State: Maharashtra

District: Nagpur district

Main languages: Marathi and Hindi

 

History:

 

The city of Nagpur is the largest city in central India and the second capital of the state of Maharashtra and is also headquarter of Nagpur district. The city is strategically important as it is situated on cross roads of India's North-South and East-West routes through road, rail and air. The city gets its name from the Nag River, which is a tributary of the Kanhan River. Since the river flows in a serpentine path and it got its name, "Nag", the Marathi word for cobra. This river also flows through the city and thus the city was named Nagpur. Civilization can be traced back 3000 years to 8th century BC in this city and the Mehir burial sites at Drugdhamna show that megalithic culture existed around Nagpur. 10th century copper-plate inscription discovered at Devali suggest the earliest references of the city as Nagpur. It is said that Bakht Buland, a prince of the Gond kingdom of Deogarh in the Chhindwara district had founded the city. In 1743, Raghoji Bhonsle of Vidarbha conquered the territories of Deogarh, Chanda and Chhattisgarh and took over the region. In the year 1803 Raghoji II had joined the Peshwas against the British in the Second Anglo-Maratha War where he was defeated. The city came under the British rule and was the home to the first mill by the Tata group formally known as Central India Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd. This company was popularly known as "Empress Mills" and had been inaugurated on 1 January 1877 when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. 

 

 

Geography and climate:

 

The city of Nagpur has a mean altitude of 310 meters above sea level and has a tropical wet and dry climate. It is located at centre of Indian peninsula far from Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and receives an annual rainfall of 1,205 mm during June to September. The summer months here are very hot with maximum temperatures in May and the winter lasts from November to January and temperatures dip below 10 degrees. The city of Nagpur lies on the Deccan plateau of Indian Peninsula and it has underlying rock strata covered with alluvial deposits. The city also has various natural and man made lakes with Ambazari Lake being the largest of all. 

 

Demography:

 

As per the 2001 census of India the city had a population of 2,129,500, and had a high literacy rate.

 

Culture:

 

The city has a food culture in Vidarbha, which is quite distinct from rest of Maharashtra. The city is known for its Saoji restaurants, which serves very spicy food. There are various cultural developmental centers here and these include the Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh for development of Marathi, Vidarbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti for promotion and spreading Hindi and Vidarbha Hindi Sahitya Sammelan for promoting Hindi. Events in the city include the Orange City Craft Mela and Folk Dance Festival. The city has been known for remaining calm during communal conflicts in India. Ram Navami is celebrated in Nagpur with shobha yatra and other festivals like Diwali, Holi and Dussera are celebrated with fervor and enthusiasm. Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja festivals are vital too.

 

Economy:

 

The city had been the center of commerce in the Vidarbha region since early days and continues to be a vital trading location. The economic importance of the city had gradually declined relative to Mumbai and Pune but the economy is now recovering from past slowdown. The city has attracted some major investments from foreign companies and industries like power transmission, thermal power stations, automobile manufacturing have come up here. The city has also has a "Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur" or MIHAN, which caters to is handling heavy cargo coming from south east Asia and Middle east Asia. 

 

Tourism:

 

Some of the vital places to enjoy here are Balaji Mandir, Ambazari Lake, Sitabuldi Fort, Maharaja Baug, and many more. Some of the nearby popular tourist locations are Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, Navegaon National Park, Pench National Park, Ramtek and Tadoba National Park.

 

Transportation:

 

The city has an international airport with flights to major Indian cities and is also well connected via a railway station and through the highways. 

 

 

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