Hoshangabad

Hoshangabad (Hindi: ), officially Narmadapuram, is a city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Hoshangabad district and Narmadapuram division. It is located in central India, on the south bank of the Narmada River. Hoshangabad is 76.7 km from the capital of Madhya Pradesh and the nearest airport Bhopal.

History
The city was earlier called Narmadapur after the Narmada river. Later the name was changed to Hoshangabad after Hoshang Shah Gori, the first ruler of Malwa Sultanate. Hoshangabad district was part of the Nerbudda (Narmada) Division of the Central Provinces and Berar, which became the state of Madhya Bharat (later Madhya Pradesh) after India's independence in 1947.

The city is famous for its beautiful ghats along the banks of the Narmada river, Sethani ghat is a major attraction. There are colourful celebrations in the city on Narmada Jayanti. During celebrations this year the CM announced the efforts to rename the town. A Satsang Bhavan on the ghat has regular visits by Hindu saints who hold regular religious discourses on Ramcharitmanas and Gita.

The city was renamed to Narmadapuram in March 2021.

Geography
Hoshangabad is located at 22.75°N, 77.72°W. It has an average elevation of 278 m.

Topography
Northern boundary of the district is river Narmada. Across this the district of Raisen and Sehore lies. The district of Betul lies in the south, whereas the Harda district faces with the western and south-western boundaries and Narsinghpur and Chhindwara districts, close to the north-eastern and south-eastern sides of the district respectively.

Climate
The climate of Hoshangabad district is typically that of Central India. Being close to the Tropic of Cancer, there is a hot, dry summer with maximum temperature of 40 - 42 degrees Celsius (April - June). This is followed by the monsoons with copious rainfall. The winters are dry and mild (November to February). An average height from the sea level is 331 m and average rainfall is 134 cm.

Demographics
As of the 2011 Census of India, Hoshangabad has a population of 117,988; including 61,716 males and 56,272 females. It has an average literacy rate of 87.01%, higher than the national average: male literacy is 91.79%, and female literacy is 81.79%.

Landmarks
Sethani ghat is an important landmark of the city, on the banks of River Narmada. It is about 7 km downstream from the confluence of Tawa and Narmada rivers.

Nearby attractions

 * Sethani ghat&mdash;This is an old ghat built on the bank of river Narmada. Many temples are near it.
 * Ancient Petroglyphs on Adamgarh hills consist of petroglyphs (rock paintings); it is a site of national importance; it is two kilometres away from the main city.
 * Bandrabhan&mdash;a holy fair takes place every year at Bandrabhan, as it is a meeting point of the main rivers Narmada and Tawa.
 * Salkanpur&mdash;Goddess Durga temple approximate 35 km from Hoshangabad. It can be reached via Budni or from the Bhopal-Nasurullaganj route. It is approximately 70 km from Bhopal. This sacred siddhpeeth of Vindhyavasni Beejasan devi (one of the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga) is on an 800 ft high hillrock, in the village Salkanpur near Rehti village. The deity, Maa Durga Bijasan is held in high esteem by her followers & local. Thousands of people visit this place everyday climbing more than 1000 steps. Every year a grand fair is held in salkanpur during Navratris. It is very old Temple but at present temple renovate by Salkanpur Trust.
 * Hoshang Shah Fort&mdash;This is an old fort built by the Malwa ruler Hoshang Shah. It is adjacent to river Narmada.
 * Tawa Resort&mdash;Tawa Reservoir is a large reservoir on the Tawa River in central India. It is located in Hoshangabad District of Madhya Pradesh state. The reservoir was formed by the construction of the Tawa Dam, which began in 1958 and was completed in 1978. The dam provides for irrigation to several thousand hectares of farming land in Hoshangabad and Harda districts. It is also a big tourist attraction during the monsoon months. A Cruise boat service has been started by the tourism department for visitors to the dam and reservoir.
 * Kali Mandir Gwaltoli&mdash;In Hoshangabad here a Yadav's residents which is called Gwaltoli and there a beautiful temple of Maa kali which is very famous because of its history and Hindu region.
 * Ek Mukhi Dattatreya Mandir; Built by Pujaniya Rukmini Bai Jade and Shree Sita Ram Tembe siblings of Shri Vasudevananda Saraswati Swami Maharaj, also known as Tembe Swamy who was incarnation of Shri Guru Dev Datta. The campus also is samadhi place of pujaniya Rukmani Bai Jade. They established Ekmukhi Dattatreya idol on vasant panchami Tithi in 1926 with celebration. At this place Shri Loknath Tirth Swami Maharaj gave Sakhtipat dikhsha to Yogiraj Param Pujniya Gulavnikar Maharaj. This is a shrine Hindu temple having positive Vibes managed by Narmadapuram Maharashtrian Samaj.

Pachmarhi and Satpura Tiger Reserve
Pachmarhi, the only hill station of Madhya Pradesh, and a pilgrimage site for Siva bhaktas from the surrounding countryside, is now the base for enjoying the natural riches of the Satpura Tiger Reserve as well. The tiger reserve encompasses the oldest forest reserve of India, the Bori Wildlife Sanctuary, and the breathtaking scenery of the Pachmarhi with the Satpura National Park. It was at Pachmarhi where Captain James Forsyth constructed the famous Bison Lodge and founded the Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh. His travelogue, 'The Central Indian Highlands', on his march from Jabalpur to Pachmarhi in 1861–62, transports one into the long lost times of tribal culture and rich wilderness. Pachmarhi is 64 km from Hoshangabad.

Other attractions

 * Sethani Ghat
 * Shree Ram Sharnam
 * Khedapati Hanuman Mandir
 * Ramji Baba Samadhi
 * Pahadiya (Ancient rock carvings by Pandavas)
 * Ancient Shani Mandir
 * Hoshang Shah Fort
 * Bandrabhan (Sangam of River Narmada and River Tawa)

Transport
The city is well connected by road and rail from the state capital, Bhopal, about 75 km away. Hoshangabad railway station is connected by rail with all major cities of the state. One of its tehsils, Itarsi is linked with all major cities of the country due to Itarsi Junction and being on central route of Indian Railways i.e. Delhi-Bombay route. It is 18 km from the district headquarters. Pachmarhi, the only hill station in the state of Madhya Pradesh and an administrative block of Hoshangabad district, can be reached by train from Itarsi until Pipariya and thereafter by bus, cab or personal vehicle or directly by bus or cab from Hoshangabad or even from cities like Bhopal and Indore. Hoshangabad district's biggest railway station is Itarsi which is connected to all major cities of India by train.

The nearest airport is Raja Bhoj Airport, Bhopal.

Education
There are 960 primary schools, 207 Middle schools, 69 senior secondary schools and nine schools operated by Tribal Department. Many educational institutions including the Narmada MahaVidhyalaya (NMV) were established by prominent visionary late Pt. R L Sharma. There are 11 colleges and one is a polytechnic. All the colleges are affiliated to Barkatullah University, Bhopal. There is an office of Saksharta Programme which is running many literacy programs in the district.

Notable people

 * Raj Chandra Bose - mathematician
 * Makhanlal Chaturvedi - poet, writer, essayist and playwright
 * Manav Kaul - actor
 * Isha Malviya - actor
 * Praveen Morchhale - filmmaker
 * Harishankar Parsai - satirist and humourist of modern Hindi literature
 * Nitesh Tiwari - film director