Holy
Pilgrimage – Uttara
Pradesh State
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (literally meaning "Northern Province"), abbreviated U.P., is a state located in northern India. It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh and Kanpur is the economic and industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh while the state high court is in Allahabad. On 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttarakhand, was carved from the mountainous Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh.
The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the west, Haryana and Delhi to the northwest, Uttarakhand and the country of Nepal to the north, Bihar to the east, Jharkhand to the southeast, and Madhya Pradesh to the southwest. It covers 93,933 square miles (243,290 km2), equal to 6.88% of the total area of India, and is the fifth largest Indian state by area. With over 200 million inhabitants as of 2011, it is the most populous state in the country as well as the most populous country subdivision in the whole world. Hindi is the official and most widely spoken language in its 75 districts. Uttar Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by economy, with a GDP of
708,000 crore (US$128.86 billion).
Agriculture and service industries are the largest parts of the state's
economy. The service sector comprises travel and tourism,
hotel industry,
real estate,
insurance
and financial
consultancies.Uttar Pradesh was home to powerful empires of ancient and medieval India, including the Magadha, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushan, Gupta, Gurjara, Rashtrakuta, Pala and Mughal empires. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganga and Yamuna, join at Prayag and then flow as the Ganga further east. The state has several historical, natural, and religious tourist destinations, such as the Taj Mahal, Varanasi, Piprahwa, Kaushambi, Ballia, Shravasti, Kushinagar, Lucknow, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Allahabad, Meerut and Mathura.
History
Archeological finds have indicated the presence of Stone Age Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers in Uttar Pradesh between around 85 and 72 thousand years old. Other pre-historical finds have included Middle and Upper Paleolithic artifacts dated to 21–31 thousand years old and Mesolithic/Microlithic hunter-gatherer's settlement, near Pratapgarh, from around 10550–9550 BC. Villages with domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats and evidence of agriculture began as early as 6000 BC, and gradually developed between c. 4000 and 1500 BC beginning with the Indus Valley Civilization and Harappa Culture to the Vedic period; extending into the Iron Age
The kingdom of Kosala, in the Mahajanapada era, was located within the regional boundaries of modern day Uttar Pradesh. According to Hindu legend, the divine king Rama of the Ramayana epic reigned in Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala. Krishna, another divine king of Hindu legend, who plays a key role in the Mahabharata epic and is revered as the eighth reincarnation (Avatar) of the Hindu god Vishnu, is said to have been born in the city of Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh. The aftermath of the Mahabharata yuddh is believed to have taken place in the area between the Upper Doab and Delhi, (in what was Kuru Mahajanapada), during the reign of the Pandava king Yudhisthira. The kingdom of the Kurus corresponds to the Black and Red Ware and Painted Gray Ware culture and the beginning of the Iron Age in North-west India, around 1000 BC.
Most of the invaders of North India passed through the Gangetic plains of what is today Uttar Pradesh. Control over this region was of vital importance to the power and stability of all of India's major empires, including the Maurya (320–200 BC), Kushan (100–250 CE), Gupta (350–600 CE), and Gurjara-Pratihara (650–1036 CE) empires. Following the Huns invasions that broke the Gupta empire, the Ganges-Yamuna Doab saw the rise of Kannauj. During the reign of Harshavardhana (590–647 CE), the Kannauj empire reached its zenith. It spanned from Punjab in the north and Gujarat in the west to Bengal in the east and Odisha in the south It included parts of central India, north of the Narmada River and it encompassed the entire Indo-Gangetic plain. Many communities in various parts of India claim descent from the migrants of Kannauj. Soon after Harshavardhana's death, his empire disintegrated into many kingdoms, which were invaded and ruled by the Gurjara-Pratihara empire, which challenged Bengal's Pala Empire for control of the region.
