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Ratlam, रतलाम
—  city  —
Ratlam, रतलाम Location of Ratlam, रतलाम in Madhya Pradesh and India
Coordinates	23°19′N 75°04′E / 23.32°N 75.07°E / 23.32; 75.07Coordinates: 23°19′N 75°04′E / 23.32°N 75.07°E / 23.32; 75.07
Former name	Ratnapuri
Country	India
Region	Malwa
State	Madhya Pradesh
District(s)	Ratlam
Population • Metro	273,892 (2011[update]) • 264,810
Official languages	Malwi Hindi English
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Climate • Precipitation Temperature • Summer • Winter	Humid subtropical climate (Köppen) •      937 mm (36.9 in) •      25 °C (77 °F) •      30.5 °C (86.9 °F) •      19.3 °C (66.7 °F)
Codes • Pincode • 457001 • Telephone • +07412 • Vehicle • MP-43
Website	www.ratlam.nic.in/

Ratlam  pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: रतलाम), known historically as Ratnapuri, is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The city of Ratlam lies 1,575 feet (480 meters) above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam district, which was created in 1947 after the independence of India.^[1]

History[link]

Early history[link]

Ratlam was given to Ratan Singh Rathore as a gift by Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan loved watching elephant fights and therefore held an event, choosing his favorite war elephants and inviting all the clans of Rajputana (present-day Rajasthan) to watch. From the Rathore clan, Ratan Singh was chosen. At the beginning of the festival, one of the elephants went berserk and headed towards Shah Jahan. No one in the crowd was brave enough to move to protect him. Everyone feared for their own lives and fled except Ratan Singh, who swiftly mounted the elephant. With his sword, Singh stabbed the elephant in its head and killed it. Shah Jahan saw this and was so impressed by his bravery that he gave him the entire state of Ratlam, proclaiming him as the king.

Commercial history[link]

Founded by Captain Borthwick in 1829, Ratlam was one of the first commercial cities established in Central India. The city quickly became known for trading in opium, tobacco, and salt, as well as for its bargains called "Sattas". Before the opening of the Rajputana State Railway to Khandwa in 1872, there was no better place to trade than in Ratlam.^[1]

Princely history[link]

Ratlam was a princely state in British India, part of Malwa agency of Central India. For a long period of time, the Ratlam region was under rule of the Rathore clan. The rulers were Suryavansha Rathores to which Maharaja of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Kishangarh belonged. The first Ruler was the Maharaja Ratan Singh, he married 12 wives (amongst others), including 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 territories of the princely states of Sailana, Semaliya, and Kanwas. In 1901, Ratlam State had a population of 83,773, with the city population of 36,321. The state had an estimated revenue of INR34,000 and paid a INR2,850 tribute.

Geography[link]

Ratlam is located at coordinates: 23°19′0″N 75°04′0″E / 23.316667°N 75.066667°E / 23.316667; 75.066667 (23.316667, 75.066667).

The city has an area of 15.13 square miles (39.19 km²).

Climate[link]

Ratlam, like most of Madhya Pradesh, has a transitional climate between a tropical savanna (Köppen climate classification Aw) and a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) zone. Three distinct seasons are observed: summer, monsoon and winter. Summers start in mid-March and can be extremely hot from April through June. Highs can reach 112 °F (44 °C), although the humidity is extremely low. The monsoon season starts in late June, with temperatures averaging around 100 °F (38 °C), with sustained, torrential rainfall and high humidity. The average rain fall is 37 inches (937 mm). Winters start in mid-November and are dry, mild and sunny. Temperatures average about 39–46 °F (4–8 °C), but can fall close to freezing on some nights.^[2]

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

Demographics[link]

According to the 2011 Census, the city of Ratlam has a population of 264,810, of which 135,007 are male and 129,803 are female. The population density was 107 people per square mile (277/km²).^[3]

Transportation[link]

Railways[link]

Ratlam Junction is a major junction and rail division on Indian Railways on meter and broad gauge lines. It comes under the Western Railways zone of Indian Railways. There are four major railways passing through Ratlam City, leading to Mumbai, Delhi, Ajmer and Khandwa. Ratlam is a clean train station where specific trains are cleaned. Ratlam station is believed to be one of the busiest railway stations in India.^[4]

In the movie The Burning Train, Ratlam's was the first railway station where the authorities realize that the train will not stop. In a scene of the Hindi film Jab We Met, the protagonists get stranded, in what is presumed to be Ratlam, after missing a train. However, the filming was not done in the actual city. The sets were recreated elsewhere, including the railway station.In fact Ratlam is believed to be a very religious city with many temples of great significance.

