Chhattisgarh State

In the 4th Century AD the king Samudragupta had conquered this region and established his domination till 5^th-6th Century AD when this part had come under the rule of Sarabhpuri Kings. For some period, Nala kings dominated this area. Later on Somavanshi kings had taken the control over this region and ruled with Sirpur (Sripur-The city of Wealth) as their capital city. Mahashivgupt Balarjun was the mightiest emperor of this Dynasty. His mother, the widow Queen of Harshgupta of the Somavansh, Rani Vasata built the famous brick temple of Lakshman. The Kalchuri Kings of Tumman ruled this part for a long time making Ratanpur as capital. The old inscriptions of Ratanpur, Rajim and Khallari refer to the reign of Kalchuri kings. It is believed that the King Ramachandra of this dynasty established the city of Raipur and subsequently made it the capital of his kingdom.

Another story about Raipur is that King Ramachandra's son Brahmdeo Rai had established Raipur. His capital was Khalwatika (now Khallari). The newly constructed city was named after Brahmdeo Rai as 'Raipur'. It was during his time in 1402 A.D. that Hajiraj Naik the temple of Hatkeshwar Mahadev was constructed in the banks of river Kharun.The decline of this dynasty's rule came with the death of King Amarsingh Deo. This region had become the domain of Bhosle Kings after the Amarsingh Deo's death. With the death of Raghuji III, the territory was assumed by the British Government from Nagpur and Chhatisgarh was declared a separate Commissionery with its Headquarters at Raipur in 1854.

Now Chhattisgarh is a state in central India. It was formed as a State on 01-Nov-2000 with the sixteen Chhattisgarhi-speaking south-eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh. Raipur serves as its capital. It is the 10th largest state of India by area of 135,194 km². Chhattisgarh takes its name from 36 (Chattis is thirty-six in Hindi and Garh is Fort) princely states in this region from very old times, though the listing of these 36 forts has always remained a point of dispute.

It borders with Madhya Pradesh on the north-west, Maharashtra on the west, Andhra Pradesh on the south, Orissa on the east, Jharkhand on the north-east and Uttar Pradesh on the north.

The Chhattisgarhi language, a dialect of eastern Hindi, is a predominant language in the state, recognized along with Hindi as the official language of the state. In addition, many tribal and some Dravidian influenced dialects or languages are spoken in various parts of Chhattisgarh.

It is situated in central eastern part of the country. The north and south parts of the state are hilly, while the central part is a fertile plain. Forests cover roughly forty-four percent of the state.

The northern part of the state lies on the edge of the great Indo-Gangetic plain: The Rihand River, a tributary of the Ganges flows through the State. The eastern end of the Satpura Range and the western edge of the Chota Nagpur Plateau form an east-west belt of hills that divide the Mahanadi River basin from the Indo-Gangetic plain.

The central part of the state lies in the fertile upper basin of the Mahanadi and its tributaries, with extensive rice cultivation. The upper Mahanadi basin is separated from the upper Narmada basin to the west by the Maikal Hills (part of the Satpuras), and from the plains of Orissa to the east by ranges of hills.

The southern part of the state lies on the Deccan plateau, in the watershed of the Godavari River and its tributary the Indravati River.

The Mahanadi is the chief river of the state. Other main rivers are Hasdo (a tributary of Mahanadi), Rihand, Indravati, Jonk and Arpa. It is situated in the east of Madhya Pradesh. Socio-political problems exist there.

Chhattisgarh is primarily a rural state with only 20% of population residing in urban areas.

The state's economy is further fuelled by the presence of the Bhilai Steel Plant, S.E.C.Railway Zone, BALCO Aluminium Plant (Korba), and NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd) at Korba and Sipat (Bilaspur) and S.E.C.L. (South Eastern Coalfields Limited). Korba & Bilaspur are the power hubs of the state, from where the electricity is supplied to several other Indian states. Chhattisgarh's southern area contains iron ore which NMDC is mining to meet iron demand in India as well as export. NMDC is located in Dantewara district. Recently ESSAR has started transporting iron ore through pipe lines to Vizag.

The state is also launching an ambitious plan to become bio-fuel self-sufficient by 2015 by planting crops of Jatropha.

The state hosts religious sects including Satnami Panth, Kabirpanth, Ramnami Samaj, and others. Champaran (Chhattisgarh) is a small town with religious significance as the birth place of the Saint Vallabhacharya, increasingly important as a pilgrimage site for the Gujarati community.

The Oriya culture is prominent in the eastern parts of Chhattisgarh.

Crafts:

Chattisgarh is known for Kosa silk. Besides saris and salwar suits, the fabric is used to create lehengas, stoles, shawls and menswear including jackets, shirts, achkans and sherwanis.

Dance

Panthi, Raut Nacha "Karma" and Soowa dance styles are popular in the region.

Raut Nacha, the folk dance of cowherds, is a traditional folk dance of yadavs/yaduvanshis as symbol of worship to Krishna at the time of 'dev udhni ekadashi' (the awakening of the gods after a brief rest) according to the Hindu calendar. The dance closely resembles Krishna's dance with the gopis (milkmaids).

Panthi, the folk dance of the Satnami community has religious overtones. Panthi is performed on Maghi Purnima, the anniversary of the birth of Guru Ghasidas. The dancers dance around a jaitkhamb set up for the occasion, to songs eulogizing their spiritual head. The songs reflect a view of Nirvana, conveying the spirit of their guru's renunciation and the teachings of saint poets like Kabir, Ramdas and Dadu. As the rhythm quickens, they perform acrobatics and form human pyramids.

Music

Chhattisgarh has rich traditional folk songs among which sohar, bihav & Pathoni songs are famous.

Sohar songs are related to child birth. Bihav songs are related to marriage celebration. The main parts of Bihav songs are Chulmati, Telmati, Maymouri, Nahdouri, Parghani, Bhadoni and other songs related to Bhanver, Vidai songs.

Pathoni songs are related to Gouna that is, the departure of a bride to the bridegroom's home.

Pandavani is a well-known ballad musical narrative, essentially based on the stories in the epic Mahabharata, but with Bhima as hero. [Source: wikipedia]

Weather:

Last Updated on Sunday, 06 March 2011 00:39