Indian independence. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the nearby cities Machilipatnam and Guntur were chosen as the educational city.

Andhra University:

Andhra University, which was earlier functioning in the present Victoria Jubilee Museum building after having established in the year 1928, was shifted to Vishakhapatnam. The reason for shifting stated by the founder of the Andhra University was that Vijayawada has no learning conducive environment for intellectual pursuits.

Situation began to change:

The moving of Andhra University was yet another bad remark in the educational scenario of Vijayawada earlier. But, the situation slowly began to change with the establishment of SRR & CVR Government College and Andhra Loyala College. The situation further improved with the development of Siddhartha Academy of General and Technical Education in the year 1975. Women education was led by the Montessori Mahila Kalasala. Now, the situation is totally different with the entry of many corporate players into the educational sector, Vijayawada is now called as Vidyalawada as well, denoting that she is now the place of education in AP.

Future of Education in Vijayawada:

According to an official announcement, The central government funded medical education institute and hospital AIIMS is planned to be established in the city. Already the first instalment sanction towards the construction of building for AIIMS was sanctioned.

In addition, an agricultural university is planned to be established in the city apart from the regional Agri research station in Lam, which will be closer to the city.

Even though, the city has experienced great development in the educational sector, the educationists are concerned that most of the colleges are giving short shrift to courses in humanities. The newly established arts and science colleges are mostly focusing on job-oriented courses as against courses related to politics, history, or philosophy.

With these things said, the city boasts many engineering and technology colleges and apart from few, most of these colleges are affiliated to JNTU, Hyderabad to provide the best technical education for students.

Also, at school level, the municipal corporation takes all steps to make sure that every child is educated by offering free education, free mid-day meals, text books and scholarships. So, there is no reason to state that Vijayawada is not ideal for education. She is rightly called as Vidyalawada.

Summary: Vijayawada holds the pride of being the first city to host movie halls in the state. Let us explore some details here:

It happened way back in the year 1921, when Pothina Brothers built the first theatre not just in the city, but also the entire state called as Maruthi Talkies. This theatre was screening movies right from period when movies were taken as silent films.

The only theatre:

‘Maruthi talkies’ was the only movie hall that met the requirements of film enthusiasts in the early 1920s until the development of new halls in the Two Town area of the city in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Experience of Padmasree Turlapati Kutumbha Rao:

When talking to Padmasree Turlapati Kutumbha Rao, he shared his experience of watching a silent movie in Maruthi Talkies during which time the value of the ticket was one-sixteenth of a rupee. He also shared an interesting event that happened several decades ago in this theatre. The incident was that then a movie was released and the Bheema, one of the five brothers of pandavas had not moustache in a scene. The makers failed to notice the same and released the movie. But, when the film buffs saw this scene they refused to visit Maruthi Talkies stating that the character was without a moustache. But, the operator of the theatre managed to make some changes in the negative and came up with one to draw the crowd. Even, during that period, the people working for the theatre went around the streets to announce that Bheema now has a moustache to attract the crowd.

Experience of senior columnist:

Senior Columnist named, Adavalli Satyanarayana said that during those periods, Maruthi Talkies used to screen mythological films and also the best of NTR films never fail to hit the screens of Maruthi talkies. He also recollected that the Balcony ticket during that period was Rs.1.50, which was around 1940s.

First colour film:

Maruthi Talkies was the theatre to release the first color film produced in the Telugu Film Industry named ‘Lavakusa’.

Some attractive things about Maruthi Talkies:

• Many mythological films of NTR and ANR released in this theatre ran successfully for more than 100 days.
• It was the first permanent theatre in the state built in 1921 and other halls came up only after some decades.
• Most of the times, the films of Rajashree Distribution and Navayuga Distribution companies were released in this theatre.

Summary: In India, like in many countries of the world, people have great attraction towards cinemas and this is no exception to the city of Vijayawada as well.

