Raipur district

Raipur District is the name of a district in Chhattisgarh, India. The district is rich in mineral resources. There are many wild life sanctuaries and sight seeing places worth visiting.the district has the population of 30 lakhs

Location

It is situated between 22^o 33' N to 21^o14'N Latitude and 82^o 6' to 81^o 38'E Longitude. It occupies the south eastern part of the upper Mahanadi River valley and the bordering hills in the south and the east. Thus, the district is divided into two major physical divisions: the Chhattisgarh plains and the hilly areas.

To the north is Bilaspur District. To the south is Bastar District and part of Orissa state. To the east is Raigarh District and part of Orissa state. To the west is Durg District.

The Mahanadi River is the principal river of this district.

Administration

Raipur district is administratively divided into 13 Tehsils and 15 revenue blocks. It comprises two Lok Sabha Constituencies (Raipur and Mahasamund) and 13 Vidhan Sabha (Chhatisgarh Assembly) constituencies. The chief crop of this region is paddy. There are more than 50 large and middle scale industries in this district which have offered employment to over 10,000 people.

History

Raipur district was once part of Southern Kosal and considered to be under Maurya Kingdom. Raipur city had been the capital of the Haihaya Kings, controlling the traditional forts of Chhattisgarh for a long time. The town of Raipur has existed since the 9th century, the old site and ruins of the fort can be seen in the southern part of the city. Satawahana Kings ruled this part till the 2nd-3rd century AD.

Culture

Chhattisgarhi is the local language that most of the people in this area converse in. 'Baigas' (traditional medical practitioners) apply their own methods (called Jhad phook) to cure diseases, snake bites and the like. Raut Nacha, Dewar Nacha, Panthi & Soowa, Padki and Pandwani are some of musical styles and dance dramas. Pandwani is a famous musical way of singing Mahabharata in this region.

Women are fond of 'Kachhora' a typical manner of wearing saree. Women wearing 'Lugda' (saree) and 'Polkha' (blouse) with set of attractive ornaments are symbolic of tradition and heritage of Chhattisgarh. Various decorative items used by women are Baandha (necklace made of coins) and silver necklace 'suta', 'Phuli' for nose, 'Bali' and Khuntis for ears, 'Ainthi' (of silver worn on forearm), Patta, Choora (bangles), Kardhani on waist (a belt like thing made of silver), Pounchhi a ring for upper arm and Bichhiya worn on toes. Men also decorate themselves with Koundhi (necklace of beads) and Kadhah (bangle) for occasions like dances. Gouri-Goura, Surti, Hareli, Pola and Teeja are the main festivals of this area. Celebrated in the month of 'Shravan' hareli is a mark of greenery. Farmers worship farm equipment and cows on this occasion. They place branches and leaves of 'Bhelwa' (a tree resembling cashew tree and found in the forests and villages of this district) in the fields and pray for good crop. People also hang small Neem branches at the main entrance of houses on this occasion to prevent occurrence of seasonal diseases. Baigas start teaching medicinal techniques to their disciples starting from Hareli for fifteen days (till panchami the next day of Ganesh Chaturthi). On this day, they examine their disciples for medical skills and if they satisfied with their performance, then traditionally they gives the acceptance to practice medicine. Disciples who fail in such examination continue to learn techniques in subsequent years till they succeed to be recognized.

Children play 'GEDI' (walking on bamboo) from the festival of hareli to Pola. They display various feats on GEDI and participate in GEDI race. Hareli is also beginning of festivals for Chhattisgarhi people. Pola and Teeja follow Hareli. People celebrate POLA by worshipping Bullocks. Bull race is also a major event of the festival. Children play with Nandia-Bail (Nandi the Vahan of Lord Shiva) idols made of clay and fitted with clay wheels. Teeja is the festival of women. All married women pray for the welfare of their husbands on this occasion. The custom is to perform this prayer at the parents' place of the women . They eagerly wait for this occasion to come to spend some time at their birth places in festive and devotional mood. The feeling of togetherness and social harmony is filled in every festival and art of Chhattisgarh culture.

Champaran (Chhattisgarh) is a small town in the district that has religious significance as the birth place of the Saint Vallabhacharya.

External links

* [http://raipurnews.info Raipur News Blog Communitiy Site]
* [http://raipur.nic.in Raipur District official website]
** [http://www.raipur.nic.in/sanc.htm wildlife sanctuaries of Raipur District]