Information Mapping
On
Area Study of Nagpur City
(Efforts Initiated)
By *Ms. Chitra Rekha Kuffalikar
**Dr. (Mrs.) D. Rajyalakshmi

Prologue
Every element in the population has contributed
its share in the creation of human civilization
Archeological remains, primary documentary
sources, heritage structures, act as stimulus for
the present, as well as the future developments
of the society.
Cultures of the world, are on the verge of
becoming extinct, in the fast pace of
globalisation.
Commercial Globalisation is posing great
challenges for preservation of indigenous
culture.
Area Studies : An Untapped Area
Research on Area studies, have always been a
neglected lot, more specially in India
Considering the efforts involved in compiling the
huge amount of data, the credit attributed to
such studies is just passable.

Justification of the Study
Nagpur the capital of Vidarbha, has been a seat of ancient
learning, and culture since vedic times.
Vakataka and Satavahanas were the two major kingdoms,
one of them had Nagpur as its capital.
Gonds held sway over the territory during the 17th century,
Nagpur was known as Rajapur Barsa.
Twelve villages were annexed to it by Jatba, the founder of
the Gond dynasty of Devgadh.
Nagpur flourished during the rule of Bakht Buland (1687-
1706)
During the Bhonsla rule, Nagpur achieved great importance
as the capital.
New business establishments started, and enterprising
people grew oranges for profit.
Cotton, raw sugar, betel leaves and fruits were exported,
from Nagpur.
Nagpur was annexed to the British empire in 1854 by Lord
Dalhousie.
Nagpur was the capital of the Central Provinces and Berar,
Under British rule.
Nagpur is one of the largest cities in India, today.
Nagpur (as a capital city) celebrated its ‘Three Hundred
Years’ of glorious existence in the year 2002.
Several projects to preserve the cultural heritage, and
history of Nagpur city were undertaken by government vis-
à-vis private institutions and individuals.
Main aim of the projects undertaken were
Rejuvenating the local history of the city
Tracing its development.
Suggest a vision for the future.

Project under Study
Title “Three Hundred Years of Nagpur City : A
Bibliographical Study”
Aims of the Project
To bring together various bibliographical tools for
information mapping on Nagpur city, and provide
free access to information on Nagpur, for
facilitating further study, and research on various
aspects of the city.
To provide an overview of the growth and
development of the city
Objectives of the project
To provide the research scholars, and those
interested in the study of Nagpur city various
source material at one place
To provide information on the heritage sites, its
cultural importance, the family histories, and
biographies of those who contributed towards
socio-economic development, and cultural history
of the city
To trace overall development of city in the past
300 years based on documentary evidence.
Scope
Authentic bibliographical sources.
Languages : mainly Marathi, English and Hindi.

Materials and Methods
Documentary sources in three major languages.
Special collections Archeological findings,
Cartographic material, Archives, Pictures,
Paintings, Photographs, Special reports,
Brochures, Newspapers, Videos, etc.
Methodology
Historical and descriptive in the narrative format.
Research techniques Surveys, Questionnaires,
Interviews Observations, and Notings in the dairy.
Areas Chosen for the Study
Physical features, Natural resources, and History of
the City; Ethnic diversity; Education; Archives,
Monuments, Museums and libraries; Cultural
History; Research on Nagpur (Theses,
Dissertations, projects) etc; Literary growth;
Science and Technology Institutes etc; Political
Development; Judiciary and Administration; Trade
and commerce; Sports, Art and culture, places of
interest etc.
Areas Chosen for the Present Article
Focal aspects of History, Natural resources, the
Heritage structures, and the Cultural events of
Nagpur city.

Information Mapping on Area Study of
Nagpur City (Efforts Initiated)
Data analysed from the documentary sources.
Classified subject wise.
Compiled in the narrative form.
Physiography of the region
Nagpur district lies between 200 35’and 210 44’
North, and 78015’, and 790 40’E,
Southern base of Satpura hills.
Flat undulating region, few scattered hills as the
Seminary, Sitabuildi, and a few around Wadi area.
covering an area of about 1,000 km2.
Situated at an altitude of over 290 m amsl.
The ground rises up to 350 m towards the western
part of the city.