Later, in the Mughal era, Uttar Pradesh became the heartland of the vast empire of Hindustan, which is used to this day as an alternate name for India. Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun ruled from Delhi. In 1540 an Afghan, Sher Shah Suri, took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh after defeating the Mughal king Humanyun. Sher Shah and his son Islam Shah ruled Uttar Pradesh from their capital at Gwalior. After the death of Islam Shah Suri, his prime minister Hemu became the de facto ruler of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and the western parts of Bengal. He was bestowed the title of Vikramaditya at his coronation or Rajyabhishake at Purana Quila in Delhi and was titled as Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya. Hemu died in the Second Battle of Panipat, and Uttar Pradesh came under Emperor Akbar's rule. Akbar ruled from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. At its zenith, the Mughal Empire, which covered almost the entire Indian subcontinent (including present day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh), was ruled from Delhi, Agra, and Allahabad during different periods.
British rule
Starting from Bengal in the second half of the 18th century, a series of battles for north Indian lands finally gave the British East India Company accession over the state's territories Following the British victory in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, Daulat Rao Sindhia of the Maratha Empire signed the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon which ceded to the British the Ganges-Jumna Doab, Delhi, and parts of Bundelkhand and Braj. Ajmer and Jaipur kingdoms were also included in this northern territory, which was christened the "North-Western Provinces" (of Agra). Although UP later became the fifth largest state of India, NWPA was one of the smallest states of the British Indian empire. Its capital shifted twice between Agra and Allahabad.Due to dissatisfaction with British rule, a serious rebellion erupted in various parts of North India; Meerut cantonment's sepoy, Mangal Pandey, is widely credited as its starting point It came to be known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After the revolt failed, the British attempted to divide the most rebellious regions by reorganising the administrative boundaries of the region, splitting the Delhi region from ‘NWFP of Agra’ and merging it with Punjab, while the Ajmer- Marwar region was merged with Rajputana and Oudh was incorporated into the state. The new state was called the 'North Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh', which in 1902 was renamed as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It was commonly referred to as the United Provinces or its acronym UP.
In 1920, the capital of the province was shifted from Allahabad to Lucknow. The high court continued to be at Allahabad, but a bench was established at Lucknow. Allahabad continues to be an important administrative base of today's Uttar Pradesh and has several administrative headquarters. Uttar Pradesh continued to be central to Indian politics and was especially important in modern Indian history as a hotbed of the Indian independence movement. Uttar Pradesh hosted modern educational institutions such as the Benaras Hindu University and the Aligarh Muslim University. Nationally known figures such as Chandra Shekhar Azad were among the leaders of the movement in Uttar Pradesh, and Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Gobind Ballabh Pant were important national leaders of the Indian National Congress. The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was formed at the Lucknow session of the Congress on 11 April 1936, with the legendary nationalist Swami Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first President, in order to address the longstanding grievances of the peasantry and mobilise them against the zamindari landlords attacks on their occupancy rights, thus sparking the Farmers movements in India.[ During the Quit India Movement of 1942, Ballia district overthrew the colonial authority and installed an independent administration under Chittu Pandey. Ballia became known as "Baghi Ballia" (Rebel Ballia) for this significant role in India's freedom movemen
Geography
Uttar Pradesh, with a total area of 243,290 square kilometres (93,935 sq mi), is India’s fifth largest state in terms of land area. It is situated on the northern spout of India and shares an international boundary with Nepal. The Himalayas border the state on the north, but the plains that cover most of the state are distinctly different from those high mountains. The larger Gangetic Plain region is in the north; it includes the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, the Ghaghra plains, the Ganges plains and the Terai. The smaller Vindhya Range and plateau region is in the south It is characterised by hard rock strata and a varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateaus. The Bhabhar tract gives place to the terai area which is covered with tall elephant grass and thick forests interspersed with marshes and swamps. The sluggish rivers of the bhabhar deepen in this area, their course running through a tangled mass of thick under growth. The terai runs parallel to the bhabhar in a thin strip. The entire alluvial plain is divide into three sub-regions. The first in the eastern tract consisting of 14 districts which are subject to periodical floods and droughts and have been classified as scarcity areas. These districts have the highest density of population which gives the lowest per capita land. The other two regions, the central and the western are comparatively better with a well-developed irrigation system. They suffer from water logging and large-scale user tracts. In addition, the area is fairly arid. The state has more than 32 large and small rivers; of them, the Ganges, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sarayu, Betwa, and Ghaghara are larger and of religious importance in Hinduism.Cultivation is intensive. The valley areas have fertile and rich soil. There is intensive cultivation on terraced hill slopes, but irrigation facilities are deficient. The Siwalik Range which forms the southern foothills of the Himalayas, slopes down in to a boulder bed called 'bhadhar' The transitional belt running along the entire length of the state is called the terai and bhabhar area. It has rich forests, cutting across it are innumerable streams which swell into raging torrents during the monsoon.