Railways is like in every heart of residents of Ratlam. Railways is a major employer in Ratlam. There was a time when most people in ratlam worked in railways.

Roads[link]

Ratlam is connected to Indore and Neemuch via National Highway no. 79. Recently it has been connected to Ujjain via Badnawar. Newly constructed four lane highway to Lebad has reduced the time to reach Indore.

Business[link]

Ratlam's Chandni Chowk is very famous for its gold, silver shops and metal Shops . D.P. JEWELLERS AND KATARIA JEWELLERS is the best metal merchant in whole Madya Pradesh People from all over the state come to the city to shop there. Ratlam has several chemical factories, namely JVL, Hightech, IPCA, Shaba Chemicals, Bordiya Chemicals, and Sujjan Chemicals. all of which manufacture copper wire and plastic rope, among other products.Ratlam is also famous for its purity and design in manufacturing gold and ornaments. Ratlami Namkin (sev) is famous throughout the country. It is also very famous for its Mava, also known as Khoa (ricotta), a by-product of milk. Ratlam is also famous for itz sari throughout the state. ^[1]

Education[link]

Ratlam is mostly self dependent up to school level education having numerous English medium and Hindi medium schools. However, for higher education, people of Ratlam prefer Ujjain, Indore and Bhopal. The city has three government colleges, one homeopathic college, two engineering colleges and is planning to build a medical college.^[1]

Picnic spots[link]

Ratlam is surrounded with lots of picnic spots in all directions. At one end is the JVL temple and at the other end is Paryavaran Park. At the center of the city is Kalika Mata Mandir, which is surrounded by waterfalls such as Jhaamar-Patli, Kedareshwar, Isarthuni and many more.

People from Ratlam[link]

In the field of education:

• gurmeet singh dang
• Himanshu Joshi
• Pt. Bhanwar Lal Bhati
• Dr. Nisha Jain
• Dr. Jai Kumar Jalaj
• Dr. Rekha Shastri
• Sister Regi K.
• Dr. D.N. Pachori
• Dr. Swaroop Chand Jain
• Dr. Abhay Pathak

References[link]

External links[link]

• www.gurmeetweb.com
• www.eratlam.com
• Ratlam official site
• Government Post Graduate College
• Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Academy
• St. Joseph's Convent School, Ratlam
• Morning Star School Ratlam
• Online Ratlam Information in Hindi /www.ratlaminfo.com
• [1]

Kumar Vishwas
Occupation	Professor, Poet, Associate Professor
Nationality	Indian
Citizenship	Indian
Education	M.A., PhD., DLit
Genres	Romantic Poetry
Notable award(s)	Hindi-Punjabi Award Committee, Uttar Pradesh “Sahitya Shree-2006” Geet Shree 2010
www.kumarvishwas.com

Kumar Vishwas' (डॉ. कुमार विश्वास ) (also spelt as Vishvas or Vishwas) (born 10 February 1970) is a renowned Hindi Poet and a professor of Hindi Literature from Pilkhuwa[1], Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Early life and education[link]

Kumar Vishwas was born on 10 February 1970, in Pilkhuwa, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh in a Gaur Brahmin family. He is the youngest among four brothers and a sister. He started his schooling from Lala Ganga Sahay School, Pilkhuwa where he spent a part of his childhood. His father Dr. Chandra Pal Sharma was Lecturer in R.S.S. Degree College, Pilkhuwa affiliated to Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut and his mother Smt. Rama Sharma is a home maker. After completing his intermediate from Rajputana Regiment Inter College, Pilkhuwa, his father wanted him to be an Engineer, but he had a passion for Poetry right from the childhood. He took no interest in engineering and decided to make career in the field of Poetry. He did Post Graduation in Hindi Literature.

