History of Kakinada

History:

    Several theories exist regarding the origin of the name Kakinada. One is that the place was called 'Kakinandiwada' during the reign of Nandi kings who ruled prior to the arrival of the Europeans and the name was truncated to Kakinada over time. The British used to call it Cocanada (pronounced "Caa-key-naada"). After Independence, the name was renaturalised to Kakinada, although a few organisations established during the British colonial rule retain the old name (e.g., Cocanada Chamber of Commerce). As per history this place was full of ponds filled with red lotus which is called as Kokanadamu in Telugu. Eventually this became CoCanada during the British rule. Even now, the City's two railway stations are codenamed CCT (Kakinada Town Junction) and COA (Kakinada Port) by Indian Railways. Kakinada is also known as "Pensioners Paradise", as it shares it calm and pleasant environment to the retired and old-age people. Some of the people locally conjures Kakinada as second MADRAS as they have some similar properties.