Nagpur plays host to a variety of cultural
The Nagpur city contains a large number of people from other Indian states as well as people belonging to the world’s major faiths. Nagpur plays host to a variety of cultural events throughout the year.
Cultural and literary societies in Nagpur include Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh(for development of Marathi), Vidarbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti (promotion and spreading Hindi) and Vidarbha Hindi Sahitya Sammelan (for promoting Hindi). The Nagpur central museum (estb 1863) maintains collections are mainly for Vidarbha region. The South Central Cultural Centre also actively sponsors various other cultural events in Nagpur city, such as the Orange City Craft Mela and Folk Dance Festival, which is noted for its numerous folk-dances.
Nagpur City was judged as the cleanest and second greenest in India after Bangalore. The Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground (VCA) in Nagpur is one of the nine test venues in the country. A new stadium of VCA called Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Jamtha has been built on Wardha road with a seating capacity of 45,000 people at cost of Rs. 75 crore. INOX Nagpur (area:45,000 square feet) is the first multiplex in city. Many malls have come up in various parts of Nagpur city. The present day Maharajbagh zoo was originally a garden developed by the Bhonsle rulers.Government of Maharashtra has approved a new safari park of international standards besides Gorewada Lake.
A number of newspapers are published from Nagpur in English, Hindi and Marathi. The Hitavada is one of the oldest English daily newspaper published in central India. Times of India Nagpur Edition has been active since few years now (Nagpur Times). Many leading Hindi dailies have their offices in Nagpur. Nagpur is known for staying calm during communal conflicts in India. Deekshabhoomi, the largest hollow stupa, is located in Nagpur. It is an important place of dalit buddhist movement. Sri Poddareshwar Ram Mandir and Shri Mahalaxmi Devi temple of Koradi are important Hindu temples. Several important religious events are observed in the city throughout the year.
Ram Navami is celebrated in Nagpur 
with shobha yatra which a massive procession of floats depicting various events from the Ramayana. Like the rest of India, Nagpurkars celebrate major Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi and Dussera with fervour and enthusiasm. Celebrations lasting for several days are held on Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja festivals in virtually every small locality in the city.
There is sizable Muslim population in the city, mostly coming from the service-class, working in local factories and government offices. There is a big concentration of Muslim-Bohras in the city who are mostly into hardware business. The famous places of worship for Muslim is Jama Masjid-Mominpura, Bohri Jamatkhana-Itwari, Ahbaab Chowk Masjid, Baba Taj Dargah-Tajabad Umred Rd., Masjid-Sadar and Chhaoni. Processions are also held on important festivals of other religions such as Eid e Milad, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Durga puja, Ganesh Puja and Moharram.
Taj Baba Dargah is a good example of communal harmony and peaceful co-existence in Nagpur city, as people shed their religious, caste, cultural and language barriers to pay their respect to the great Soofi Saint. Every year, Government of Maharashtra organizes a week long Kalidas Festival, a series of music and dance performances, by national level artist.
Also Check: Music of Maharashtra