Climate
Uttar Pradesh has a humid temperate climate and experiences four seasons. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May and the monsoon season between June and September. Summers are extreme with temperatures fluctuating anywhere between 0 °C and 50 °C in parts of the state. The Gangetic plain varies from semiarid to sub-humid. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 650 mm in the southwest corner of the state to 1000 mm in the eastern and southeastern parts of the state. Primarily a summer phenomenon, the Bay of Bengal branch of the Indian Monsoon is the major bearer of rain in most parts of state. It is the South-West Monsoon which brings most of the rain here, although rain due to the western disturbances and North-East Monsoon also contribute small quantities towards the overall precipitation of the state
Uttar Pradesh is divided into 75 districts under these 18 divisions
1. Saharanpur
2. Moradabad
3. Bareilly
4. Lucknow
5. Devipatan
6. Basti
7. Gorakhpur
8. Meerut
9. Aligarh
10.
Agra
11.
Kanpur
12.
Faizabad
13.
Azamgarh
14.
Jhansi
15.
Chitrakoot
16.
Allahabad
17.
Varanasi
18.
Mirzapur
Uttar Pradesh has both a large population and a high population growth rate.
Transportation
The state has excellent civil aviation infrastructure with two international airports at Lucknow and Varanasi and four domestic airports located at Agra, Allahabad, Gorakhpur and Kanpur. Two of the airports, Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow and Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi, provide international service. The state has also proposed creating the Taj international airport in the Delhi‐NCR region A stretch of the Ganges – from Allahabad to Haldia has been declared as a National Waterway (NW)-I; 600 km of which flows through Uttar Pradesh. Captain Lakshmi Sehgal International Airport is proposed international airport near Kanpur Dehat at Jainpur which is about 50 km from Kanpur and comes in Kanpur Metropolitan Area.When completed it will be the second largest airport in Northern India with flights all over the world.This is because industrial areas of Kanpur, Agra and Kannauj lie here.It will be bigger than Lucknow Airport with more flights as compared to Lucknow Airport.
The state has the largest railway network in the country and the sixth highest railway density. As 0f 2011, there were 8,546 km (5,310 mi) of rail in the state. Allahabad is the headquarters of the North Central Railway and Gorakhpur is the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway. Lucknow Swarna Shatabdi Express, the second fastest shatabdi train, connects the Indian capital of New Delhi to Lucknow. This was the first train in India to get new German coaches. The railway stations of Lucknow NR, Kanpur Central, Varanasi Junction, Agra Cantt, Gorakhpur Jn and Mathura JN were included in the Indian Railways list of 50 world-class railway stations.
The state has a large, multimodal transportation system with the largest road network in the country. The state is well connected to its nine neighboring states and almost all other parts of India through the national highways (NH). It boasts 42 national highways, with a total length of 4,942 km (9.6% of the total NH length in India). The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation was established in 1972 to provide economical, reliable, and comfortable transportation in the state with connecting services to adjoining states. All cities are connected to state highways, which carry traffic between major centres within the state. Other district roads and village roads provide villages accessibility to meet their social needs as also the means to transport agriculture produce from village to nearby markets. Major district roads provide a secondary function of linking between main roads and rural roads. Uttar Pradesh has the seventh-highest road density in India, (1,027 km per 1000 km2 as of 2002) and the largest surfaced urban-road network in the country (50,721 km as of 2002).
