MADHYA PRADESH

Madhya Pradesh  "Central Province"; abbreviated MP, often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city. Jabalpur is the largest urban agglomeration in the state. Gwalior is the fourth largest city and called tourist it capital of the state

Madhya Pradesh is the second largest state by area and sixth largest state by population. It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat andRajasthan.

History.

Legend has it that Lord Rama bequeathed the fort to his brother Laxmana, hence the name Bandhavgarh (Bandhavgarh National Park) which means "brother's fort". TheBhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh exhibit the earliest traces of human life in India; its stone-age rock paintings are approximately 9,000 years old.

The city of Ujjain (also known as Avanti) arose as a major center in the second wave of Indian urbanization in the sixth century BC, and served as the chief city of the kingdom of Malwa or Avanti. Further east, the kingdom of Chedi lie in Bundelkhand. Chandragupta Maurya united northern India c. 320 BC, establishing the Maurya empire (321 to 185 BC), which included all of modern-day Madhya Pradesh. King Ashoka's wife was said to come from Vidisha- a town north of today's Bhopal. The Maurya empire went into decline after the death of Asoka the Great, and Central India was contested among the Sakas, Kushanas, and local dynasties during the 3rd to 1st centuries BCE. Ujjain emerged as the predominant commercial center of western India from the first century BCE, located on the trade routes between the Gangesplain and India's Arabian Sea ports. It was also an important Hindu and Buddhist center.

Geography

Madhya Pradesh in Hindi can be translated to Central Province, and it is located in the geographic heart of India. The state straddles the Narmada River, which runs east and west between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges; these ranges and the Narmada are the traditional boundary between the north and south of India. The state is bordered on the west by Gujarat, on the northwest by Rajasthan, on the northeast by Uttar Pradesh, on the east by Chhattisgarh, and on the south by Maharashtra.

Rivers

Madhya Pradesh represents great river basins and the watershed of a number of rivers. Catchments of many rivers of India lie in Madhya Pradesh. The Narmada (originating fromAmarkantak) and Tapti (originating from Multai of Betul District) rivers and their basins divide the state in two, with the northern part draining largely into the Ganges basin and the southern part into the Godavari and Mahanadi systems. The Vindhyas form the southern boundary of the Ganges basin, with the western part of the Ganges basin draining into the Yamuna and the eastern part directly into the Ganges itself. All the rivers, which drain into the Ganges, flow from south to north, with the Chambal, Shipra, Kali Sindh, Parbati, Kuno, Sind, Betwa, Dhasan andKen rivers being the main tributaries of the Yamuna. The land drained by these rivers is agriculturally rich, with the natural vegetation largely consisting of grass and dry deciduous foresttypes, largely thorny. The eastern part of the Ganges basin consists of the Son, the Tons and theRihand Rivers, with the Sonbeing the major tributary. This is also the junction point of the Satpuraand the Vindhya ranges, with the Maikal Hills and Kaimur Hills being the fulcrum. The forests here are much richer than the thorn forests of the northwestern part of Madhya Pradesh. The Son is of great significance in that it is the largest tributary going into the Ganges on the south bank and arising out of the hills of Madhya Pradesh rather than from the Himalayas. This river and its tributaries contribute the bulk of the monsoon flow into the Ganges, because the north bank tributaries are all snow fed.

The Satpuras (Pansemal), in the Gawilgarh and Mahadeo Hills, also contain a watershed, which is south facing. The Indrawati, theWainganga, the Wardha, the Pench, the Kanhan and Penganga rivers, discharge an enormous volume of water into the Godavari system. The Godavari is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, but the water which feeds it is a gift of the Central India watershed. Some of the finest sub-tropical,semi moist forests in India are to be found in the Godavari basin, mainly in the valley of the Indrawati. There are very few virgin forests left in the country, but very fine examples of these are to be found in Bastar area along the Indrawati and in the Kanger valley in Chhattisgarh.The major tributary of the Ganges, the Son, arises in one of the most important watersheds in India, the Maikal hills around Amarkantak. Three of the great rivers of India, Narmada, Mahanadi and Son, are given birth to by these hills. This is also one of the few ranges in the State having a north south configuration. The Mahanadi itself, together with its tributaries such as Hasdeo, Mandand Kharun flows southeast into Orissa and converts that State into a green rice bowl. The upper Mahanadi catchment contains some of the finest forests in the State, ranging from mixed deciduous to teak, bamboo and sal. Just as the Mahanadi flows east from the Maikal hills and theSon flows north, the mighty Narmada charts a westerly course from these very hills. The Narmada flows through a rift valley, with the Vindhyas marching along its northern bank and the Satpuras along the southern. Its tributaries include theBanjar, the Tawa, the Machna, the Denwa and the Sonbhardra rivers. Taken in combination with its parallel sister river, the Tapi, which also flows through a rift valley, the Narmada–Tapi systems carry and enormous volume of water and provide drainage for almost a quarter of the land area of Madhya Pradesh.

