 Raipur
History |
Raipur
is certainly one of the oldest cities in India, even though
India boasts of many old cities. History has it that this region
was ruled by the Kings of the Satvahana dynasty between the 2nd
and the 3rd centuries AD and then by Somvanshi kings. Sirpur was
their capital which is just a few hours away from Raipur. One
could find the earliest evidence of the existence of this city
from the 9th century ruins in the southern part of what is
modern Raipur.
Later, the Kalchuris ruled this region and their capital was
Ratanpur. King Ramchandra, a descendant of this dynasty founded
the city of Raipur which was later made his capital. The city
was given this name after his son Brahmdeo Rai. When the region
disintegrated into small principalities, it passed from one
kingdom to other until British finally conquered it in 1854.
They then made Chattisgarh a separate Commissary (administrative
unit) and Raipur was its district headquarters.
Chhattisgarh was a part of the state Madhya Pradesh up to 2000.
It is known as the rice bowl of India. It is rich in natural
resources. There are dense forests on the south, Maikal Hills on
the north-west and the river Mahanadi on the east. The biggest
occupation giving sector of Raipur is agriculture. Raipur has
always been known for agricultural processing and saw mills. But
it is fast turning out to be a major commercial center. There
are many large scale industries like coal, power, steel,
aluminium, cement, granite cutting and polishing, marble cutting
and polishing industries here. Its 170 steel rolling mills make
it one of the biggest iron markets in India. Some small scale
industries like oil mills and soap manufacturers can also be
found here.
As mentioned earlier, Raipur is an ancient city with a very rich
history. This is one of the main reasons why it has attracted so
many people. It is a cultural melting pot where you can find the
locals residing in harmony with Jains, Agarwals, Gujratis,
Marwaris, Baniyas, Maharashtrians, Bengali and Sikhs. Christians
and Muslims are minorities here.
The local language of Chattisgarh is Chattisgarhi. Another
interesting thing or you might call it bizarre also is that
there are Baigas (traditional medical practitioners) who use
their own traditional methods (Jhad Phook) to cure diseases.
Dewar Nacha, Panthi & Soowa, Raut Nacha, Padki and Pandwani are
some of the traditional musical styles and dance drama. The epic
Mahabharata is sung in the musical way named Pandwani.
Their traditional dress is the saree which has a typical manner
of wearing, Kachhora. You would also find women wearing Lugda (saree)
and Polkha (blouse) in addition to set of attractive ornaments.
Some of the ornaments that are traditionally worn here are
Baandha which is a necklace made of coins, suta which is silver
necklace, Phuli worn in nose, Bali and Khuntis worn in ears,
Ainthi which is made of silver worn on forearm, Kardhani made of
silver worn on waist (belt like structure), Patta and Choora
(bangles), Pounchhi which is a ring worn on the upper arm and
Bichhiya worn on toes. As for men, they also don’t lag behind
much. They wear Koundhi which is a necklace of beads and Kadhah
which is a type of bangle. These are worn generally during some
occasions like dances.
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