A Few Hours in Nagpur and Some Fabulous Wall Art Made My Day

I visited Kohka Wilderness Camp in Pench a few weeks ago and while returning to Delhi, I decided to spend a couple of hours in the city of Nagpur too. This was my first time and I am glad that I could learn a few things about this winter capital of Maharashtra. Before this, I had only visited Nagpur airport for transit purposes to head towards Pench or Kanha forests. Though five hours is too less a time to touch upon the interesting aspects of the Orange city (Nagpur is famous for its oranges), but I was very happy to find what I always look out for. Wall Art it is, you guessed it right. A lot of fresh art work had taken over the city walls and it spoke about the new developments taking place in the city. One could easily see that metro construction was highlighted everywhere and how the artists had emphasized on the fact that they were proud that Nagpur was a smart city. I feel street art adds to the character of a particular city. It tells many tales about the city. Most importantly, it voices out social messages and talks about legacies.

For the uninitiated, I must mention that according to one of the surveys of ABP News a few years ago, Nagpur was identified as one of the best cities in India to live with respect to transport, healthcare, living conditions and more.

5 Landmarks That I Touched Upon In Nagpur

1. Dragon Palace Temple
2. All Saint’s Cathedral
3. Zero Mile Stone Nagpur
4. Nagpur Central Musuem (Did not see it from inside)
5. Deekshabhoomi

Wall Art, Street art, Nagpur, Maharastra — **Wall Art spoke of many facets of Nagpur**

History of Nagpur — **Isn’t it fun to get a peek into the history of the city on its walls? I found it quite educative.**

Dragon Palace Temple

In the little time that I had, my driver helped me see five important landmarks of the city. Firstly I landed at the Dragon Palace Buddhist Temple, about 20 km from the city of Nagpur (on the Nagpur-Jabalpur road). This blue colored structure is beautiful and marks the Indo-Japan friendship. Madam Noriko Ogawa from the Ogawa Society of Japan had contributed to the construction of it. A huge Buddha statue is placed on its 2nd floor. The temple is revered as a place of peace and harmony. I was told that this place is preferred for meditation and visitors flock to this place on weekends. I loved its peaceful vibes.

All Saint’s Cathedral

Churches and cathedrals are my favorite. I love their grandeur and this one was no less. All Saint’s Cathedral in Nagpur is magnificent. I was specifically told to visit this one. It is an architectural landmark of Nagpur. Located in the heart of the city, it is one of its kind. From the 19th century, this gothic style church is an exception and a gorgeous Cathedral Church in North India. There is an office inside where one can seek help to know more about the church. A senior officer showed me around. This is an impressive heritage of Nagpur.

Zero Mile Stone Nagpur

I did not know about zero mile stone before visiting the city, so I am sure a lot of you might not know this that Nagpur is precisely at the geographical centre-point of India. Hence, a zero mile marker stands there. There is a pillar erected at the site and distances are various cities are also mentioned there. I was quite excited to know about this place but as I read further, I learned from Wikipedia that there is no verifiable evidence that it is a monument locating the geographical center of India.

Nagpur Central Musuem

It is an old museum which has rare collection of artifacts, antiquities, coins etc. Museums need time and that is what I dint have. Due to constraint of time, I could not go inside. No doubt, I plan to go next time whenever I am there. You should not miss it because the museum looked very inviting.

Deekshabhoomi

And finally we went to Deekshabhoomi, one of the main attractions of Nagpur. It is a sacred monument and very famous because this is the place where B. R. Ambedkar, converted to Buddhism with approximately 600,000 followers on Ashok Vijaya Dashami on 14 October 1956. It is very famous among Buddhist followers.

STREET ART IN NAGPUR

And now I must share the fascinating wall art that I came across while commuting from one landmark to another in Nagpur. From Warli paintings to modern art to walls carrying social messages, I found it all. I must applaud the artists for doing this for the whole society. A picture speaks a thousand words. In the same these wall paintings spoke a lot about good things that are happening or must happen in Nagpur.