The importance of Central India watershed was first noted by Captain Forsyth and remarked upon in his book, "The Highlands of Central India", first published in 1889. This is what he has to state in the introductory chapter to his book, "Yet in the very center of India there exists a considerable region to which the term highlands — is strictly applicable; and in which are enormous peaks and ranges, for which the term mountain would, in any other country, be used. Several of the great rivers of India have their first source in this elevated region. And pour their water into the sea on either side of the peninsula – to the north the Son commingling with the Ganges, to the east the Mahanadi, flowing independently to the Bay of Bengal, to the south some of the principal feeders of the Godavari, and to the west the Narmada and the Tapi, Basli Dam Gohad (Bhind) taking parallel courses to the Arabian Sea.

There are many important multi-state irrigation projects in development, including Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects.

Climate

Madhya Pradesh has a subtropical climate. Like most of north India, it has a hot dry summer(April–June) followed by monsoon rains (July–September) and a cool and relatively dry winter. The average rainfall is about 1,370 mm (53.9 in). It decreases from east to west. The south-eastern districts have the heaviest rainfall, some places receiving as much as 2,150 mm (84.6 in), while the western and north-western districts receive 1,000 mm (39.4 in) or less.

Major Cities

Indore

Indore is a major city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 25,24,912. It is the largest city of Madhya Pradesh, the 16th largest city in India and the 147th largest city in the world. It is also the commercial capital of the state and serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. In local language the name Indore is often referred as Indhor .

Indore is the only city of India that has both an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). These two premier education institutions are located in the city, not very far from the city center. Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, a unit of Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, engaged in R&D in non-nuclear front-line research areas of lasers, particle accelerators and related technologies, is located in Rau, Indore. It houses two special economic zones: Pithampur andSanwer. Pithampur, often called the 'Detroit of India', has many automobile industries and some of the largest pharmaceutical companies. Sanwer, on the other hand, has steel industries, including The Indo-German Tool Room. As Indore expands, it shares its border with two cites, Ujjain and an industrial town called Dewas. Ujjain is one of the seven sacred cites of India, having many famous temples and is a major tourist destination. Dewas is famous for the RBI press and hosts several automobile parts manufacturing companies.

Indore is located in the western region of Madhya Pradesh, on the southern edge of the Malwa plateau, on the Saraswati and Khan rivers, which are tributaries of the Shipra River.

Indore has an average elevation of 553 meter above mean sea level. It is located on an elevated plain, with the Vindhyas range to the south.

Gwalior

Gwalior is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India, lying 122 kilometres (76 mi) south of Agra, and 423 kilometres (263 mi) north of Bhopal, the state capital. Gwalior occupies a strategic location in the Gird region of India, and the city and its fortress have served as the center of several of historic northern Indian kingdoms. Gwalior is the administrative headquarters of Gwalior district and Gwalior division.

The Gwalior Fort has changed hands many times, from the Tomaras in the 8th century it passed on to the Mughals, then the Marathasunder the Scindias (1754), followed briefly by Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Tatiya Tope and the British.

The city has several important educational institutions including the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management, Scindia School, Madhav Institute of Technology and Science and Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Education.Gwalior has six universities.Jiwaji university,Maharaja Maan Singh Tomar music and arts university,Rajmata Vijyarahe Scindia agriculture unoversity,Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Educatiom [deemed university],Amity university Gwalior and ITM university.

Gwalior Fort: Babar used to say about this fort that it was a pearl among the fortresses of India. stands on an isolated rock, overlooking the Gwalior town, and contains a number of historic buildings. It is one of the biggest forts in India and a postage stamp has been issued by the Indian Postal Service to commemorate the importance of this fort. From historical records, it is established that it was built in the 8th century. The fortress and the city have been integral to the history of the kingdoms of North India. It is said that the Mughal Emperor Babur (1483–1531) described it as, "The pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind". The fort, also given the epithet "Gibraltar of India', provides a panoramic view of the old Gwalior town, which is to its east.( redirected from Gwalior Fort

The Scindia School is Indian boarding school for boys, established in 1897, and situated in a historic fortress known as Gwalior Fort, in the city of Gwalior, India. It was conceived as exclusively for nobles and princes of Royal families, particularly the Marathas, though it no longer discriminates on class.