Physiography of the region
The area is occupied by denudational hills,
dissected pediments and pediplain.
Comprises of the Archaean gneisses, middle
Proterozoic metasedimentaries lower and Upper
Gondwana sequence.
Lameta Formation, basaltic flows of the Deccan
Trap and Alluvium.
The Gondwana sequence covers an area of
5250 km2 in 12 discontinuous patches in
Nagpur.
Precambrian crystallines, lower Gondwana
sediments,
Deccan Trap flood Basalts, and Alluvium mainly
constitute the geology of the city of Nagpur.
Water bodies the Nag and Peoli rivers, flow
eastward through the densely populated
localities of the city. Join the Kanhan river.
Gorewada Tank, the Kanhan and Pench rivers,
are the important surface sources of water for
the domestic, and industrial consumption.

Natural Resources
Nag River
Main water source and a tributary of Kanhan.
It is a well demarcated drainage today.
Flows west to east in a serpentine course.
Rich foliage all along its length.
The city derives its name from this river.
Very significant in Local History.
Telankhedi Lake/Garden
’Telenkedi’ is the most representative one of the
old times.
The tank was built by the Bhonsala king Raghuji
II.
The garden is extremely important from the point
of Local history.
Flora & founa of this region is abundant in the
Garden.
Two major temples of local importance are also
close to the garden.

Ambazari
A witness to the history of Nagpur.
Built by Bhonsala in 18th century.
The lake was enlarged to supply water to the
citizens in 1879.
Sonegaon
Favourite sports of Bhonsalas.
Was a dense forest south west of the city.
It has a tank, temple and thick foliage today.
Jumma Talao (Shukrawari Talao)
Gond king Chand Sultan constructed an
embankment on the eastern side of Nagpur.
Once a huge water body reduced to a
rectangular tank today.

By-Products of the study
The repackaged
information on quite a few
areas chosen for study, in
the form of pictorial, textual
and bibliographical
database have been
scanned on CDs. A home
page, with links to all the
chosen areas have been
designed. Complexities in
documentary sources have
posed several major
problems in scanning,
presenting and creating a
repository of collective
knowledge.

Conceptualisation of the Home page on the
History of Nagpur : An Insight
8. Conceptualisation of the Home page on
the History of Nagpur : An Insight

Telankhedi Lake

Cultural Processions
Marbat
This is a very popular colourful festival
Is observed in the eastern part of the city of old
Nagpur on pola (the bull festival) every year.
Effigies depicting Marbat and Badgya, the
popular infamous characters are taken out in
procession.
Has a great social relevance, and the message
has a large impact on the masses.
Shriram Shobhayatra
A grand cultural procession.
The ‘Shriram Shobhayatra’ is observed in the city
to commemorate the birth anniversary of the
great Hindu God ‘Lord Rama’
The procession is more than five kilometers in
length.
Visited by lacs of people from surrounding areas.
A large congregation of more than thousand
artists present the floating scenes depicting
important events in the ‘Hindu Epic Ramayana.’
Displays various Indian classical arts, folk, tribal
dances, and music.

Observations
Nagpur has an area of 235 sq km.
Heritage and Natural precincts cover a very small
proportion.
They can be conserved from urban pressures, and
unplanned growth.
Architectural controls can ensure, that heritage precincts
are protected.
Most of the heritage structures of the Bhonsle, and Gond
period are privately owned.
The buildings of these periods, show more deterioration,
due to various reasons (a) age, (b) neglect and (c) the
deterioration of the building material.
They need greater care.
Epilogue
Literature embedded in the various forms reciting the
story of our rich cultural heritage are scattered all over
India.
There is an urgent need to recognize the hidden value of
these, Preserve the same for long term use.
Generation and creation of datasets have to be global in
nature.
Subject gateways, Area studies, Local histories, etc.
have to be understood, and appreciated in the newer
light.
This will positively bridge the gaps, and facilitate free
flow of information for Global access.