culture and places to visit
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 Bhopali is spoken in West and East Bhopal 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[24]
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 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. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (National Museum of
Humans) showcases the various hutments that tribals of across India use
for shelter. Popular holiday spots near Bhopal include :
* Bhojpur (famous for a Shiva temple and Jain shrines)
* Sanchi (notable for ancient Buddhist Stupas built by Ashoka),
* Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (a World Heritage Site of
archaeological interest).
* Islamnagar was the palace of Bhopal's Afghan rulers and was built
by Dost Mohammed Khan. Formal gardens surround the palace and the
pavilion.
* Delawadi is situated in a lovely forest glade, Delawadi is a
picturesque picnic spot, rich in scenic splendor and natural beauty.
Those into archeology can venture about forty kilometers from Bhopal to
Bhimbetka, which has one of the largest collections of pre-historic
paintings and rocks, some of which date back more than 10,000
years.Shiva temple in Bhojpur holds great religious value and is famous
for a massive Shivalingam. Anglers can head about 10 kilometers from the
city to Hathaikheda, which is a popular fishing zone. Or, you can travel
fifty kilometers to the city of Sanchi, a site famous for Buddhist
monuments and temples dating back several centuries.
Bhopal has many mosques including Taj-ul-Masajid (one of the largest
mosques in Asia[25]),
Dhai Seedi ki Masjid (one of the smallest mosques in Asia[26]), Jama
Masjid (built by Qudsia Begum in 1837) and Moti Masjid (built by
Sikander Begum in 1860). Some of the major historical buildings in
Bhopal include Shaukat Mahal (a mixture of Indo-Islamic and European
styles of architecture),
Gohar Mahal (built by Qudsia Begum, fusion of Hindu and Mughal
architecture), Sadar Manzil (used by the Begums for public audience, now
used as the head office of the Municipal Corporation) and Purana Kila
(part of the 300-year-old fort of Queen Kamalapati, situated in the
Kamala Nehru Park). Lakshmi Narayan Temple (or Birla Mandir), situated
to the south of Lower Lake, is a temple devoted to Vishnu and his
mythological consort Laxmi. An annual fare is held on Kartik Purnima at
Manua Bhan Ki Tekri (Mahavir Giri), a Jain pilgrimage center located
around seven kilometres away from Bhopal.
The Udaygiri Caves, located near the town of Vidisha, are cut into the
side at a sandstone hill, date back from A.D. 320 to 606. An inscription
in one of these caves states that it was carved out during the reign of
Chandragupta II (A.D. 382-401). A three-day Iztima-Muslim dhaarmik
sammelan or Muslim religious assembly (religious congregation) used to
be held in the precincts of the Taj-ul-Masjid annually. It draws scores
at Muslim pilgrims from all parts of India. It has now been shifted
outside the city limits. Every year in January/February, the villages of
the Manav Sangrahalaya hosts the potters' workshops, folk music and
dance, and open-air plays. It showcases the tribals of the region who
demonstrate their skills in painting, weaving, and the fashioning of
bell metal into works of art.