As of 2010, the school has enrolled 606 students, with a teacher:student ratio of 1:12. The school is noted for its advanced IT facilities.

Bhopal

Bhopal is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Bhopal District and Bhopal Division. The city was the capital of the former Bhopal State. Bhopal is known as the City of Lakes for its various natural as well as artificial lakes and is also one of the greenest cities in India.

The city attracted international attention after the Bhopal disaster, when a Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide manufacturing plant leaked a mixture of deadly gases including methyl isocyanate on the intervening night of 2 / 3 December 1984, leading to the worst industrial disaster in the history of industrialization and a loss of thousands of lives. Many more were rendered sick and have been facing chronic health problems such as psychological and neurological disabilities, blindness, skin, vision and breathing disorders and the new born children still suffer from serious birth defects, even after generations.The soil and ground water near the factory site has been contaminated by the toxic wastes and other chemicals still leaking out from the factory. The Indian government, however, maintains that no such pollution has taken place or that any such toxins are even present at the site. Since then, Bhopal has been a center of protests and campaigns which have been joined by billions[citation needed] from across the globe.

Bhopal has a humid subtropical climate, with mild, dry winters, a hot summer and a humid monsoon season. Summers start in late March and go on till mid-June, the average temperature being around 30 °C (86 °F), with the peak of summer in May, when the highs regularly exceed 40 °C (104 °F). The monsoon starts in late June and ends in late September. These months see about 40 inches (1020 mm) of precipitation, frequent thunderstorms and flooding. The average temperature is around 25 °C (77 °F) and the humidity is quite high. Temperatures rise again up to late October when winter starts, which lasts up to early March. Winters in Bhopal are mild, sunny and dry, with average temperatures around 18 °C (64 °F) and little or no rain. The winter peaks in January when temperatures may drop close to freezing on some nights. On 6 January 2011, the lowest temperature was 2 °C lower than in Shimla. Total annual rainfall is about 1146 mm (46 inches).

Shairis and poetry recitals are popular in Bhopal. Bhopal is famous for its culture of parda and zarda. Parda is a curtain, which was used to veil the women of the house from outsiders, zarda is a kind of tobacco product which is quite famous with Bhopalis. The official language of Bhopal City is Hindi, and Hindi-Urdu with a peculiar Bhopali accent is spoken in western and eastern parts of the city.

Bhopal has an extensive culture of paan eating. Paan (Beetle leaf) is a preparation with a betel leaf topped with variety of seasonings, the most common being chuna, kattha and supari(nut). Bhopalites treat paan preparation as a science and an art, which is perfected among the streets of Bhopal, a tradition passed down generations. The paans in Bhopal are wide in variety and innovations.

Bhopali dishes and food in Bhopal are comparatively mild, less spicy and unique in taste . Local and individual variations of various popular snacks and foods can be found selling around the city . Bhopali food has a large variety of non-vegetarian dishes, including Bhopali Murgh Rezala, Paneer Rezala, Bhopali Gosht Korma, Murgh Hara Masala Rice, Murgh Nizami etc.

Diwali is celebrated with equal pomp and glory as Eid . Gifts and sweets are exchanged and donation are made to the poor. Diwali is celebrated by worshiping the wealth goddess Lakshmi. Later that night, firecrackers are burst in the open by young and old. Eid is special to the city as all the Hindus take time out to visit their Muslim friends and greet them and get treated with delicacies, the specialty of the day being sweet sewaiya. Bhopali culture is such that both Hindus and Muslims visit each other on their respective festivals to greet and exchange sweets. During Ganesh puja and Durga Puja (Navratras), idols of Ganesh and Durga are established in jhankis throughout the city. People throng to offer prayers to their deities. At the end of Navratras, on the day of Vijayadashami (or Dussehra), huge effigies of Ravan are burnt in different parts of the city. Some of them are organized by the local administration and stand as tall as 60 feet (18 m).

Bharat Bhawan, a big center for theatre, music, arts and other cultural activities.

Bharat Bhavan is the main cultural centre of the city and of the most important cultural centers of India. It has an art gallery, an open-air amphitheatre facing the Upper Lake, two other theatres and a tribal museum.