The National Golden Quadrilateral of India passes through Jhansi, Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad, and Varanasi There is an existing expressway between Lucknow and Kanpur; and new expressways are being built between Agra and Noida and between Noida and Ballia, known as the Yamuna Expressway and the Ganga Expressway, respectively. The state has established the to develop seven new expressways. ] These projects includes Upper Ganga Canal Expressway, Bijnore–Moradabad–Fatehgarh Expressway, Jhansi–Kanpur–Lucknow–Gorakhpur–Kushinagar Expressway, Lucknow–Barabanki–Nanpara link Expressway, Agra–Kanpur Expressway, Kanpur 1st Outer Ring Road, From Narora up to 10 km before the boundary of Uttarakhand state
Tourism
Uttar Pradesh ranks first in domestic tourist arrivals with more than 71 million, owing to its rich and varied topography, vibrant culture, festivals, monuments, ancient places of worship, and viharas. Thousands gather at Allahabad to take part in the Magh Mela festival on the banks of the Ganges. This festival is organised on a larger scale every 12th year and is called the Kumbha Mela, where over 10 million Hindu pilgrims congregate in one of the largest gatherings of people in the world.
The historically important towns of Sarnath and Kushinagar are located not far from Varanasi. Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon after his enlightenment at Sarnath and died at Kushinagar; both are important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists. Also at Sarnath are the Pillars of Ashoka and the Lion Capital of Ashoka, both important archaeological artifacts with national significance. At a distance of 80 km from Varanasi, Ghazipur is famous not only for its Ganges Ghats but also for the tomb of the British potentate Lord Cornwallis, maintained by the Archeological Survey of India.
Lucknow, the capital of the state, has several beautiful historical monuments such as Bara Imambara and Chhota Imambara. It has also preserved the damaged complex of the Oudh-period British Resident's quarters, which are being restored. Uttar Pradesh gives access to three World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and the nearby Fatehpur Sikri. Varanasi is an ancient city famous for its ghats. To promote tourism, the Directorate of Tourism was established in the 1972 with a Director General who is an I.A.S. officer.
Culture
Several texts and hymns of the Vedic literature were composed in Uttar Pradesh. The texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Vyasa wrote the Mahabharata, the epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes, in Uttar Pradesh. The festival of Guru Purnima, is dedicated to him, and also known as Vyasa Purnima as it is the day which is believed to be his birthday and also the day he divided the Vedas. There is a long literary and folk Hindi language tradition in the state. In the 19th and 20th century, Hindi literature was modernised by authors such as Jaishankar Prasad, Maithili Sharan Gupt, Munshi Premchand, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, Babu Gulabrai, Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan 'Agyeya', Rahul Sankrityayan, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Dharamvir Bharati, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Dushyant Kumar, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Acharya Kuber Nath Rai, Bharatendu Harishchandra, Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena, Shivmangal Singh Suman, Mahadevi Varma, and Vibhuti Narain Rai.
