Kings of different religions have ruled Andhra Pradesh at different times. This has led to a blending of diverse cultures in the state. Even so, nearly all of them retain their distinct touch. Most of the people in the region are Telugu speaking Dravidians but different minorities can be found, especially near the borders. The south has Tamils and the west has Kannadas. Around Hyderabad, is the Urdu speaking Muslims. Telugu is a soft language and closely resembles ‘Sanskrit’ in its style of speaking.

Andhra Pradesh has a history of good literature written by poets like Vemana, Nannaya, Srinatha, Potana and many more. Potana, who looked like a poor country bumpkin, translated the Bhagwat Gita in a simple devotional language. Vemana was from a low caste. This made him a rebel and his poetry is full of satiric verses aimed at the Brahmins, their idol worship, ritual pilgrimages and so on.

Andhra’s classical dance form is the ‘Kuchipudi’. It is a narrative dance, i.e. it tells a story through a dance sequence. It relates to legends taken from the Puranas. It takes its gestures and mainframe from the purer ‘Bharatnatyam’ of Tamil Nadu. From the time when Ashoka ruled here right upto the 21^st century, Andhra has seen different cultures come and stay and so, forms a curious blend of the Hindu and Muslim cultures.

Though Andhra is the largest state of South India, the food here has a distinct North Indian flavor. The Muslim rulers left more mixed cuisine and we can see a strong non-vegetarian influence too. The dishes are all spicy and rich. Apart from the South Indian delicacies like Idli, Sambhar and Masala Dosas, typical Andhra dishes are also very spicy. The Andhra food is said to be among the hottest of all Indian dishes (cuisines). So we have a large variety of food including fish in onion and coconut gravy; lemon and tomato rice; Andhra bread; Chicken fried in herbs and chilies and Dal Pundi Phalliya (made with Gangura leaves, spices and nuts).

The non-vegetarian dishes offer a fine choice between Biryani (meat and rice), Kababs, Haleem (Wheat, mutton and spices ground together), Chapa Bajjilu (Fritter made of fish, poppy seeds and of course spices!) and bone less Tandoori chicken. Fruits, nuts and different kinds of gravy, all add to the richness of the dishes. Vegetarian dishes include Puri, Rice, Vegetable Biryani with cashewnuts and sultanas in it, Curries, Rasam, Kulcha, Curd, Sheer Maal, a sweet bread and Bhaghara Baigan (stuffed eggplant). Lots of sweets like Kalakahn and snacks too are popular in Andhra. The people here use almonds and cashews in many sweet desserts and dishes.

Andhra also has a flourishing viticulture industry. So grapes grown locally are abundant as are Khobani (apricots). In between these multi-cuisines, one can also find lots of tribal cuisines like the Peppery dishes of the Chettimad- a small community of Tamil Nadu.

People of Andhra are fond of both tea as well as coffee, but show an intense fondness for freshly prepared coffee.

The ‘Harvest Festival’ in January is quite colorful when everyone flies kites. Apart from the main festivals celebrated throughout India, Andhra also has many local festivals and fairs. They are all related to the legends in one way or the other. In Secundrabad, the Mahakali Temple holds the ‘Bonulu’ festival in June/July.

In the middle of January is celebrated ‘Makar Sakranti’ festival where people bring out all of their collections of dolls.