Career[link]

Vishvas started his career as a professor in the year 1994 from Rajasthan. He has been teaching Hindi Literature to higher class students of Lala Lajpat Rai College for the last sixteen years.^[1]

Works and achievements[link]

Vishvas is a Poet of Hindi language. He is a poet of Shringara-Ras (Romantic Genre).^[2] He has participated in several Kavi sammelan and is a very renowned poet.

His fan communities on social networking websites like Orkut,^[3] and Facebook^[4] have largest number of fans as compared to other Hindi poets.^{[citation needed]} Also, his videos on YouTube have in excess of 40 million views.^[5] His website^[6] is a frequently visited website among youths.^{[citation needed]}

Dr Kumar Vishvas has written the 'Kul-Geet' or the University Anthem of Chaudhary Charan Singh University.^[7]

Besides being a known face among Hindi-knowing people across the world as a Poet, Dr Kumar Vishvas has been involving himself in several Social works. He is an active and renowned member of the Civil Society. He has been an integral part of Veteran Social Leader Anna Hazare's 'India against corruption' mission along with Mr Arvind Kejriwal and Mr Manish Sisodia for which he was arrested on 16 August 2011.^[8]

Performances[link]

Vishvas has been performing regularly in Kavi sammelan all over India and abroad. The list includes Thapar University, BIT SINDRI, Sindri , INDIAN SCHOOL OF MINES, Dhanbad, Jamia Hamdard University, IIIT Hyderabad, RKGIT Ghaziabad, NIFT Gandhinagar, IIT Guwahati, NIT ROURKELA, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee,^[9] IIT Kharagpur,^[10] IIT Bubaneshwar,^[11] Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi,^[12] DA-IICT Gandhinagar, B.J. Medical College Ahmadabad , Sri Ram Murti Smarak College of Engineering and Technology Bareilly, Teerthanker Mahaveer Medical College Moradabad, MNIT Jaipur, Management Development Institute Gurgaon, Fore School of Management New Delhi, NIT Surat, B.S.Anangpuria Institute of Technology and Management Faridabad,^[13] KIIT University Bhubaneswar,^[14] NSIT Delhi, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra IIITM Gwalior, CDGI INDORE,^[15] Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi,^[16] MNNIT Allahabad,^[17] NIT Patna,^[18][19] IIM Lucknow,^[20] NIT Jalandhar,^[21] NIT Trichy,^[22] NIT Durgapur, BITS, Pilani,^[23] LNCT Bhopal,^[24] MERI Kolkata, [(Maharaja Sayaji Rao University ,Baroda|http://www.msubaroda.ac.in/)] B.I.T. Sindri,^[25] IET Lucknow, SSGPURC hoshiarpur, JIIT, Noida^[26], KNIT Sultanpur and MITS, Gwalior^[27], Institute of Technology- BHU and Babasaheb Naik College Of Engineering Pusad.(Maharashtra)and several other institutions across India.

He has also been a part of corporate celebration across India.^{[citation needed]}

Besides performing in almost all parts of India, Dr Kumar Vishvas has also performed in countries like USA,^[28] Dubai,^[29] Singapore^[30], Japan ^[31] Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Nepal etc.

