Ratlam

About:

Ratlam is one of the important Districts of Madhya Pradesh Which is situated in theImage North West part of the State "The MALWA" Region. The New Town of Ratlam was founded by Captain Borthwick in 1829 with regular and broadened streets and well built houses. Ratlam was once one of the first Commercial Towns in Central India being the centre of an extensive trade in opium, tobacco and salt. It was also famous in Malwa for its bargains called Sattas. Before the opening of the Railway Line to Kahndwa in 1872, there was no better mart than Ratlam.
Ratlam , known historically as Ratnapuri, is a city in the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town of Ratlam lies 1577 feet above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam District.

The District of Ratlam was created in June 1948 and was reorganised in January 1949. It covers the area of the former princely State of Ratlam, Jaora, Sailana, Piploda. Ringnod Tehsil of Dewas Senior, Alot Tehsil of Dewas Junior and parts of Mandsaur Tehsil of Gwalior State, a few villages of Dhar State and Chief Commissioners provinces of Pant Piploda.

The District is known after the Headquarters town, Ratlam which was also the headquarter of Princely State of Ratlam. Ratlam District was created after Indian independence in 1947, out of the territory of several princely states, including Ratlam, Jaora, Sailana, Piploda, and portions of Dewas Junior, Dewas Senior, and Gwalior, as well as the former province of Panth-Piploda. Ratlam District was part of the new state of Madhya Bharat. In 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state.

RATLAM, a city and District of Madhya Pradesh bounded Chittaurgarh District of Rajasthan to the east, Ujjain District to the west, Mandsaur District to the north, Dhar District to the south, Jhalawar District of Rajasthan state to the northwest and Jhabua District to the southeast. Since British Government to till date Ratlam city continues as a District administrative center. Ratlam is renowned in to manufacturing copper wires, chemical, textiles, pottery and perfumes, besides Ratlam is a big market for granules, oilseed and cotton. Milling industries, Jewelry design and quality pure gold are few other names stands Ratlam as one of the top most cities and Districts of Madhya Pradesh. The taste of Ratlam, Ratlami namkin (sev) is famous through out the India.

Location info:

Ratlam is located at 23.329804°N 75.043402°E. It has an average elevation of 488 metres (1601 feet)..

Climate/Weather:

Ratlam, like most of Madhya Pradesh, has a transitional climate between a tropical wet and dry and a humid sub-tropical climate. Three distinct seasons are observed, summer, monsoon and winter. Summers start in mid-March and can be extremely hot in April and May. Highs can reach 45 °C (113 °F), although the humidity is extremely low. The monsoon season starts in late June, with temperatures averaging around 26 °C (79 °F), with sustained, torrential rainfall and high humidity. The average rain fall is 36 inches. Winters start in mid-November and are dry, mild and sunny. Temperatures average about 4-15 °C (39-59 °F), but can fall close to freezing on some nights. In summer temperature can be sometimes as high as 48-50 °C (118-122 °F) and in winters it can be as low as 2 °C (36 °F).

Ratlam gets moderate rainfall of 35 to 38 inches (890 to 970 mm) during July-September due to the southwest monsoon.

History of Ratlam:

Ratlam was a princely state in British India, part of Malwa agency of Central India. For long period the Ratlam region was under rule of the Rathor's. The rulers were Suryavanshi Rathors to which Maharaja of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Kishangarh belonged.The first Ruler was the Maharaja Ratan Singh, he married 12 wives (amongst others), Maharani Sukhroopde Kanwar Shekhawat Ji Sahiba, daughter of Kunwar Purshottam Das of Jhajhar (Shekhawati) in Rajasthan. She committed sati in 1658. The state had an area of 902 sq. mi., which was closely interlaced with the territory of the princely state of Sailana, semaliya, kanwas, . In 1901, the state had a population of 83,773; the town of Ratlam had a population of 36,321. The state enjoyed an estimated revenue, Rs.34,000 and paid a tribute of Rs.2,850. The town was a junction on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway, and was an important trade centre, especially of opium.

Discovery of a few stone age tools, picked from three villages of Ratlam, proves the existence of the primitive man in the District. Among these, two microlithic sites were found in Jaora. In Ancient times Ratlam was included in Avanti region, known as Malwa from the 7th-8th century onwards.Looking to the strategic location of Ratlam due to its proximity to Gujarat and Rajasthan with itself in Madhya Pradesh, and being a prominent rail junction, this town is considered an important conduit for illegal opium grown in the neighbouring districts of Mandsaur and Neemuch. Incidentally, Ratlam is the Head Quarters of the Regional Narcotics Operations and an Important and Strategic Location for the Law Enforcement Agencies (Narcotics) for this reason.

Educational Institutions in Ratlam:

Ratlam is comparatively less self dependent in field of education, with a few English medium schools up to higher secondary level and, 3 government colleges, Ratlam still doesn't have any prominent name in field of technical education, although efforts have been made to open private technical institutes there.

Govt. Girls Degree College Ratlam.
Govt. Science & Arts College, Ratlam.
Govt. Vivekanand Commerce College.
Govt. Polytechnic College, Jaora.
Govt. Shahid Bhagat Singh College, Jaora.
Govt. College, Sailana.
I.T.I. Ratlam.

Langauge:

Malwi,hindi.

