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| Nagpur – More than just Orange City |
Reserve Bank of India’s Nagpur branch holds most of India’s gold deposits. The city is also ‘the Tiger Capital of India’ and also functions as ‘the Winter Capital of Maharashtra’! How’s this for Nagpur city trivia! But I DID NOT know any of these interesting facts before visiting the city. For me Nagpur was all about RSS headquarters, oranges and yes, the Vidharbha Cricket Stadium, which has been the venue of many international cricket matches.
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| Deekshabhoomi, where Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism |
Isn’t it ironic that so many of us travel trivia geeks love to dig up tidbits about famous and not so famous from around the world, but when it comes to our own country, we are oblivious to anything beyond the metros or at the most the popular tourist destinations. So discovering the above mentioned facts about Nagpur was quite a pleasant surprise for me. And needless to say, it got me hooked to the idea of reading up about the cities and towns we were headed to, and sharing the city trivia with friends.
Now that brings me to another trivia! Do you know why Nagpur is known as Nagpur and not Orangepur or Santrapur, despite being India mein world famous for its oranges? There are quite a few theories behind the name. One of them says that many centuries ago, the Nag civilization that inhabited this area named it Nagpur, as in the city of Nags. Another popular theory is that the city is situated on the banks of river Nag, and so gets its name from there.
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| Nagpur : Tiger capital of India | Photo Credit : Shalik Jogwe |
In the beginning of this write-up, I mentioned that Nagpur is the ‘Tiger Capital of India’. Do you know why? It’s because the city surroundings has many tiger reserves and sanctuaries. Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Pench National Park, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, Melghat Tiger Reserve and a few other wildlife sanctuaries are all within a radius of a few hundred kilometres from Nagpur.
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| Tadoba Tiger Reserve – First pit stop |
Interestingly, while out first pit stop on our journey was Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Team NanoWest made their first stop at Pench National Park. But only one team got to spot tiger(s). Which one, you will find out in the next post!
In the meanwhile, here are some other interesting facts about Nagpur!
1. Nagpur lies at the geographical centre of the country and a Zero Mile Stone monument marks the point.
2. The city gets its name from the river Nag, on whose banks it’s situated.
3. Nagpur’s Municipal Corporation has a cobra as its seal.
4. Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) founder and first Sarsanghachalak Dr. K. B. Hedgewar was born in Nagpur and the city houses the RSS headquarters.
5. It was at city’s sacred Buddhist monument Deekshabhoomi where Dr. Br. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism along with thousands of his followers.
6. The Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur is one of the nine test venues in the country.
Photo Courtesy: nagpurtoday.in
Shalik Jogwe, Wildlife Photographer, Tadoba Tiger Reserve