Awards[link]

• Kavya – Kumar in 1994 by Dr. Kunwar Baichain Kavya samman avam puruskaar samiti^[32]
• Dr. Suman Alankarna in 2004 by Sahitya Bharti, Unnao.^[32]
• Sahitya Shree - 2006 by Hindi-Punjabi Award Academy.^[33]
• Dr Urmilesh "Geet Shree" Samman, 2010 by Dr Urmilesh Jan Chetna Samiti, Badaun.^[34]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website

Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu (Hindi: संत श्री आशारामजी बापू, Gujarati: સંત શ્રી આશારામજી બાપુ, born as Asumal Sirumalani on April 17, 1941), also endearingly called "Bapu Ji", is a self-realized Hindu Spiritual Guru from India. He is also regarded as the Greatest ever saint of India, having uncountable number of devotees which also includes very reputed personalities. Bapu preaches the existence of One Supreme Conscious in every human being and represents a confluence of Bhakti_yoga, Gnana_yoga and Karma_yoga. Under his guidance, an Ashram was started in 1971 at Ahmedabad on the historically significant place where sage Sandipani (Guru of Lord Krishna) used to do Yagya. As of now, the number of Ashrams have surpassed 350. A documentary video "Voice of Consciousness" showed life-sketch of Sant Sri Asharamji Bapu. His teachings have changed the lives of millions and millions of people.

Biography[link]

Youth[link]

Asumal Sirumalani [Asaram Bapu], born to father Thaumal Sirumalani and mother Menhgiba. Place of birth being Berani village of the Nawabshah District in Sindh (Un-Partitioned Indibaa) on April 17, 1941 (Gregorian calendar).^[1] His father was a wealthy businessman.^[2]

Bapu went to school in Maninagar. His mother helped develop his interest in dhyaan-bhajan (meditation and prayers) from his early childhood.

At a very young age Asumal lost his father, but grew more and more interested in pursuing meditation and spirituality. He finally left his family (who wanted him to get married) and traveled the country, until he went to Vrindavan, the land of Lord Krishna. Here he was inspired to go to the ashram of the Guru, Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj. He had to wait for 40 days in the Ashram to get a glimpse of the Guru. There he stayed and served his Guru with devotion. Lilashah Ji for testing the determination of Asumal, made him go through several hardships and tests for another 30 days before Asumal was blessed. Then Swami Sri Lilashah Ji Maharaj asked him to go back to home and continue his spiritual practices at home.

While coming back to his home, he left the train and went to Moti Koral (A place in Gujarat). He started Spiritual practice at the bank or river Narmada. A local saint Shri Lalji Maharaj was impressed by Asumal's interest to attain Self Realization. Lalji Maharaj made arrangements for Asumal to stay in Datt Kutir of Ram Niwas (Lalji Maharaj's Ashram).

When Asumal's wife and mother came to know that he was staying at Moti Koral they visited him. They asked him to come back. Asumal refused to return until he completed the Anushthan. He successfully completed the Anushthan. The whole village including Lalji Maharaj came to the railway station to see them off to Ahmadabad. As soon as the train started moving from Miyagaun junction, Asumal jumped out and boarded a train towards Mumbai where He met Guru Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj.

Self Realization[link]

Asumal reached Bombay (Mumbai) and met Guru Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj. Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj was very happy to see his disciple's keen interest to attain the truth. Hence, on 2nd Day of Ashvin month in Samvat 2021 at2.30 in the afternoon Asumal was transformed into Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu by the blessings of Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj (Asumal se ho gaye sai Asaram). After this Asaramji Bapu went into samadhi for next two and a half days.

Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj instructed Asharamji to serve the humanity by staying as a householder. After Self-Realization Asaram Bapu stayed in solitude for seven years.^[1] Asharamji Bapu used to give religious discourse to all those who came to meet & see Bapu. Bapu spent His solitude in various places like Disa, Naareshwar Dhaam, the Himalayas, Mount Abu.

Life as a Householder[link]

Asharam Bapu met Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj in Nanital in Vikram Samvat 1928, & by the commands of Guru, in order to provide a good example to common householders, Bapu entered the life of a householder. It was the day of Guru Punam in Vikram Samvat 2028 when Asharam Bapu reached Ahmedabad after staying in solitude for seven years.[2]

Asharam Bapu chose a peaceful place in the Motera village on the banks of Sabarmati river. Later on some of the devotees constructed a small room for him which is known as "Moksha Kutir". Slowly, the number of devotees coming to Motera kept on increasing and in a very short time the place became a great spiritual center. Today Motera is the main spiritual centre for the devotees coming to Sant Sri Asharamji Ashram.

