Kanpur
Kanpur pronunciation is one of the most populous cities in the north India and the most populous within the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Kanpur is located on the banks of the Ganga and is an important industrial centre. It has an area of over 1600 km² and had a population of around 4.13 million in the 2001 census. Owing to its industrial importance one of the Reserve Bank of India was established in the city. Kanpur is home to several most prestigious educational institutions of the country, including one of the Indian Institutes of Technology, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI), CSJM University, University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chandrashekhar Azad Agricultural University, and GSVM Medical College.
Cultural history
Kanpur was a tinderbox in the independence and literary movements during the 1900-1950 period. The largest shopping centre is named Navin Market, after the poet Bal Krishna Sharma aka "Navin". Later poets included Gopal Das "Niraj" who also had a successful spell writing songs for "Bollywood" movies. Kanpur is also the birth place of Shyamlal Gupta `Parshad’, composer of the famous ditty Vijayee Vishwa Tiranga Pyara. The propagation and popularization of Hindi also owes much to this city, with great Hindu literatteurs like Acharya Mahavir Parasad Dwivedi, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Pratap Narain Mishra and Acharya Gaya Prasad Shukla `Sanehi’. The Agricultural University is named after the revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad and the Medical College after Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi; both men spent much time in Kanpur. While ChandraShekhar 'Azad' shot himself when surrounded by a huge posse of British soldiers at Alfred Park, Allahabad, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi was killed during the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1931 at Machli Bazar in Kanpur.
About 25 km from Kanpur is Bithoor. Legend has it that the wife of Lord Rama came to live at the ashram of the sage Valmiki, after Rama expelled her from Ayodhya. It was here that Sita gave birth to the twins Lav and Kush, and disappeared back into the earth (from where she was born, according to mythology) when confronted by a repentant Rama. Bithoor is also the site of the fort to which Nana Sahib escaped following the British retaking of Kanpur. Today, Bithoor is a tourist spot on the banks of the Ganges. Now Kanpur is stretching very fast with new residential complexes sprouting up everywhere. Tatya Tope Nagar is one of them. Named after the famous rebellion Tatya Tope, it is a place full of greenery. The Pandu river is close by.
The beautifully constructed, Shri Radhakrishna Temple (J.K. Temple) is a boon to the devotees. Built by J.K. Trust this architectural delight is a unique blend of ancient architecture with the modern. The even-level roofs of the mandaps have been provided with adequate ventilation for sufficient light and air. Of the five shrines, the central one is consecrated to Shri Radhakrishna and the others have idols of Shri Laxminarayan, Shri. Ardhanarishwar, Shri Narmadeshwar and Shri Hanuman.
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