Banda, India

This article is about the municipality in Uttar Pradesh, India. For its namesake district, see Banda district. For other uses, see Banda (disambiguation)#Places.

Banda
—  city  —
Banda Location of Banda in Uttar Pradesh and India
Coordinates	25°29′N 80°20′E
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District(s)	Banda
Population	134,822 (2001)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 123 metres (404 ft)

Banda (Hindi: बांदा, Urdu: باندہ) is a city and a municipal board in Banda district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Banda lies south of the Yamuna river in the Bundelkhand region. It is the administrative headquarters of Banda District. The town is well connected to major cities with railways and state highways. The town is near the right bank of the river Ken, 95 m. S. W. of Allahabad.

Banda was a town and district of British India, in the Allahabad division of the United Provinces. The population in 1901 was 22,565. It was formerly, but is no longer, a military cantonment.It had a Rai Bahadur Raiyse,Pt Mannulal Awasthi(183 villages) which was a royal family of Bundelkhand and one of the biggest jagirdars of1920's and 1930's, heir to which is now Mrs Amita Bajpai her son Akshay bajpayee great grandson of Rai Bahadur Awasthi is the Prince of Banda.Nearly 75% of Banda belonged to Rai Bahadur Pt Mannulal Awasthi up to 1947 and 10% to the nawab of Banda under British India.

Geography

Banda is located at 25.48°N 80.33°E / 25.48; 80.33. It has an average elevation of 123 metres (403 feet).

The district is located in the Chitrakutdham Division of Uttar Pradesh with its headquarter at Banda and lies between Lat. 24° 53' and 25° 55' N and Long. 80° 07' and 81° 34' E. It is bounded in the north by district of Fatehpur in the east by the district of Chitrakut in the west by the district of Hamirpur and Mahoba and in the south by Satna, Panna, and Chhatarapur the districts of adjoining Madhya Pradesh . There are mainly three rivers in the district namely Ken, Baghain and Yamuna.

Distance covered by district from East to West is 75 km. And North to South 50 to 60 km. The district is linked with roadways to all the adjoiniong districts of Kanpur, Allahabad, Chitrakut, Fatehpur, Hamirpur, Mahoba and the adjoining districts of Madhya Pradesh. The distance between Lucknow (State Capital) to Banda by road is 219 km and distance between Kanpur (largest city of state) to Banda by road is 150 km.

Economy

It contains an area of 3061 sq. m. In some parts it rises into irregular uplands and elevated plains, interspersed with detached rocks of granite; in others it sinks into marshy lowlands, which frequently remain under water during the rainy season. The sloping country on the bank of the Yamuna (previously called Jamuna)is full of ravines. To the S.E. the Vindhya chain of hills takes its origin in a low range not exceeding 50o ft. in height, and forming a natural boundary of the district in that direction. The principal river of the district is the Yamuna, which flows from north-west to south-east, along the N.E. boundary of the district, for 125 m. The black soil of the district yields crops of which the principal are millet, other food-grains, pulse, rice, cotton and oil-seeds. Banda cotton enjoys a high repute in the market. A branch railway from Manikpur to Jhansi traverses the length of the district, which is also crossed by the East Indian main line to Jabalpur (earlier Jubbulpore). The BDA (Banda development Authority) has planned to make one mall in town.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Banda had a population of 134,822. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Banda has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 60% of the males and 40% of females literate. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

Folk-songs & Folk-dances

The seasonal folk-songs commonly sung in the villages are Hori or Phag during spring. Malhar and Kajri in the rainy season.Women have their own songs for special occasions such as sohar (sung on the occasion of the birth of a child ) or Mangla geet (gari) during marriage ceremony. Bhajan-Kirtan in a chorus accompanied with musical is very much liked by inhabitants of the district. alha which is sung in the praise of Alha and Udal, the most popular heroes of this region, is also the most popular song of the district during rainy season.

A number of open air performances, combining the rural style of folk music and dancing with some national theme are a regular feature of rural life in the district. Nautanki and dramas based on mythology are often staged and attract large gatherings, particularly in the villages.

There are so many fairs/melas organized at the different places and Utsavs :

• Bhuragarh fair
• Nawab Tank fair
• Chilla fair
• Bilgav fair
• Kalinjar fair
• Khatri Pahar fair
• Tihramafi fair
• Simauni Fair

Agriculture

The economy of Banda district is based mainly on agriculture. The soils here are mostly fertile and in spite of many projects of irrigation as seen in the previous pages, the uncertainty of irrigation and its dependence on rains has made this tract adopt mostly the traditional farming. This is one area where despite the Govt’s push for hybrid seeds and commercial agriculture and despite several droughts and floods which affect the seeds most, the farmers have been able to save some of their traditional seeds.

There are two main crops : Kharif and Rabi; the one between July and October and the other between November and March. The old records in the imperial gazetteer or the district gazetteer mentions cotton as one of the major crops here. But that has vanished bow. The main crops grown presently are as follows:

Kharif : Paddy, Jowar, Bajra, Til, Moong, Urd, Arhar asnd Sanai are the maincrops taken these days. Paddy is normally taken as mono crop while others are mixed sown. 100 years ago cotton was taken as a mixed crop along with other crops in Kharif. Presently Government is pushing Soyabean replacing all other Kharif crops. This tendency ultimately will starve this district.

Rabi : Wheat, barley along with gram, linseed, mustard, Masoor and Peas are the major crops. There is a tendency for mixed cropping and regional variation in choices of the crops depending upon the geographical situation and the availability of irrigation.

Zaid : the third crops are usually taken in the river beds; that includes Kakri. Tarbooj (water melon), Kharbooja and some vegetable.

