Buddhism flourished in the Visakhapatnam region some 2,000 years ago. The first Sepoy Mutiny took place in Visakhapatnam on Oct 3, 1780. Ivory furniture made in Vizagapatam around 200 years ago was much sought after by the royalty, and had made its way to the Buckingham Palace. Sounds interesting, right?
Gen-Z may find it unbelievable as many of the heritage monuments and natural formations are either in a state of neglect or are being destroyed to satiate man’s greed. The Kurupam Market has been razed to the ground while the old building at the Queen Mary’s Government High School building is in a dilapidated condition and no action seems to have been initiated to restore it to its past glory. It poses a threat to children, who are accommodated in new buildings on the same campus.
The Buddhist heritage sites at Thotlakonda, Bavikonda and Parvulakonda, dotting the Visakhapatnam coast, could have been lost long ago had they not been buried under mounds of mud atop the hills for several centuries. The chance discovery atop hills during an aerial survey for finding a suitable location for establishment of INS Kalinga by the Indian Navy a few decades ago had given an insight to archaeologists and historians to the fact that Buddhism had flourished in Visakhapatnam region, some 2,000 years ago.