Even though, it looks like the development of television channels has brought down the craze for movies among people, the fact is that digital tech revives some interest among audience. When it comes to Vijayawada, there has never been any shortage of audience for movies. The cinema niche has seen a great development in the Telugu industry right from the period when silent movies were introduced.

Reason for flourishing movie business:

Vijayawada has a flourishing cinema business and it is believed that the city’s location at the heart of the state is the important reason for this growth. In addition, the city being the capital of print media, film distribution has chosen this city as the base. Another reason for this city as the home for thriving cinemas is that many film production companies, financiers and producers are located in this city.

First city to have multiplexes:

The people of Vijayawada are highly proud that their home city is the first to have multiplexes in the entire state of Andhra Pradesh. Yes, this started when the first movie complex with three theaters, namely Ramba, Urvasi and Menaka was unleashed in the city, where three different films were telecasted during those periods. Many Theaters are located in the Andhra Ratna Road, which is the home for dozen of movie halls. Not just in this road, there were many theaters in the city and another road famous for movie halls is the Nageswararao Pantulu Road. Now, Ramba, Urvasi and Menaka is in the form of INOX

Even though, most of them still continue to exist, some were demolished, while a huge movie hall earlier called Kalyan Chakravarthi is now two smaller theaters to showcase two different movies at the same time.

Alankar theater was highly popular those days and this was the prey to a riot that arose following the assassination of Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga Rao as the theater was burnt. But, this theater is now constructed into a shipping complex with cinema hall.

Special effect films:
Not just normal movies, the multiplexes in the city also have halls for showcasing movies with special effects like 3D and 4D films.

Earlier, the producers from Telugu Film Industry were releasing their films through distributors, but now they are doing this towards the highest bidder, thereby turning this business into a decentralized business.

Summary: For those looking for an affordable stay at the busy place in Vijayawada, the Modern Cafe can be the ideal spot to choose.

Besant Road is popular in Vijayawada as the place for shopping. Besides quenching the thirst of shoppers, this road also has eateries to quench the hunger of shoppers. This road has a popular eatery called as Modern Cafe. Not just a vegetarian restaurant, it is a place for lodging as well.

Locals gather:

Besides offering mouth-watering dishes, this hotel is also turning out to be the place to gather in the evenings for politically interested locals. They gather in front of the hotel on a daily basis to talk about the political situation in the state and also they talk about other issues. One of the members in the group chatting outside the cafe states that he has been gathering in this place along with his friends from the year 1968. He states that no matter, it is raining or it is hot, they gather as a group to discuss the political situations.

A 78-year old individual says that their discussions will be very hot during election times and the group says that they generally discuss about election campaigns and prospects of the contestants during election times. Even, they state that during some days, the discussions have led to quarrel among them and when this happened, they just stop the discussions and leave the place, but have never failed to join the discussion on the following day.

Changes in Besant Road:

One of the group members has said that many things have changed in Besant Road and even the Modern Cafe got a new look after a renovation, but they never fail to gather and the group remains the same, except that they are aging. They also state that earlier they had wider space to walk in Besant Road, but now the road has turned out to be congested place with many automobiles, beggars and vendors.

About Modern Cafe:

Coming back to Modern Cafe, this is an affordable place to spend your vacation in Vijayawada. The hotel offers an economical accommodation with basic facilities. As there is an attached restaurant that offers tasty foods, you need not have to go in search for a hotel separately during your stay in this lodging facility. Some people say that this is the ultimate destination for vegans looking for tasty foods in Vijayawada, while some praise the affordability of the foods available in this restaurant.

Some people are interested towards this hotel every time they visit Vijayawada mainly because of its location. Yes, the café stands tall amidst shopping spots and Besant Road as mentioned earlier is the one-stop destination for all your shopping needs. Some regular visitors are satisfied about the ambience and customer service at Modern Café. Of course, for some people this hotel is their choice because of its affordability not only with respect to foods, but also with respect to accommodation.

If you wish to take a look at the people gathering every day before the hotel and wish to enjoy the tasty dishes, make sure to book your stay in Modern Café, during your next visit to Vijayawada.

