During British rule, Rajahmundry was the headquarters of Godavari district, which was further bifurcated into East Godavari and West Godavari districts in 1925. When the Godavari district was split, Kakinada became the headquarters of East Godavari and Eluru became headquarters of West Godavari. Rajahmundry was the hotbed of several movements during India's freedom struggle and acted as a base for many key leaders. When the Indian National Congress had its first meeting in Bombay (Mumbai), two leaders from Rajahmundry, Nyapathi Subba Rao and Kandukuri Veeresalingam, participated in it. Subba Rao, founder of Hindu Samaj in Rajahmundry, was also one of the six founders of India's noted English daily, The Hindu. The Renaissance of Andhra Pradesh started in Rajahmundry. Kandukuri Veeresalingam is known as the Father of reforms in Andhra Pradesh. He started a monthly magazine Vivekavardhini, and a school for girls at Dowleswaram in 1874. The first widow remarriage took place on 11 December 1881. A society with 16 members was started on 22 June 1884, which used to look after widow remarriages in Rajahmundry. The town hall was established in 1890 by Veeresalingam. Bipin Chandra Pal visited Rajahmundry in April 1905 during the Vandemataram Movement. During his visits, he used to address the public in "Pal Chowk" (the present-day Kotipalli Bus Stand). Annie Besant visited Rajahmundry twice. First, she came during the foundations of a branch of the Divya Gyan Samaj at Alcot Gardens were being laid. She came again during the opening ceremony. Ramakrishna Mission was established in the city during 1950–51 near Kambal tank. The place is now the Ayakar Bhavan. Rajahmundry is acclaimed as the birthplace of the Telugu language—its grammar and script evolved from the pen of the city-born poet Nannayya. Also known as 'Ādi Kavi' (the first poet) of Telugu, Nannayya, along with Tikkana and Yerrana, translated the Sanskrit version of Mahabharata into Telugu. Kandukuri Veeresalingam – a social reformer and the author of Rajashekhara Charithra, the first Telugu novel – was also from Rajahmundry. Geography Rajahmundry is located at . with an average elevation of . It is geographically located at centre of Godavari Districts.There is paddy, sugarcane and various varieties of flowers cultivation in the area. River Godavari flows through the west of Rajahmundry. The Rajahmundry traps, part of the Deccan Traps, are located on the Godavari river and are of particular interest to geologists. Climate The weather is hot and humid,