Jabalpur is situated at the geographical center of India. It is most famous for the marble rocks of Bheraghat that are widely known for its scenic beauty. Tourists from all over the world gather here to witness the exquisite beauty of marble rocks at Dhuandhar (Smoky Falls) that is situated at Bheraghat. Among the geographical beauties is also the Balancing Rocks at Madanmahal, where huge rocks at heights could be seen being naturally balanced on small tips at their bottom.
Jabalpur is situated on hills and on the banks of the holy Narmada and has a great mythical, geological and historical past. It is said that Jabalpur derived its name from the sage Jabali whose tapasyabhumi was Jabalpur. Jabalpur is blessed by the holy waters of the Narmada. Mythologically, the Narmada is the oldest river and every stone on its bank is a Shivling. Great yogis have attained enlightenment on her banks. Narmada is supposed to be the daughter of the god of destruction, Shiva.
Geologically the rocks of this area are of the oldest class of earth rocks. It is also said that the famous Devasur war took place somewhere near Lamhetaghat (6/7 km. from Jabalpur). This itself proves how ancient this part of the earth is. It has passed through its great mythological period that is covered in Reva Khand of Skand Puran. Through the times it has come to its present shape of afast growing populous city with around 15 lakh inhabitants. There is flourishing business. As you proceed outwards , there are sprawling farms owned by capitalist class. It has taken the shape of the beginning of a metropolis.
Some important snippets from its history includes the elimination of Thugs by Sir William Sleeman during 1830s. Even the Mumbai (Bombay) - Kolkata (Calcutta) rail link was linked here in 1870s. Though the development of the present Jabalpur has been during the British times, it was by no means a product of British rule. Just 13 km. from Jabalpur is situated a village named ‘Tewar’(on the way to Bheraghat) which is a remnant of the capital ‘Tripuri’ of the Kalchuri Dynasty which was spread far and wide, as far as to Orissa on the east and Andhra and Karnatak to the south.
History was written when Subhash Bose became Congress President in Tripuri Congress in 1939 and then resigned because of differences with Gandhiji. The Tripuri Congress after the name of the famous Tripuri rule of the past was held at Jabalpur.
Then there was the heroic queen Durgawati who had valiantly fought the powerful forces of the mighty Mughals during Akbar’s reign and had heroically gone down fighting but had not surrendered and bent down to the subjugation of Akbar. Her capital Garha is now the expanding suburb of Jabalpur. Many remnants of the heroic queen like Hathishal, Ghursal etc. have now been pulled down. Tunnel from Sangram Sagar to Bheraghat, opening near Chausath Yogini hills are closed - Queen Durgawati used to go through this tunnel for bathing in the holy river Narmada. Of course, there is Rani Durgawati Museum preserving the Gondwana Kingdom relics.
Jabalpur has found a place in a famous literary work viz ‘Bhowani Junction’ by John Masters. In the past Khushwant Singh had mentioned that the story in Bhowani Junction is related to Jabalpur. Bimal Mitra, the famous Bengali novelist who had served in Railways in Bilaspur for long years, frequently used to visit Jabalpur in connection with his work of vigilance and stayed in some guest house near old CBI office situated near present Shastri Bridge. Manohar Mulgaonkar, the famous Indian English novelist who served in Army had his first posting in Jabalpur.
Subhadra Kumari Chouhan,the famous Hindi poetess, more famous for her patriotic poem Jhansi Ki Rani, belonged to Jabalpur. Her statue in front of Municipal Corporation fills one with patriotic feeligs. There was the satirical author of all India fame, Hari Shankar Parsai whose Karmabhumi was Jabalpur. There was poet Rameshwar Shukla ‘Anchal’ who was a first rank Hindi poet of India. There were many other literateurs like Usha Devi Mitra who has a road in her name in Beoharbagh where she resided. There was Bhowani Prasad Tiwari who translated Gitanjali in Hindi and was Mayor of Jabalpur for several times.
There were leaders who had much fame as literateurs like Seth Govind Das who was MP and famous dramatist. There was the modern Chanakya of Indian politics Pt. Dwarka Pd. Mishra who was CM of the State as well as the famous poet of Krishnayan. Like Allahabad it was a hub of literary activities.
It is the city which has nurtured world famous gurus like Rajneesh (Osho) and Mahesh Yogi. Rajneesh who became Osho was lecturer of Philosophy in a local college and stayed in Jabalpur for two decades. Mahesh Yogi who was a clerk in Gun Carriage Factory went to become the guru of the richest and the famous. Both of them earned their fame abroad. Long back Imprint , the magazine which has stopped publication for several years had published a study that the assets of Rajneesh and Mahesh Yogi were more than that of Tatas and Birlas.
There were many film personalities who either had there homes in Jabalpur or were associated with Jabalpur. Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) was born in Jabalpur. Her father Tarun Bhaduri was a correspondent of Statesman and staying in Jabalpur before shifting to Nagpur and Bhopal. Of course the house in which she was born has been demolished. Prem Nath and Rajendra Nath, the sons of Kartar Nath who was the owner of Empire Talkies (now closed) belonged to this place. Raj Kapoor and Prem Chopra are son-in-laws of Kartar Nath, a former SP of Rewa State. Raghuvir Yadav had his home in Ranjhi of Jabalpur. Adesh Shrivastava, the music director was brought up in Jabalpur. His father was working in Rlys. in Jabalpur. There are many more like Yakub and Manoranjan Chatterjee whose wife Manorama Chatterjee was a Head Mistress of Hitakarni Girls School. Last but not the least Dada Moni Ashok Kumar was a student of Robertson College which was then situated in a building that now encompasses the Civil Engg. block of Govt. Engg. College.
Even in games and athletics there were regular competitions in this city. Great players of India played on its fields. There used to be Ranjhi Trophy matches and first class cricket matches with teams like West Indies on the garrison ground. Cricketers like Vinoo Mankad and Mushtaque Ali played international matches in Jabalpur. We had seen Chuni Goswami and Mewa Lal, the great footballers in action. There used to be wrestlers like Dara Singh showing their bouts within the ropes. Moreover, the game of Snooker was conceived in Jabalpur in the Narmada Club (more details about snooker).
However over the times, Jabalpur has lost to the other cities of Madhya Pradesh, and been consistently neglected by the policy makers. Thus there is no industrial activity in this region. The only industrial activity in this region relates to the limestone and cement related works at nearby Katni. Jabalpur has mostly become a city of govt offices and the trading city. Eventhough trade has expanded, it is no comparison to the trade activity that is seen in cities like Indore. Moreover the biggest handicap of Jabalpur relates to its connectivity. It doesn’t have rail links that connect north-south and even the east-west link is not capable of fast moving trains. It does not have any direct link with any sea-port. Even the air-link is rudimentary with the national airlines sometimes starting the service and sometimes discontinuing it for lack of passengers.