Summary: Bandar Road has a range of branded jewellery stores with different models of ornaments to enthrall their customers.

The part of the new capital region of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Vijayawada is adorned by a line of Jewellery stores, thereby offering a unique luster to the city. Shopping enthusiasts and many women from the city state that the chain of jewellery stores in Bandar Road has changed the face of their home city. This road was previously a hub of small traders and many vendors, but now it has turned to be a bustling business centre. Not just existing jewellers, but many new jewellers are also popping up in the road to add glitters.

Earlier, local people and even tourists choose to visit either One Town or Besant Road for their family shopping needs, but of the late, the Bandar Road is attracting a wide range of shopping enthusiasts. The reason for this is the wide choice available for shoppers and the dazzling line of showrooms.

Reason behind the change:

This choice of shoppers thronging Bandar Road is because of the diversification of family business, especially those in the Jewellery business. As the earlier trade centres in the city like Besant Road and One Town are already filled with many shops, businesses choose to open their stores in Bandar Road. This happened particularly after the widening of the road as 100 feet road that happened in the year 2006.

Nerve centre for gold and diamond business:

The unleashing of branded showrooms took place after 2006, thereby turning this road as the nerve centre for gold and diamond businesses. As the entrepreneurs are confident about good business, they do not hesitate to open their shop in this commercial lane in Vijayawada and women have never let down jewellers in this road. There are showrooms for popular brands like Tanishq, Khazana, TBZ among others.

Traditional goldsmiths are fighting:

Yes, with a dazzling line up of branded jewellers with a wide collection of new designs, the traditional goldsmiths fail to grab the attention of women, mainly because of their small outlets, but have never stopped their journey and they continue to show their brave face.

What do traditional goldsmiths say?

When the traditional goldsmiths were asked whether the entry of dazzling line up of jewellers have affected their business, they strongly deny stating that they are in the business for generations and continue to have their regular customers because of the trust they have gained. They state that when it comes to purchasing jewelleries, trust is considered the important factor and so they continue to get orders from their customers. Also, they state that as their customers get the chance to directly interact with the proprietor, they feel satisfied about purchasing from them, as against visiting those newly established showrooms.

Furthermore, the retail outlets never discuss with their customers and they do not want to disclose their annual turnout as well. However, many people not just from Vijayawada, but also from nearby cities across Krishna District frequently visit these glittering outlets to place order for their jewelleries.

Summary: The City space in Vijayawada gets a new look with new malls and multiplexes to provide the best shopping, dining and movie watching experience to people.

The city of Vijayawada has many attractions and malls are no exceptions to this trend. Recently, new malls were opened and even fresh malls are under construction in this city to provide the best movie-watching, dining and shopping experience to the locals and also to the tourists thronging this city all-round the year.

PVP inaugurated:

Recently, the PVP Square Mall was inaugurated by the great Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who was accompanied by Anushka Shetty, a Telugu and Tamil Film Actress. The promoter of the mall, Potluri Vara Prasad took Anushka Shetty and Sachin Tendulkar around the mall. When talking about the city, Sachin Tendulkar shared that he always wanted to play for Vijayawada, but this has not happened in his cricketing career. But, he stated that he has great regard for his fans from this city. He thanked the fans for the affection show even after his retirement from the Indian cricket team.

Sachin also said that this great mall is going to be a great attraction to the city and Anushka also shared that she was delighted to be a part of the inaugural function. The managing director P. Sai Padma said that they have constructed this mall in Vijayawada at an investment of 125 crores and she also added that the mall will have 4.27 lakh square feet of space. The MD also promised that all great global brands will be invited to set up their showrooms in the mall to provide the best shopping experience to the people.

More shopping spots to come up:

The new multiplexes are changing Vijayawada from a laid back city to a mini-metro. Reports state that Rs.1500 crore private investments are already there on the city in the form of following malls:
•    LEPL Centro Mall
•    LEPL ICON Mall
•    PVP Square and
•    Ripples Mall

It is stated that a few other projects are also on the way to make it to Rs.1500 crore investments. These are not the only malls as there are already malls and multiplexes in the city and these are just additions to them.

