RaipurLive.com

Raipur is certainly one of the oldest cities in India, even though India boasts of many old cities. History has it that this region was ruled by the Kings of the Satvahana dynasty between the 2nd and the 3rd centuries AD and then by Somvanshi kings. Sirpur was their capital which is just a few hours away from Raipur. One could find the earliest evidence of the existence of this city from the 9th century ruins in the southern part of what is modern Raipur.

Later, the Kalchuris ruled this region and their capital was Ratanpur. King Ramchandra, a descendant of this dynasty founded the city of Raipur which was later made his capital. The city was given this name after his son Brahmdeo Rai. When the region disintegrated into small principalities, it passed from one kingdom to other until British finally conquered it in 1854. They then made Chattisgarh a separate Commissary (administrative unit) and Raipur was its district headquarters.

Chattisgarh was a part of the state Madhya Pradesh up to 2000. It is known as the rice bowl of India. It is rich in natural resources. There are dense forests on the south, Maikal Hills on the north-west and the river Mahanadi on the east. The biggest occupation giving sector of Raipur is agriculture. Raipur has always been known for agricultural processing and saw mills. But it is fast turning out to be a major commercial center. There are many large scale industries like coal, power, steel, aluminium, cement, granite cutting and polishing, marble cutting and polishing industries here. Its 170 steel rolling mills make it one of the biggest iron markets in India. Some small scale industries like oil mills and soap manufacturers can also be found here.

As mentioned earlier, Raipur is an ancient city with a very rich history. This is one of the main reasons why it has attracted so many people. It is a cultural melting pot where you can find the locals residing in harmony with Jains, Agarwals, Gujratis, Marwaris, Baniyas, Maharashtrians, Bengali and Sikhs. Christians and Muslims are minorities here.

The local language of Chattisgarh is Chattisgarhi. Another interesting thing or you might call it bizarre also is that there are Baigas (traditional medical practitioners) who use their own traditional methods (Jhad Phook) to cure diseases. Dewar Nacha, Panthi & Soowa, Raut Nacha, Padki and Pandwani are some of the traditional musical styles and dance drama. The epic Mahabharata is sung in the musical way named Pandwani.

Their traditional dress is the saree which has a typical manner of wearing, Kachhora. You would also find women wearing Lugda (saree) and Polkha (blouse) in addition to set of attractive ornaments. Some of the ornaments that are traditionally worn here are Baandha which is a necklace made of coins, suta which is silver necklace, Phuli worn in nose, Bali and Khuntis worn in ears, Ainthi which is made of silver worn on forearm, Kardhani made of silver worn on waist (belt like structure), Patta and Choora (bangles), Pounchhi which is a ring worn on the upper arm and Bichhiya worn on toes. As for men, they also don’t lag behind much. They wear Koundhi which is a necklace of beads and Kadhah which is a type of bangle. These are worn generally during some occasions like dances.

Source: http://www.raipur.in/raipur-history.html