The state is sometimes called the 'Hindi heartland of India'. Hindi became the language of state administration with the Uttar Pradesh Official Language Act of 1951. A 1989 amendment to the act added Urdu as another native language of the state. Linguistically, the state spreads across the Central, East-Central, and Eastern zones of the Indo-Aryan languages, the major native languages of the state being Awadhi, Bundeli, Braj Bhasha, Kannauji and the vernacular form of Khariboli
Music and dance
Uttar Pradesh has produced musicians, including Anup Jalota, Baba Sehgal, Girija Devi, Gopal Shankar Misra, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Kishan Maharaj, Naushad Ali, Ravi Shankar, Shubha Mudgal, Siddheshwari Devi, Talat Mehmood, and Ustad Bismillah Khan. The Ghazal singer Begum Akhtar was a native of Uttar Pradesh. The region's folk heritage includes songs called rasiya (especially popular in Braj), which celebrate the divine love of Radha and Shri Krishna. Other forms of music are kajari, sohar, qawwali, rasiya, thumri, birha, chaiti, and sawani. Traditional dance and musical styles are taught at the Bhatkhande Music Institute University in Lucknow, named after the musician Pandit Vishnu Narayan BhatkhandeKathak, a classical dance form, owes its origin to the state of Uttar Pradesh. The dance form is connected to classical Hindustani music where the rhythmic nimbleness of the feet is accompanied by the Tabla or Pakhawaj. Two schools of this dance form, Lucknow gharana and Benares gharana, are situated in Uttar Pradesh
Fairs and festivals
Diwali (celebrated between mid-October and mid-December) and Rama Navami are popular festivals in Uttar Pradesh. Kumbh Mela, organized in the month of Maagha (Feb-March), is a major festival held every three years in rotation at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik on the river Ganges. Lath mar Holi is a local celebration of the Hindu festival of Holi. It takes place well before the actual Holi in the town of Barsana near Mathura. Taj Mahotsav, held annually at Agra, is a colorful display of the culture of the Braj area. Buddha Purnima, which marks the birth of Gautama Buddha, is a major Hindu and Buddhist festival, while Christmas is celebrated by the minority Christian population. Other festivals are Vijayadashami, Makar Sankranti, Vasant Panchami, Ayudha Puja, Ganga Mahotsava, Janmashtami, Sardhana Christian Fair, Maha Shivaratri, Mahavir Jayanti Hanuman Jayanti and
Muslim festivals
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh. This metro city is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division. Lucknow has always been known as a multicultural city and flourished as a cultural and artistic capital of North India in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today it continues as an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, culture, tourism, music and poetry.[ ] Lucknow ranked 6th among all the cities in India for fastest job-creation. It is the largest city of Uttar Pradesh and second largest metro of North and Central India after Delhi.
Lucknow elevation is 123.45 m above sea level. Lucknow covers an area of 310.1 km2. It is surrounded on the eastern side by District Barabanki, on the western side by district Unnao, on the southern side by Raebareli and on the northern side by Sitapur and Hardoi districts. The city is on the northwestern shore of Gomti river, which flows through it. Lucknow is accessible from every part of India through air, rail and road. It is directly connected with New Delhi, Patna, Calcutta, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram and other major cities by Amausi airport. The Union Cabinet approved granting of international airport status to Lucknow. The Lucknow airport is suitable for all-weather operations and can provide parking facility up to 14 aircraft. At present, Air India, Jetlite, GoAir, IndiGo and SpiceJet are operating domestic flights from and to Lucknow.
Hindi is the city's official language. However, the most prominent language spoken in Lucknow is colloquial Hindustani. The city's design was heavily influenced by the several emperors and incorporates significant areas of natural imperial that have earned Lucknow the title of the "city of nawabs". It is also known as the Golden City of India, Shiraz-i-Hind and the Constantinople of the East. Lucknow's society is very famous for its etiquette and traditions to attain a rare degree of sophistication. Be it the cultural charm or the monumental one, all are well conserved here to make Lucknow "The city of many splendours".
History
Awadh, known as the granary of India, was important strategically for the control of the fertile plain between the Ganga and the Yamuna rivers known as the Doab. It was a wealthy kingdom, able to maintain its independence against threats from the Marathas, the British and the Afghans.Since 1350 AD Lucknow and parts of the Awadh region were ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, Sharqi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, Nawabs of Awadh, East India Company and the British Raj. Lucknow was one of the major centres of Indian rebellion of 1857, participated actively in India's Independence movement, and emerged as an important city of North India. Until 1719, subah of Awadh was a province of the Mughal Empire administered by a Governor appointed by the Emperor. Saadat Khan also called Burhan-ul-Mulk a Persian adventurer was appointed the Nazim of Awadh in 1722 and he established his court in Faizabad near Lucknow.