Parliament of the World's Religions, 1993[link]

In 1893 Swami Vivekananda represented India and top religious people from all over the world listened to him with great reverence, in 1993 yet again after 100 years, India represented by Saint Sri Asaram ji Bapu representing WRP and people listened to him with same reverence.

Foundations[link]

There are 366 ashrams working under the guidance of Asharam Ji Bapu.^[3] These ashrams organise spiritual and social welfare activities on a regular basis. Some of these activities include weekly video satsangs, distribution of Rishi Prasad www.rishiprasad.org Rishi Darshan www.rishidarshan.org, Lok Kalyan Setu, other spiritual publications like Divya Prerna Prakash, free distribution of Netra Bindu (eye drops) and a device to remove Vaastu related issues. LIVE webcast of Spiritual Discourse is facilitated for more than 5 crore followers (sadhaks) living worldwide through the Ashram website.^[4]

Sri Yog Vedant Seva Samiti[link]

More than 1300 Sri Yog Vedant Seva Samitis are formed under the guidance of Pujya Bapuji. These Samitis do various social welfare programs like development of tribals, and people belonging to backward classes, Service activities in orphanages,distribution of food-grains through ration cards, distribution of buttermilk and water outlet service, de-addiction Campaigns, centres for Spiritual Literature, Video Satsang Centres, Free-Food and Financial Support for extremely poor people and upliftment programmes for prisoners in Jails etc. are few among them but not limited to this list.

Bal-Sanskar Kendras[link]

Bal Sanskar Kendra or BSK ^[5] for short are sessions and camps conducted for all-round and comprehensive development of children/students. BSKs are inspired by spiritual teachings of Asharam Bapu and coordinated by Bal Sanskar Kendra Dept., Shri Akhil Bhartiya Yoga Vedanta Seva Samiti, Sant Shri Asarmaji Ashram, Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India.

Yuva Seva Sangh[link]

Aims at strengthening the Youths of India (YSS )Yuva Seva Sangh - Inspire by Param Pujya Asharam Ji Bapu .Yuva Seva Project - Vyasan Mukti Abhiyan, Parents Worship day, Prisoners upliftment program, Seeding moral values in Youths, Environmental care Jeevan Vikas Abhiyan, Tejasvi Yuva Abhiyan.

Controversies since 2009[link]

Other News in Media and Sting Operation[link]

In December 2009, the Gujarat Police filed an attempt to murder case against Bapu Ji and two others.^[6]

After initial police investigation, it turned out that the person who made the allegations had already been caught on a video tape by a TV Channel A2Z News in a Sting Operation, in which his gang of people got busted and accepted in front of camera about their conspiracy of targeting Sant Shri Asharam Ji Bapu and their Ashrams, with false allegations by support of some media houses. Asharam Bapuji or any of his disciples had nothing to gain by attempting to harm this individual when he had already been caught on tape conspiring to malign the Sant. .^[7] On 3 April 2010, the channel broadcast details of investigations and reports by government instituted special investigation commission, under leadership of Justice D K Trivedi.^[8]

Other controversies involving Asharam Bapu include tax evasion^[9] and land encroachment.^[10]

Asharam Bapu rebutted all such allegations,^[11] as Ashram is having all legal and documentation proofs of legally purchasing land and all required tax paid on time, with legal representations..

CID gives Ashram Clean Chit (April, 2010)[link]

Two children were found drowned in the river Sabaramti in 2008. But On April 8, 2010 after months of investigation and searching through records and witnesses, CID gave Clean Chit to Asaram Ashram and asserted that there were no black magic or any other activities that may have anything to do with the death of the children. Most popular press amusingly stayed tongue tied about why it made earlier allegations of such practices at the Ashram. ^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Rishi Prasad, Monthly Publication
• Balsanskar, Website for kids
• HariOmGroup, Followers Website
• Ashram News
• Satsang Radio Portal
• Vedic Vivaah
• Official Twitter Account
• About Asaram Bapu
• Yuva Seva Sangh