I think it was the third time I flew to India, I was about to step on the plane when the woman checking boarding passes (who worked for Air India) asked if Nagpur was in India. I think she had to check that everyone on the flight had a valid Indian visa if India was their final destination. Nagpur is rarely in the news and I guess it is kind of small. Many people I know have never heard of the place. Seeing as I write about my life in Nagpur, I think it’s about time I dedicated a post to the orange city, so you can become better acquainted.
Nagpur is the geographical center of India, it’s smack bang in the middle, and famous for it’s sweet oranges and extreme summers. The biggest disadvantage of living in Nagpur (in my mind) is the debilitating heat from April to June. Whenever I mention Nagpur to anyone who does know the place, this is what they usually bring up… the sweltering temperatures!
I have heard Nagpur be described as a city sized village on several occasions. I guess there must be a bit of truth to it, McDonald’s hasn’t descended yet, it’s pretty quiet and everyone seems to know each other. The majority of women wear a saree everyday, most people prefer to buy food from the market over the supermarket and foreigners are a rare sight. I assume Nagpur hasn’t changed very much in the last couple of years, which I find charming (and, sometimes frustrating).
There are not many obvious tourist attractions here, but the city is very green, has several lakes and hundreds of beautiful temples to discover. If I wake up early and take a walk, I see ladies drawing rangoli on freshly washed doorsteps, cows being milked and children holding hands as they walk to school. There is a strong feeling of community, the entire city comes out to celebrate festivals together, it feels like everyone gets involved.
Due to the central location of the city, there are people settled here from across India, so there are many cultures, many festivals and many tongues. Most people speak Marathi, even if their roots are in another state. It wasn’t long until I started to recognise the different districts. The British built government building of Civil lines, the artisan workshops of Chitaroli, the bustling market of Birdi and the jungles of Seminary Hills.
If you step out of the city, you are greeted by rural Maharashtra; bullocks pulling ploughs, orange groves and jungles where tigers dwell. Nagpur is also known as the tiger capital of India, there are a couple of beautiful nature reserves close by, where we were lucky enough to see a tiger along with many other beautiful creatures.
This is my home, a small city with a lot of sunshine.
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I like to read your views about the culture, the city and places. like you research a lot about them.
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Thank you, Sandeep 😀
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I’ve been to Nagpur twice, but didn’t have a chance to explore much. I took my daughter to the zoo and t to he lake though. Also, I’ve seen an old British church which was beautiful despite the tasteless layer paint all over it. I also wanted to visit the Nagpur Central Museum – it’s supposed to be one of the oldest museums in India with a nice collection of archeological exhibits. Unfortunately, it was closed. Would be glad to visit your sunny Nagpur again one day 🙂
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They really do need to strip off that paint, I agree!
I hope you guys are well and get to come and visit again soon (whilst the weather is good :P) xx
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Obviously Oranges. Its also the comes in the region where Princess Rukhmini, wife of Krishna was born. Also, it holds a unique Diamond Cross over of Railway Tracks which is the only one in India.
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Wow, I didn’t know that! Thanks 😀
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During Raj, it was point zero of the country and horses were run all the directions by British to measure the lenght and breadth of the country.
Yes, heat is extreme, due to its geographical location sun rays are clean and have brilliance which is missing in north.
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Ohhhh so that is why the zero mile stone has horses!! Thank you so much for that! 😀
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I studied in Nagpur for three years. It is a industrial and trade center. However it is definitely not in league with the southern cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad or the northern city of Gurgaon in terms of cutting edge technology. Also because of the nature of industries found there, you will see a lot of traditional families and old generations still settled there. Sometimes, when people stay amongst the same community with limited exposure they tend to get very narrow minded. I had experienced some of it in Nagpur during my students years. However if you want to enjoy a more hi-tech lifestyle with India comforts , then Bangalore and Hyderabad are really the city of choice. You will find some really urban ,educated and well travelled crowd in these cities, and also have access to some really high end lifestyle brands. Shops like Godrej Nature’s basket are quite common in these cities, where you get a variety of cheese and wine. If you ever get a chance, I would say consider moving atleast for a short stint to these cities.
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Hi Ranjana!
Maybe one day we will shift for a while, who knows what the future holds :D!
xx
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Living in smaller cities has its own hidden advantages, especially when it comes to upbringing of kids. Kids shape up well and their IQ level, patience and self-confidence is much higher than metropolitan bred who are emotionally not very strong. Could be my perception…
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Hi Lauren! I’m a longtime reader but first time commenting. I love your description of Nagpur, I find that it’s often in the less obvious and out of the way places where you get a real sense of a country, not in the huge cities. I’ve never been to Nagpur but I went to Lucknow when I went to India for a wedding a couple of years ago and it sounds quite similar – not many huge tourist attractions, but still charming in it’s own special way.
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Thank you so much for commenting, Sahelrose 😀
I totally agree! I hope you are well and thank you for reading!! xx
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Gorgeous pictures! I would love to visit Nagpur (maybe not in the summer! Bombay is bad enough for the heat!) What apart from Oranges is the local delicacy/most famous dish?