People associated with Banda

• Goswami Tulsidas

Places of Interest

• Vamdeveshwar Temple & Mount

The temple is said to derived its name from Bamdeo Rishi a sage mentioned in hindu mythology as a contemporary of lord Rama. Bamdeo is said to have had his hermitage at the fort of a hill. There is one big and oldest Shivling is situated in the temple in the kho of Bambeshar Pahar.

• Kalinjar Fort

Kalinjar (Kalanjar), a historical fort situated in Banda district (Uttar Pradesh), is one of the most precious gift of India to the World hertige. This is one of the eight famous forts built by Chandela-kings during the end od 1st and beginning of 2nd millennium. Situated at the interface of U.P. and M.P. states of India this has been serving as the great barrier for ambitious kings/invaders aiming towards south. The celebrated hill fort of Kalinjar is situated in the village of Tarahti under the Naraini Tahsil on the 56 km. south of Banda. It stands on an isolated flat-topped hill of the Vindhya range, which here rises to a height of 244m. above the plain. The main body of the fort lies from east to west, oblong in form, being nearly a mile in length by half a mile in breadth.

The fort was built on strong 25-30 meter wide foundation, having height of 30-35 meter with 8 meter wide summit spread all around with length of 7.5 km over the hillock. The material used was big sand stone/granite pieces put over each other or using lime mortor occasionally. Alongwith strategic importance of Kalinjar fort, this has equally been appreciated as the great monument of the art and science of fortification and a gem of archeology. Much before fortification this place was considered to be one of the most revered places of devotional and meditational penance and has been cited in Vedas, Epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, Buddha and Jain literatures. Kalinjar is the most respected and popular also in the folk songs of Bundelkhand.

Kalanjar word was coined to represent lord Shiva who after consuming the deadly poison churned out of sea by Devas and Daityas together rested here and destroyed (Jaran) the time barrier (kala). People have a belief that Lord Shiva always remains here. A temple of NEELKANTHA Mahadeo built over thousand years ago still exist with its magnificent beauty and greatness.The stone –dug ponds/lakes created here are marvelous. The rare stone images related to Lord Shiva, Godess Shakti, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesha, Bhairava and Bhairavi and others are of great importance from the science of image-making. The stone-carvings of animals, birds apsaras, mithuna, and such others are worth investigating

There are two entrances to the fort, of which the principal is on the north side towards the town and the other at the south-east angle leading towards Panna. The first entrance used to be guarded by seven different gates and they are approached by a short flight of stone steps. The first gateway, which is named Alam Darwaza is square, lofty and plain in construction and was probably rebuilt at the date of the inscription above it. Above this there is a steep ascent, chiefly by steps, to the second gate called Ganesha Darwaza. At a short distance higher up in the bend of the road stands the third gate, named the Chandi Darwaza. There is a double gate with four towers on which account it is also known as chauburji darwaza, or the ‘gate of the four towers.’ At this gate there are several pilgrim records and inscriptions of various dates.

The fourth gate named Budhabhadra possesses only one inscription. The fifthgate, or Hanuman Darwaza is so named after a figure of the monkey-god carved on a slab resting against the rock. There is also reservoir called Hanumankund; there are, besides, numerous rock sculptures and figures carved on the rocks representing Kali, Chandika, Siva and Parvati, Ganesha, the bull Nandi, and the lingam. The sixth gate, called the Lal Darwaza, stands near the top of the ascent. To the west of this gate, there is a colossal figure of Bhairava cut in the rock. There are also two figures of pilgrims represented carrying water in two vessels fixed at the end of a banghi pole. A short distance leads to the seventh gate, called Bara Darwaza, or the main gate and it undoubtedly modern.

The great lingam temple of Nilakantha, which is situated in the middle of the west face of the fort is a masterpiece of architecture. The façade of the cave once had been very rich, but is now much broken. On the jambs of the door there are figures of Siva and Parvati, with the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, which are of Gupta period. The lingam is made of a darke-blue stone, about 1.15m high and has three eyes. Just outside the mandapa of Nilakantha there is a deep rock-cut reservoir, called svargarohana and to the right of the reservoir in a rock niche there is a colossal figure of Kala-Bhairava, about 6m. in height, standing in about 0.5m. of water. Besides this status there is a figure of the goddess Kali, about 1m. in height.

• Bhuragarh Fort

Across the river Ken there are ruins of Bhuragarh fort said to be built with brown stones by Raja Guman Singh in 17th Century. This place was main center at the time of freedom struggle. A mela is orgainsed in this place called ‘Natbali Ka Mela’.

• Jama mosque
• Nawab Tank

Nawab tank is situated about 3 km south of Banda. This tank has been built by Nawab of Banda, and therefore it is known as Nawab Tank.

• Ken river
• Pragee Lake
• Awasthi Park

Pragee Lake and Awasthi Park are situated in north of banda within the city.Both the Park and the lake was built by Rai Bahadur Raiyse of Banda, Pt Mannulal Awasthi,both park and lake was donated by Pt Awasthi to the people for the use of common purpose.

Schools and universities

Kali Charan Nigam Institute of Technology' (KCNIT)

VNMPS Public School

• Nalanda Technical & Management college' (NTMC)
• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Degree College
• Adarsh Bajrang Inter College
• D.A.V. Inter College
• Dr.Bhim Rao Ambedkar Agri. University
• Government Inter College(GIC)
• Government Girl Inter College(GGIC)
• Guru Raamrai
• St Paul's school
• Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College
• Saraswati Shishu Mandir
• St. Mary's Senior Secondary School
• Bethel Children Academy
• Government Mahila Degree College
• Saraswati Gyan Mandir
• Eklavya Mahavidyalaya
• Raja Devi Degree College
• B.P.M.P.O. Inter College

References

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Banda". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.