Language

Telugu is the state’s official language. It is known for its mellifluous nature and has also been called Italian of the East. An Urdu-speaking and predominantly Muslim minority lives mostly in Hyderabad. Among the many tribal languages, Banjara, Koyi, and Gondi have the greatest number of speakers.

Movies

Andhra has 1,500 movie theaters, the most of any state in India. The state also produces about 200 movies a year.

Music

The state has a rich cultural heritage. The great composers of carnatic music Annamacharya, Tyagaraja and many others were of Telugu descent who chose Telugu as their language of composition, thus enriching the language.

Literature

Nannayya, Tikkana, and Yerrapragada form the trinity who translated the great epic Mahabharatha into Telugu. Modern writers include Jnanpith Award winners Sri Viswanatha Satyanarayana and Dr. C. Narayana Reddy.

Dance

Classical dance in Andhra can be performed by both men and women, however women tend to learn it more often.

Kuchipudi is the state’s best-known and widely practiced classical dance form.

Another classical dance form, Andhra Naatyam, was historically a dance that defined Andhra’s culture. Danced since antiquity at both Buddhist and Hindu temples, it has seen a resurgence in recent years, after nearly dying out.

Cultural Institutions

Andhra Pradesh has many museums, including the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, which features a varied collection of sculptures, paintings, and religious artifacts, and the Visakha Museum in Vizag, which displays the history of the pre-Independence Madras Presidency in a rehabilitated Dutch bungalow.

Newspapers

Andhra Pradesh has several newspapers. Prominent among them are

Telugu Newspapers - Eenadu , Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi.

English Newspapers - Deccan Chronicle,The Hindu

Other elements of Culture
Bapu’s paintings, Nanduri Subbarao’s Yenki Paatalu (Songs on/by a washerwoman called Yenki), mischievous Budugu (a character by Mullapudi), Annamayya’s songs, Aavakaaya (a variant of mango pickle in which the kernel of mango is retained), Atla taddi (a seasonal festival predominantly for teenage girls), banks of river Godavari, Dudu basavanna (The ceremonial ox decorated for door-to-door exhibition during the harvest festival Sankranti) have long defined Telugu culture.