The Malvi language has alternative names like Malavi, Ujjaini, Mallow, Malwada, Malwi.

Culture:

With its headquarters situated in the Ratlam town, Ratlam is one of the important districts of Madhya Pradesh. The district is located in the north western part of the state and surrounded by six other districts. A total number of 9,71,888 people resides in the district which has an area of 4,861 square kilometers.

With industry and agriculture contributing almost equally, Ratlam has a balanced economy. Wheat, grams and soybeans are the most cultivated agricultural products. The uniqueness about Ratlam is that it is a place of interest for the tourists, the devotees and even the picnickers. Places like Bilpakeshwara Temple, Kedareshwar Temple and Cactus Garden are some of the important destinations.
Ratlam is one of the important Districts of Madhya Pradesh.Ratlam is well connected both by Rails and Roads. Ratlam junction is Divisional head quarters of Western Railways. It has both Broad Gauge and Meter Gauge Railway Lines.

Ratlam is known for its savory snacks that are made from chick-pea flour, cloves, and pepper. The Ratlami Sev is a speciality snack which is famous all over India, Daal Baati/Daal - Bafla, with laddu and clarified butter is traditional food of Malwa region which is also common in Ratlam.Ratlam provides a good market for gold and silver with many shops selling a range of quality jewelry.

Ratlam is a Western Railways Junction, with connectivity to almost all the major cities in India.

How to reach Ratlam?

Nearest Railway Station:Ratlam Junction

Ratlam Junction is a major junction and rail division on Indian Railways on meter and broad gauge lines. It comes under Western Railways zone of Indian Railways.

There are Four major Railway Tracks passes through Ratlam City, these are along Mumbai, Delhi, Ajmer and Khandwa, among which the railway track along Khandwa is a Meter Gauge track.

Nearest Airport:

The closest major airport is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMD / VAAH). This airport is in Ahmedabad, India and is 251 km from the center of Ratlam, India.

Another major airport is Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM / VABB), which is in Bombay, India and is 522 km from Ratlam, India.

Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL / VIDP) is in Delhi, India and is 620 km from Ratlam, India.

Dabolim Airport (GOI / VAGO) is in Goa, India and is 891 km from Ratlam, India.

Road Transport: Ratlam Bus Station.

Ratlam Bus Station is situated in the heart of Ratlam town, about 21 km north-west of Ujjain. Regular buses are operated to Jhabua, Dhar, Mandsaur, Indore and Ujjain. Inter-state services are operated to all major cities in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The station is connected to National Highway 79.

Tourist Attraction of Ratlam:

Ratlam has several beautiful temples such as KALKA MATA near Collectorate. Cactus Garden located at about 20 Km. at Sailana for its different varieties of Cactus. Nageshwar Temple at Alot. The Hussain Tekri at "Jaora" is also the well known place.

BILPAKESHWARA TEMPLE AT BILPANK:
The Bilpakeshwara temple is located at a distance of 18 kms, South-West direction from Ratlam. It is approached through a deviation fare-weather Road about 3 kms from Mhow-Neemach Highway. This temple is dedicated to Lord Siva and is built in Pachayatana variety. It was constructed in circa 10-11th Century A.D., over low Jagati consisting of plain mouldings. It is easterly oriented Nirandhara Mulaprasada and this Mulaprasada includes Sapta-Ratha-Garbhagriha. The temple is recta in plan and consists of a Garbhagriha, Antarala and a Mahamandapa, all in axis facing East. This temple is built in Gurjara-Chalukyan style of architecture, a contemporary style of the Paramara temple architecture. Such type of temples are noticed at Atree and Krishnavilas, Kota, Rajasthan.

SIVA TEMPLE, JHAR:
Jhar is located 12 kms, East of Bhatpachalana in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. It is connected with Kachhalana Road with Laptiya - Sandala. Jhar means a 'water spring'. The name Jhar probably has been assigned to this place due to a Jharana on the site. Jhar possesses the ruins of a Siva temple of Bhumija style which are assignable to the Paramara period i.e., 11th century A.D. The sculptures of this temple are lying scattered around it.

other temples:

1. Veerupaksh Mahadev Temple, Bilpauk.
2. Shipawra Temple, Alot.
3. Dharola Mahadev Temple, Alot.
4. Garkhankhai Temple.
5. Kedareshwar Temple, Shivgarh.
6. Amarji Temple, Ratlam.
7. Ayana Mahadev Temple, Jaora.
8. Kalikamata Temple, Ratlam.
9. Mahalaxmi Temple, Ratlam.
10. Barbad Hanuman Temple, Sailana Road, Ratlam.

Picnic spots and devotion:

1. Gadkhange Mata Temple 30 Km. on Bajna Road.
2. Kedareshwar Temple 20 Km. Near Sailana.
3. Dholawad DAM 15 Km. Near Dholawad village.
4. Sagod Jain Temple Ratlam.
5. Cactus Garden Sailana.
6. Hussain Tekri Jaora.
7. Andikalpeshwar Temple Alot.
8. Barbad Hanuman Temple Near RATLAM
9. KHARMORE BIRD CENTURY NEAR SAILANA
10. Ganga Sagar Near Ratlam

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation in Ratlam:

Hotel Ajanta Palace, Hotel Omni Palace,Golden Tower Hotel,Hotel Descent.