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You definitely must come!
There is a dish called saoji which is Nagpur’s signature dish. Apparently it is really really spicy, too spicy for me! 😀 xx
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Lovely! Thanks for sharing this! I want to hear the rest of the story about the flight attendant, though. Was she from India?? What did you say to her?
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Ha, well the rest of the story is that I said “Nagpur IS in India” and then she was suspicious of my visa (as I got it in India and so it was a different format to the ones from the UK). The Air India lady at check-in was also suspicious of my visa. Both of the women were white and both called over their colleagues to check my visa!
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Great post, Lauren! Love all the pictures. I have never been to Nagpur, but maybe some time when we are in India we could take a side trip and meet you. You never know! There are so many places I want to see in India, and yet I love Kerala so much I also want to spend all my precious “vacation” time there with family. Have you traveled much outside Nagpur?
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That would be great!
We have travel quite a bit around Maharashtra but not left the state… I think my husband has some form of attachment! Hopefully soon xx
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Nice post Lauren! I have definitely heard of Nagpur since it’s not terribly far from Ahmednagar, the town/city that I’ve visited many times. But I didn’t know much about it. I don’t believe there’s a McDonalds in Ahmednagar either, yet. haha.
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Yet! Corporations taking over the world 😦 xx
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I love reading all you write about India!
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Thank you so much, Ellen ❤
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@Lauren
In small towns people have time to savour the little joys of life. Pace of life is slow. In big cities, everyone is running. People drop in at each other’s house often without prior intimation in the evening followed by rounds of tea and pakaoras. Everyone knows everybody else and they help them out. The downside is that people get a little too nosey but that comes with the small town I guess. The greatest relief is the distance which is short. In Delhi it takes anywhere between one and half hours to reach everywhere depending on the traffic.
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Yess, pros and cons, we just have to see which of them is our priority 😀
Hope you are well 🙂
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I’m a student born and raised in Nagpur City (Nagpurian by heart). Yeah many people from metropolitan cities think that Nagpur is a small town but of course it has Zero Mile Stone, India’s exact center, famous for oranges and all those things which you have discovered till today. But it’s truth that there’s not much in and around the Nagpur to have a weekend or spend some time off. Do visit Tadoba and Pench Tiger Reserves (but tigers are usually spotted there in SUMMER😂). yeah I hate this Summer😂. But I’m really astonished to see a British mother living like an Indian in Nagpur. That’s really creditable. Hats off to you Bhabhi and Abhiram Dada!!!
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By the way I’m reading these awesome blogs from a long time but commenting on the post for first time (No Its not that I commented bcoz I’m from Nagpur 😁). Keep it up!
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Thank you, Omkar 😀
Yeah, there does need to be more activities… let’s hope something happens but Nagpur still keeps it’s vibe 😀
I hope you are well 😀
Take care
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Looks lovely! I’ve visited family a few times in Surat (Gujarat) and the site of the vegetable cart brings back fond memories of missing the cart and having to chase him down the street to the next block so we could cook the vegetables for dinner that night 🙂
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Haha, yes, this happens 😛
I hope you are well and can visit Surat again soon 😀 x
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Hi, Lauren! I’m from Brazil and will be soon calling Nagpur home too as my fiancé was born and lives in this beautiful city. I’ve been visiting Nagpur last year – in June… Am I crazy or not? :O – and I’ve really liked its village kind of charm. I live in São Paulo so for me it was very interesting to see how life goes in a smaller city. I hope I can meet you in Nagpur then! God bless you and your beautiful family 🙂
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Wow, that’s great!
I can’t believe you came in June!
Let me know when you are here 😀 xx
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I just finished living in Nagpur for roughly 10 weeks from January to March. I loved living there and I’m currently looking for a way to move there for a 1 year contract to test out relocating permanently to India. I wonder if Lauren or anyone else can provide advice on the following questions. If you’ve already written an article about it, please let me know and I can consult that too 🙂
1) I’m vegan and couldn’t find any vegan butter, yogurt, or ice cream. I know these are treats and not essential items, but I am curious if anyone knows of a shop that sells these dairy replacements in or near Nagpur.
2) How do you prevent malaria?? My doxycycline antimalarial drug has a maximum of 4 months that I’m allowed to take it… what will I do if I move to India for longer than that? I’ve met hundreds of people in my time in India and I never saw someone sick with malaria nor did anyone say that they had had it. I do realize that I was here during the dry season though. I asked several of my close friends and coworkers and they said that it’s not a huge stressor, they just use plug-in mosquito repellants, fans and sometimes electric mosquito killers during the rainy season.
3) Do you travel by yourself around town? I have heard that Nagpur is one of the safer cities for women, but I’m curious to hear more firsthand advice about this. I was able to go around with coworkers and friends at all times during my stay this time, but obviously if I more here I need to be able to go around by myself. Any advice for a foreign young woman out and about? I already wear local clothing, but should I wrap my head every time like a lot of the local girls do?
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