Culture
A small part of Lucknow's society still possesses much etiquette. This sublime cultural richness blends the cultures of two communities living side by side for centuries, sharing similar interests and speaking a common language.Many of the cultural traits and customs peculiar to Lucknow have become living legends today. The credit for this goes to the secular and syncretic traditions of the Nawabs of Awadh, who took a keen interest in every walk of life, and encouraged the traditions to attain a rare degree of sophistication. The Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad, popularly known as Suleiman Mian, is a living example of all the great traditions of this region and has been written about by authors like V.S. Naipaul, William Dalrymple and many others.
Dance, drama and music
Kathak, the classical Indian dance form took shape here. Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was a great patron and a passionate champion of Kathak. Lachhu Maharaj, Acchchan Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj have kept this tradition alive.Lucknow is also the city of eminent Ghazal singer Begum Akhtar. She was a pioneer in Ghazal singing and took this aspect of music to amazing heights. "Ae Mohabbat Tere anjaam pe rona aaya" is one of her best musical renditions of all times.
Apart from govt. institutes there are many private theatre groups like IPTA, Darpan, Manchkriti and the largest Youth theatre group JOSH. Josh Group is basically a group for youth and kids theatre activity, workshops and training.Lucknow has given music stars like Naushad Ali, Talat Mehmood, Anup Jalota and Baba Sehgal to the entertainment industry. It is also the birthplace of British pop star Sir Cliff Richard.
Transport
Road transport
From Hazratganj intersection in Lucknow city, four Indian National Highways originate, viz, NH-24 to Delhi, NH-25 to Shivpuri, Jhansi (M.P. Border), NH-56 to Varanasi and NH-28 to Mokama (Bihar).The available multiple modes of public transport in the city are taxis, city buses, cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws and CNG Low Floor AC or Non AC Buses. CNG has been introduced recently as an auto fuel to keep the air pollution in control.City bus service
Inter-state bus service
See also: Kanpur Lucknow Roadways Service
One of
Lucknow's major bus terminals is Dr. Bhimrao
Ambedkar bus station at Alambagh. It has very modern facilities and
is the main inter- and intrastate terminal in Lucknow. Another important bus
station is at Qaiserbagh. Earlier, another bus terminal operated at Charbagh,
directly in front of the main railway station, but this has now been
reestablished as a City bus depot. The move was taken to remove congestion in front of the
railway station. Kanpur Lucknow Roadways Service is a very
important service for commuters.Swanky VOLVO named Royal cruiser AC bus service
is run by UPSRTC
for many cities.Buses being very comfortble are very much in demand nowadays.
Main cities they serve are Jaipur,
agra, delhi, gorakhpur.Bus
service to inter state cities is also very good. All the Main and important
cities of north India is connected by bus. The cities outside Uttar Pradesh
that are covered by bus service are Jaipur, New Delhi,
Gwalior,
Bharatpur,
Singrauli,
Faridabad,
Gurgaon
and Dausa, Ajmer, Dehradun,
Haridwar.Rail transport
The city is served by several railway stations at different parts of the city. The main railway station is Lucknow Railway Station at Charbagh. It has an imposing structure built in 1923. The main terminal belongs to Northern Railway (NR) (station code: LKO) division of Indian Railways and the second terminal is run by the North Eastern Railway (NER) (Station Code: LJN). Lucknow is a major junction with links to all major cities of the state and country such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Jaipur and many more. Lucknow has a further thirteen railway stations viz. Alamnagar, Malhaur, Utretia, Transport Nagar, Dilkhusha, Gomti Nagar, Badshahnagar, Manak Nagar, Amausi, Aishbagh junction, Lucknow City, Daliganj and Mohibullapur. Now meter gauge services originate from Aishbagh and connect to Lucknow city, Daliganj and Mohibullapur. Except Mohibullapur all the stations are also connected to Broad gauge. All the stations are within city limits and are well connected with each other via road networks and public road transport. Other suburban stations include Bakshi Ka Talab and Kakori.Many stations are covered by Lucknow-Kanpur Suburban Railway. It serves daily commuters. Some of the trains are operated from Barabanki city.Air transport
he Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Amausi serves as the city's main airport and is located about 20 km from the city center. Lucknow is directly connected by air with New Delhi, Bangalore, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad, Goa and Pune. Oman Air, FlyDubai,Saudi Airlines, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Go Air, IndigoAir and many more international airlines that are operating international flights from Lucknow ] International destinations include Dubai, Muscat, Sharjah, Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh, Najaf.Metro and Mono Rail service
Plans for high capacity mass transit system, The Lucknow Metro and Mono rail Services have been finalised.[citation needed] Delhi Metro rail (DMRC) is preparing plans for its constructionsKanpur
Kanpur ; Hindi: कानपुर; Urdu: کان پور), previously Cawnpore, is the largest industrial city of Uttar Pradesh and also is the administrative headquarters of Kanpur Nagar district & Kanpur division. It is known as the Economic and Industrial Capital of Uttar Pradesh. It is also known as Leather City as it contains one of the largest and finest tanneries in India and in South Asia.