Mall near Benz Circle Junction:

The mall near this popular junction in Vijayawada is the biggest investment so far in the city at Rs.600 crores. This structure has a whole lot of entertainment zones, shopping area, play area, restaurants and there are also six-screen multiplexes, apart from a 7-D theatre. This mall is named as Trendset Mall.

Commercial complex on Bandar Road:

Tipsy Topsy Garment Store is highly popular at Bandar Road and a new commercial Complex will be out soon opposite this store in this area in an area spreading 70,000 square feet.

Many other malls are also expected in the near future and city is known for its tradition to have great movie buffs and these new malls will take the movie entertainment to the next level to the locals.

Summary: You know Vijayawada as a tourist destination and as the place for pilgrims. But, do you know that place.

The city of Vijayawada has many attractions and many retail giants have added more flavour to the already scented city. The city has now turned out to be the biggest shopping hub in the entire south coastal Andhra. This has become possible because of the many new high-end textile showrooms and malls, besides consumer goods companies have recently bombarded this city with huge publicity. The great thing about the retail outlets in this city is that they have brought with them a whole lot of items that too within the reach of all segments of shoppers. In the recent past, many huge names in the consumer goods, cosmetics, jewellery and textile niche has hit this city.

Traditional textile hub:

Even though, some years ago (i.e.) around 1990s, it experienced a slowdown in the textile industry, it is now reclaiming her status as a traditional textile hub with modern features. In the year 2008, many popular brands in the textile industry entered the city.

Big malls:

Not just for shopping of textile, but many popular malls have established their branches to add a new sheen to the lifestyle habits of the locals.

Early 1970s and 80s:

During this period, people visited this city from many villages and towns in Krishna, West Godavari and Guntur Districts towards the chief shopping destination Besant Road. During those periods, big names like Chillapalli, Chandana was ruling the market and many top players started to enter the city and each one of them gathered in single road, thereby turning this place to be major shopping hub for people from different districts.

Present scenario:
In the present scenario, shopping is taking place on a much higher scale on Bandar Road, which is very huge when compared to what happened previously in Besant Road. Earlier, for branded items, people had to visit to Hyderabad and Chennai, but now this trend has vanished and they are able to find branded items under textile, jewellery and many other niches right on Vijayawada itself.

Ring road:
Ring road is yet another shopping destination now with great names like Spencers and Shoppers Shop located in this second hub for shoppers in Vijayawada.

Not just for shoppers, but also for foodies:

The city has some popular hotels like Babai hotel, but with many outlets, the city has many types of eateries to offer. Nowadays, it is found that more fast food outlets are developing as against fine-dine restaurants. These eateries offer foods at an affordable cost, making them the ideal choice for people in middle and lower income groups. Where should an individual eat when reaching Vijayawada? Let us explore the answer for this question here

A few years ago, when this question was asked, people took some time to answer the question. Once can find more than a dozen of eateries to fill up the stomach. In addition to Babai Hotel at Gnadhinagar with the traditional flavour offers the best idlies for which many celebrities are ardent fans, there is also the most popular Modern Cafe on Besan Road, popular for dosas.

The Food Lounge at Mogulrajpuram and many other restaurants has brought in the international cuisines to Vijayawada. With many such great restaurants, the city offers people with the best tasting foods to dine out.

The latest trend is the Night Food Court Starts at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium In Vijayawada from 10.00 PM to 2.00 AM

Earlier, only youngsters were visiting restaurants for birthday and other occasions. But, now families hit the restaurants not just during weekends, during weekdays too. This is a good thing for people operating in the food and hospitality business in Vijayawada.

Summary: When you visit Vijayawada, you are sure to cross by the Benz Circle and let us gather some details about this traffic circle.

