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The city's culture is cosmopolitan as it contains a large number of people from
other Indian states as well as people belonging to the world's major faiths.
Nagpur plays host to a variety of cultural events throughout the year. Cultural
and literary societies in Nagpur include Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh(for development
of Marathi), Vidarbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti (promotion and spreading
Hindi) and Vidarbha Hindi Sahitya Sammelan (for promoting Hindi). The Nagpur
central museum (estb 1863) maintains collections are mainly for Vidarbha
region.The South Central Cultural Centre also actively sponsors various other
cultural events in Nagpur city, such as the Orange City Craft Mela and Folk
Dance Festival, which is noted for its numerous folk-dances.City was judged as
the cleanest and second greenest in India after Bangalore.The Vidarbha Cricket
Association Ground (VCA) in Nagpur is one of the nine test venues in the
country. A new stadium of VCA called Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium is
built on Wardha road with a seating capacity of 45,000 people at cost of Rs. 75
crore (US$ 15.98 million).INOX Nagpur (area:45,000 square feet) is the first
multiplex in city. The present day Maharajbagh zoo was originally a garden
developed by the Bhonsle rulers.Government of Maharashtra has approved a new
safari park of international standards besides Gorewada Lake. |
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A number of newspapers are published from Nagpur in English, Hindi and Marathi.
The Hitavada is one of the oldest English daily newspaper published in central
India. Nagpur is known for staying calm during communal conflicts in
India.Deekshabhoomi, the largest hollow stupa, is located in Nagpur. It is an
important place of dalit buddhist movement. Sri Poddareshwar Ram Mandir and
Shri Mahalaxmi Devi temple of Koradi are important Hindu temples. Several
important religious events are observed in the city throughout the year. Ram
Navami is celebrated in Nagpur with shobha yatra which a massive procession of
floats depicting various events from the Ramayana. Like the rest of India,
Nagpurkars celebrate major Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi and Dussera with
fervour and enthusiasm. Celebrations lasting for several days are held on
Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja festivals in virtually every small locality in
the city. There is sizable Muslim population in the city, mostly coming from
the service-class, working in local factories and government offices. There is
a big concentration of Muslim-Bohras in the city who are mostly into hardware
business. The famous places of worship for Muslim is Jama Masjid-Mominpura,
Bohri Jamatkhana-Itwari, Ahbaab Chowk Masjid, Baba Taj Dargah-Tajabad Umred
Rd., Masjid-Sadar and Chhaoni. Processions are also held on important festivals
of other religions such as Eid e Milad, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti,
Durga puja, Ganesh Puja and Moharram. Taj Baba Dargah is a good example of
communal harmony and peaceful co-existence in Nagpur city, as people shed their
religious, caste, cultural and language barriers to pay their respect to the
great Soofi Saint. Every year, Government of Maharashtra organizes a week long
Kalidas Festival, a series of music and dance performances, by national level
artist. |