Widely known as the Manchester of the East, it is one of the oldest industrial townships of North India It has an area of over 300 km2 with an approximate population of 3 million inhabitants in its area. It is administratively divided into 6 zones and 110 wards with a ward population range of 19,000 to 26,000. It is the 75th largest city in the world.
History
Name origins
Kanpur is believed to have been founded by members of the Chandela dynasty from the state of Sachendi.[citation needed] The city's name is believed to derive from Kanhiyapur (from the Hindi meaning "town of Kanhaiya"). During the British Raj, this was anglicised to Cawnpore. In old British maps it is also listed as Khanpur.Others believe that the name is derived from Karnapur (meaning "town of Karna", one of the heroes of the Mahabharata). Another theory is that it came from the nearby town of Makanpur, earlier known as Khairabad, where the Sufi saint of the Madariya Sufi order, Badiuddin Zinda Shah Madar, settled.
Earlier history of the area
Kanpur's development is unclear until the 13th century. Although no reference to Kanpur is found in written documents before this time, the history of two of its suburbs, Jajmau and Bithoor, can be traced back to pre-13th century times. Bithoor is located about 20 km upstream from the city and is approximately 10 km from the IIT Kanpur campus. Jajmau is about 8 km east of the city and is nearly 20 km downstream from the IIT Campus. According to Hindu mythology, just after creating the universe, Lord Brahma performed the Ashvamedha at Bithoor and established a lingam there. Another legendary site at Bithoor is the Valmiki Ashram, where the famous sage Valmiki is supposed to have written the Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana. According to this epic, Queen Seeta, on being exiled by King Ramachandra of Ayodhya, spent her days in seclusion at the ashram bringing up her twin sons, Lava and Kush.At Jajmau, there are remains of an ancient fort, now surviving as a huge mound. Recent excavations on this mound indicate that the site is very old, perhaps dating back to the Vedic age. Popular legends state that the fort belonged to Yayati, a king of the ancient Chandravanshi race.
At Shivrajpur, 20 km from the Kanpur Central railway station, there is an ancient temple built by Chandel Raja Sati Prasad in memory of his queen. This temple is supposed to have been built in a night and is situated on the banks of the Ganges. This temple is famous for its architectural work and carving designs.
Parihar rulers of Kannauj may have ruled this place for a significant part of history long before the beginning of Mughal era. Some historical accounts suggest Pratihara emperor, Mihir Bhoja, has ruled in Kanpur since nearby Kannuaj was the capital of Pariha
Culture
Nestling on the banks of the River Ganges, Kanpur stands as one of North India’s major industrial centres with its own historical, religious and commercial importance. Believed to have been founded by king Hindu Singh of the erstwhile state of Sachendi, Kanpur was originally known as "Kanhpur". Historically, Jajmau on the eastern outskirts of present day Kanpur, is regarded as one of the most archaic townships of Kanpur district. Up to the first half of the 18th century, Kanpur continued to survive as an insignificant village.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My
humble salutations to the great devotees
, wikisources and Pilgrimage tourist guide for the
collection )
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