Benz Circle is one of the busiest chowks in the city of Vijayawada. As this place acts as the intersection between NH5 and NH9, you are sure to see this place, when you travel around Vijayawada during your vacation by road. It is one of the prominent landmarks in the city and it is located in the Bandar Road.

History:

Earlier, a branch of Benz Company was functioning in this place. Even though, this company is not present there, people refer this place with the name of the Benz Company as Benz Circle. There is also a bus stop near the circle and this stop is called as ‘Benz Company Busstop’ even today.

Traffic:

This place holds importance as the busiest junction in the city. Reports state that nearly 57000 vehicles cross this place on a daily basis.

Value of property:

After the announcement of Vijayawada/Amaravati as state capital, the land value near Benz Circle has hit a new height. This new height has turned this place to be the richest in the entire state, which includes the common state capital, Hyderabad.

Heavy traffic:

When analysing the reason behind the increasing traffic, it is found that vehicles from different directions intersect at this place. It is stated that for every motorists, it takes around two to three minutes to cross this junction due to heavy traffic.

Traffic Police officials say that vehicular traffic has increased considerably over the past couple of years in this area and in addition to this reason, many commercial establishments also popup on either side of the junction to add up to the chaos. This busy roundabout links the highways that connect Hyderabad, Chennai, Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam.

Summary: When you are intending to take your food in a historical hotel in Vijayawada, make it a point to visit Babai Hotel.

Babai Hotel is actually a landmark of Vijayawada known for their mouth-watering dishes and octogenarian customers. Yes, this hotel has a longer existence. The hotel has been around from around 1950s. When walking down the memory lane one of the regular customers, who is at his 80s reminds that the hotel was serving around just a dozen of customers at a time with its little space.

The owner of the hotel Mr.Patruni Samba Murthy was addressing each of his customers as Babai, which means uncle regardless of their age. This hotel is popular for its idlies and many of their customers were and still are slaves for the tasty idlies offered at this hotel. Earlier, idly and pesarattu were the only items available for breakfast at this hotel and generally the breakfast time closed at 8 am, after which it was not possible to get the tiffin. Now, let us get into some interesting facts about this historical hotel, which still functions in the city with similar mouth-watering dishes as earlier.

Inspirational name:

The actual year of establishment of this hotel is 1942 and Patruni Samba Murthi was the first owner, who became popular as ‘Babai’ to every customer. Due to the tasty dishes, the customers were paying more as compared to their actually bill amount. Babai passed away in the year 1985 and the hotel came to his nephew, Chanti. But, Chanti found it highly hard to maintain the name and fame brought to this hotel by Babai. But, he still managed to do it.

Brand recognition:

When the hotel came to the hands of the successors of Chanti, they completely renewed the building and the atmosphere was completely changed and they added few more foods like pongal, podi dosa, masala dosa and Godhumma ravva upma to their recipes. But, the taste never deteriorated and the new management managed to offer the best taste as earlier to their customers.

Gained popularity among celebrities:

Many great personalities from the Telugu film industry like NTR, ANR, Savitri and even politicians continued to be frequent visitor to relish the tasty dishes offered at Babai hotel. Even though, the foods were cheap for celebrities at Babai hotel, they had great liking for the foods served in this hotel as against visiting five star hotels.

The tasty recipes continue:

Even though, several years have passed by, Babai Hotel still continues to maintain the taste of their idlies, chutneys with coconut, ginger and chilli powder along with ghee and butter.

NTRs special attachment to the hotel:

The former chief minister of the state NT Ramarao and he himself once served the idlies of this hotel to great national leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee during Mahanadu in 1988.

Recently, the hotel was completely renovated and was opened after a short close for renovation work. V. Lakshmi Narasimha Rao, a nephew of ‘Babai’ and who is known as Chanti, is managing the affairs ever since ‘Babai’ passed away in 1985.

After renovation, the hotel has now come up as a Ground+2 building at the same 130-sq. yard site. The ground floor is ‘self-service’ section, though a couple of tables would be arranged there to make it easy for elders. The top floors would have about 25-30 seating capacity each.