JABALPUR – THE CULTURAL CAPITAL OF MADHYA PRADESH

Jabalpur is the third large city urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh. The old name of this city was Jubbulpore, during the British rule. In 2006, Municipal Co-operation renamed the city as Jabalpur which is a combination of Arabic and Sanskrit word. Jabal is Arabic word means ‘’Rock’’, and Pur means ‘’city’’ is the Sanskrit word. This city is an industrial, business and administration centre of Madhya Pradesh.

Even though Hindi is the most common language spoken, Bengali, Malayali, Telugu, Marathi and Punjabi communities live in the city. The Marble City celebrates almost all major festivals of India. Navaratri and Dusshera are celebrated with great pomp and magnificence. Dance is the important part of the celebration of these festivals. The Gond dance is performed in the month of August. The city is Matki, Girdaand and Phupeti dance performed by the nomadic ethnic groups called Banjaras and Kanjaras. The dholki and drum are used to produce the background music.

The most famous crafts work in Jabalpur are durry designing, flat cotton and wool carpet. These durries and flat carpet are very popular among the people living in Jabalpur. There are so many varieties available of durry design in Jabalpur craft market. These are made up of thick cotton or woollen fabric. The specialties of these durries are beautiful art and unique pattern and many colours. The women’s of the rural region is creating these beautiful durries. The most popular durries are woollen and cotton punja. These durries demand at human and animal figures kiln design and geometric patterns. There are many zones of the non-profit organization to the promotion of art and culture of the city like Pahal Literacy Magazine. There are major industries in Jabalpur like garment manufacturing, IT, Education, limestone product, Electrical goods, Glassware, Building material, Telephone parts, Furniture, Steel structures, Foodstuffs, Cement, Cinema, Industrial safety goods and tobacco products. The city is also famous for its Dhunadhan falls and white marble rocks at Bhedaghat.