Kaivara

Kaiwara is a small town in the Chickballapur district of Karnataka state, located northeast of Bangalore, India. Kaiwara is a popular place to visit, as it is very close to Bangalore (about 65 km away), the capital of Karnataka. Free boarding (prasada) and well-maintained, low-cost accommodation is available at the ashram. Chintamani Town is the nearest Taluk Centre and a business hub of this part of Karnataka.DemographicsAs of the 2001 Indian census, Kaiwara's population was 5,488, of which 2,792 were male and 2,696 female.Saint NarayanappaKaiwara is famous for Saint Narayanappa, popularly known as Kaiwara Narayana Thata ನಾರಾಯಣ ತಾತ in Kannada and Narayana Thatayya in Telugu, who was a bilingual poet. He lived there during the last half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Narayanappa prophesized and composed Keertanas in praise of Amara Narayanaswamy, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, in both Kannada and Telugu languages.The Keertanas are comparable to famous Keertanakaras of Karnataka such as Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa. Thatayya also appears to have been influenced by Vemana Kavi and Veera Bramhendra Swamy of present-day Andhra Pradesh, and Sarvajna of present-day Karnataka. One of his writings is the Bramanandpuri Shatakka, in which he explains all the nuances of yoga in depth and detail.