The second largest city of Madhya Pradesh that serves as the capital of the state, Bhopal lies on the banks of a huge lake straddling several square miles. Also known as “the City of Lakes”, Bhopal is situated on the site of an 11th century city, Bhojapal, founded by Raja Bhoj. The city is as well known as “City of Nawabs” has rich historical background. Bhopal is a junction of the rich forms of art, tradition and culture. It is situated towards the north of the striking Vindhya Mountain range and a boundary with its range of small hills around the city is formed. Besides scenic beauty and rich historical background, the capital city became well-known all over the World after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984. This old traditional walled city has not lost its charisma and attractiveness even in the wake of modernization and industrialization. Geography and Climate Situated on the Malwa Plateau at an average elevation of 500 m above the sea level, Bhopal is bounded by Guna district to the north, Vidisha in the northeast, Sehore in the southwest, Raisen in the east, and Rajgarh in the northwest. The city is located at 23°16 N and 77°36 E and shares its boundaries with two beautiful lakes named Upper Lake and Lower Lake. The city is segregated into two parts, namely the Old Bhopal and New Bhopal, which is situated on the northern and the southern parts of the city, respectively. Bounded by seven hills, the major hills in Bhopal are Idgah hills and Shyamala hills in the north, Katara hills in south and Arera hills in the central region. Bhopal features a humid subtropical climate, with cold, dry winters, hot summer and humid monsoon season. Summer season start in late March until mid-June with the average temperature being around 30 °C (86 °F) and the maximum temperatures rises to 40 °C (104 °F) in the month of May. The monsoon starts in late June lasts till late September. During these months the city experiences about 40 inches (1020 mm) of precipitation, frequent thunderstorms and flood. The average temperature is around 25 °C (77 °F) and the humidity is quite high. Winter season starts in late October and lasts up to early March. The city remains cold, sunny and comfortable, with average daily temperatures around 16 °C (61°F) and little or no rain during the winters. January is the coldest season, when the city experiences huge drop in temperature, which even goes close to freezing on some nights. The city experiences a total annual rainfall is about 1146 mm (46 inches) and the best time to visit the city of Bhopal is between October and March. Demographics As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Bhopal in 2011 is 1,795,648; of which male and female are 939,560 and 856,088, respectively. The total literacy rate in the city is 1,354,219 of which 741,737 are males while 612,482 are females. Average literacy rate of Bhopal city is 85.24% of which male and female literacy was 89.19% and 80.90%, respectively. The major languages spoken in the city are Hindustani, Urdu and English, however, until 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century Persian was the court language of the city. History of bhopal The city of Bhopal has a rich historical background, which is evident from the presence of a number of historical monuments. The city was founded in 11[SUP]th[/SUP] century by Raja Bhoj and It is believed that the name Bhopal is a distortion of the founder's name. However, the region soon came under Mughal rule and remained a part of that empire till the death of the Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707 A.D. After a few years of turmoil, the small princely state of Bhopal and the present-day city, was founded by an Afghan soldier called Dost Mohammad in A.D. 1723. He is said to have assisted Rani Kamlapathi, the queen of the Gond tribals of the Norbada region, in protecting her territory from the attacks at the Rajput Thakurs. Due to the lack of capable male rulers, the Begums of the royal family ruled Bhopal for close to almost a 100 years after that. The Begums were deeply religious and conservative, led very austere lives, and were keenly interested in the administrative aspects of the state. The third Begum, Nawab Sultan Jahan, was one of the most able rulers of the state. Her son Nawab Hamidullah ascended the masnad (throne) in A.D. 1926, and was deeply involved in the political developments of his time. He had believed it imperative for the princes to remain united during Partition and advocated this strongly in his capacity as Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes. Bhopal was one of the last states to sign the 'Instrument of Accession' in A.D. 1947. Thus, it was under him that Bhopal's transition from a sleepy town into a major developing metropolis took place. The city of Bhopal grabbed the attention of the World with the incident named Bhopal Gas Tragedy in the year 1984. It was on 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] December 1984, a Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal leaked around 32 tons of toxic gases, including methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which led to the worst industrial disaster to date. The official death toll was initially recorded around 5,000. Many figures suggest that 18,000 died within two weeks, and it is estimated that around 8,000 have died since then of gas-poisoning-related diseases. Many diseases followed with this incident and have been facing chronic health problems such as psychological and neurological disabilities, blindness, skin, vision and breathing disorders and the newborn children still suffer from serious birth defects, even after generations. Culture of Bhopal The capital city of Madhya Pradesh has rich tradition and culture, which is still preserved by the inhabitants of Bhopal. The city is renowned for its parda culture (veil for women), zarda (tobacco plant), garda and namarda (eunuch). Every celebration in Bhopal considered incomplete without Eunuchs and they form an integral part of the culture of Bhopal. Bhopal Cuisine includes some delicious vegetarian dishes but because of long muslim rule in the region, bhopal cuisine has been gifted with a variety of spicy meat dishes. Poha and Jalebi are very popular in bhopal, Poha (made of rice). Besides Diwali, Dushera, Navaratri, Ijtima is the popular three day long religious festivals of Muslims celebrated in Bhopal. National drama festival is another famous festival celebrated for seven days in the city during the month of September. Tourist destinations in Bhopal The city of Nawabs, Bhopal houses a number of tourist attractions, which are mostly located close to the chowk area. The presence of a number of mosques, lakes, art galleries and museums with a great collection induces and lures the tourists from various parts of the orb. The architecture of the city that witnessed a re-interpretation and testing with the blending of occidental and oriental style in some places grabs the attention of the travelers to the city. Laxmi Narayan Temple Taj-ul Masjid Moti Masjid Sadar Manzil Shaukat Mahal Upper Lake Lower Lakes Transportation Air The city has an International airport named Raja Bhoj International Airport, which is located near the satellite suburb Bairagarh. From within the city, VIP road, a four lane road connects with the airport. Bhopal Airport is the international airport or Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and lies 15km to the north of the city. International flights began its operations in 2010 although no schedule services currently run internationally. Railway Bhopal lies in the West Central Railway Zone. Considering both North-South and East-West train routes, it is one of the best connected cities in India. It houses the Divisional Railway Managers (DRM) head office under Central railways. There 6 railway stations in the city, namely Bhopal Junction Railway Station, Habibganj Railway Station, Misrod Railway Station, Mandideep Railway Station, Sukhsewanagar and Bairagarh. Road Bhopal has its own city bus service- Bhopal City Link Limited, which operates high capacity Tata Starbus and Tata Marcopolo, which are under GPS navigation and smaller Metro Buses. In addition, around 600 mini-buses are run by private operators. Metro or Radio Taxis and auto-rickshaws are another major means of transport. In some parts in the old as well as new city, the new Tata Magic Vans are running successfully and have replaced the older and bigger diesel rickshaws. Bhopal has India's longest Bus Rapid Transit System in India.
