Culture and People of Jabalpur

Jabalpur district with River Narmada bringing in fresh water from the Vindyachal Ranges has developed into an agrarian economy. The land of the Narmada basin with its fertile alluvial soil gives good yields of sorghum, wheat, rice and millets in the villages around Jabalpur. The State of Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of Soybeans and the district of Jabalpur occupies a place of pride in agriculture production. The people are simple and hardworking. The presence of the sacred Narmada and the rule of Gond and Maratha dynasties has made Jabalpur a primarily Hindu dominated area. The Mughal rule brought in a sizable Muslim population and created religion based pockets in the city. The city has seen the worst form of Hindu Muslim riots in the 60s. The rise in the population of the city especially village folk migrating to the city are settling in slums on the outskirts of Jabalpur. The estimates are that by the year 2015, the population of the city will double to a whopping two million people. The economy of the city is dependent on the few cottage and defense related industries. The cottage industries are the bidi or the small Indian cigarette making, garment industry, poultry and light engineering. Jabalpur is known by the huge defense manufacturing setup. It has Ordnance Factories, Gun and Explosives Factory, the Defense Vehicle Factory and the Defense Metal Foundry. These were established in the early part of the nineteenth century by the British. The factories are supplying most of the equipment to the Indian Armed Forces. The industry also employs the largest workforce in the city of Jabalpur. Hindi is the first language of the state and spoken and understood in the city. The Moghuls brought Urdu and the influence of Maratha rulers has given Marathi to the multilingual culture of Jabalpur. The city folk do communicate in English but the jingoist villagers prefer to use their mother tongue Hindi or Marathi. The state of Madhya Pradesh is home to many Hindu movements like the Rashtriya Swamyesewak Sangh or RSS, a voluntary organization for inculcating true Hindu values in the youth. The farming culture has given rise to crime and villagers can be seen with double barrel guns, a status symbol in Madhya Pradesh. Festivals and Dance Forms. The people are religious and celebrate most of the festivals of India in their singular boisterous style. The tribes of Madhya Pradesh have added color to the festivities with a number of dance forms. The typically Gond dance Karma associated with fertility is performed in the month of August. The nomadic tribes like Kanjars and Banjaras perform Matki, Phulpati and Girida dances. The Matki dance is performed in the marriages. The women dance with an earthen pitcher balanced on their heads. The dances are generally accompanied by the staccato sound of a shrill drum called Dolaki. The Kanjar tribe can be seen performing acrobatics on the road sides and the famous ring trick where the acrobat wriggles his body through a ring measuring less than a feet and a half.