Singrauli is truly emerging as one of the most multi-cultural societies in Madhya Pradesh. Owing to its large industrial presence it is home to people belonging to different other regions of the country. It is a region steeped in culture and still emerging from the shadows of the yesteryear. The unique feature of this city is that while development has brought in many comforts and modern lifestyle choices, the people here still haven’t lost touch with their cultural roots. Singrauliis an important city in the state of Madhya Pradesh from an economic point of view. It is the single largest contributor to the energy requirement of the country and this development is of recent origin. For majority of the known history of Singrauli, it was a region nestled in the midst of forests- a land lost in time. It is for this very reason that the inflow of modern cosmopolitan culture hasn’t entrenched itself into the cultural ethos of Singrauli.
Languages of Singrauli
The most prominent and widely spoken language in the region is the national language ie Hindi. Apart from this, the traditional inhabitants of the region also speak other languages like Bagheli and Bhojpuri. Singrauli lies in the Baghelkhand region and the traditional inhabitants speak Bagheli, a language with a lexical similarity of 72-91% with Hindi. Bhojpuri , also spoken by some inhabitants has lexical similarity to Awadhi and Hindi and is traditionally written in Kaithi script. Owing to industrial development, English has taken a prominent role in the region because of its universality and also to maintain uniformity in district administration among the various regions.
Religions in Singrauli
Singrauli belonged to the erstwhile princely state of Rewa, a Hindu state, owning to which Hinduism is the most prominent religion. Today, it is seen that people of various religions and ethnicities live in this bustling industrial city. The other important religions of the region are Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism etc. The most prominent religious places is the Jwalamukhi temple, Hanuman Temple, Semara Baba etc.
Festivals of Singrauli
While the prominent festivals like Diwali, Dusshera, Holi, etc. are celebrated with aplomb across the country and also in Singrauli, there are some festivals very famous in this industrial region of Madhya Pradesh.
Being an industrial town, Vishwakarma Pooja is celebrated with much fanfare in Singrauli. Vishwakarma, an Indian God is known as the divine architect with mastery over laws of mechanics and architecture. This festival is primarily celebrated in the industries to honour the divine engineer and invoke his blessings for smooth functioning of the factories.
This festival is unique to this region and is a celebration of the most divine and pure of all rivers, the Ganga. It is believed that taking a dip in the holy Ganges on this festival, will help remove all the sins of the birth. The young girls make dolls made of fabric and also make boats which are then floated in the river.
Prabodhi Ekadashi This is a festival which is celebrated mainly in this region. On this festival, Tulsi Vivah is conducted and considered very auspicious. Devotees undertake fast the entire day and eat Prasad made of sweet potato and sugarcane only. Prabodhi Ekadashi also signifies the start of the wedding season according to the regional calendar.
Folk Music and Dance forms in Singrauli
Being a region, which was inhabited mostly by various tribes, the folk music and folk dances find a prominent place in the culture of Singrauli. Semi-historical songs devoted to Hardaul and other deities dominate the folk music of the region. During the rainy season, Pai songs are sung in accompaniment with the Saira dance form. Other dance forms like Charkula, Jawara, Matki dance, Phulpati dance etc are also the prevalent dance forms. The most prominent musician in Indian history, Tansen was born here and started his early musical career from here before moving to Akbar’s court.
Costume in Singrauli
As in any other part of the country, saree is the traditional dress form for women while the Dhoti and Kurta-Pajama is the dress form for men. Being a traditional society, it is oft seen that women folk drape the palla of the saree over their heads as a mark of respect and tradition. This region is known for its intricate handwork embroidery and it is reflected in the day-to-day attire of the region. Owing to influx of modern influence, there can been seen a noticeable change in the dress patterns of the city with women folk adopting Salwars and western wear for ease and convenience of use. The multicultural influence of migrant workers into the region has also had a marked influence in the dress forms of the region.