Culture & Heritage

The ethnic city, Mainpuri, was ruled by the Mughals, Marathas, Afghans and Nawabs in various time periods. Among them the Mughal and Nawabs influenced the culture of the city vastly. The music, dance, architecture, arts and crafts flourished under their rule. Hindu, Muslims, Jains, Buddhist, Christian and Sikhs were the principle communities residing in the city. Festivals are the lifeline for Mainpuri, which create oneness among the multi-caste and multi-religion people. The Hindu culture of joint family system was once adored in the city which has slowly disintegrated in the city due to the rapid industrial development, urban development, economic issues and social feature.

The rituals of the Vedic religion manifest themselves in the various festivals that are celebrated in this city. People usually do not consume non-vegetarian food on Thursdays. It’s annual Janardhan Swami Temple, and Sivagiri Mutt festivals are a riot of colors and spiritual expression. These festivals that last for days on end attract locals and tourists alike by the thousands. The city has a lively appeal on Tuesdays, as it celebrates the birth day of Lord Hanuman. The devotees flock to the local temples to offer prayers and tourists should visit the temples on these days if they want to see the city come alive. The famous city fair is held at Sheetla Devi Temple in March or April because the nine days of worshiping the various avatars of Goddess Durga i.e. the Chaitra Navratri occurs sometime during these months. During these nine days, many of the locals also keep fasts where they eat only fruits during this period. And men do not even shave their beards or mustaches.

Languages in Mainpuri: Multi-language speaking people reside in Mainpuri. About two dozen languages existed in Mainpuri by 1971. At present about 97 % of people speak Hindi, 2% of people speak Urdu and the remaining 1% speaks the other languages like Bengali, Sindhi, Punjabi, English and many others. Hindi dialect forms Braj Bhasha, Bhadauri; Bundeli forms are also spoken by the people in the city.

Arts in Mainpuri: The arts and craft products like wooden sculptures, glass wares, classic zari worked silk sarees, pottery, carpets, chikan embroidery are some are the famous shopping products which portrays the rich tradition and culture of Mainpuri that are available in Mainpuri markets. Most of the Mainpuri arts and craft forms depict the Mughal designs. Hindustani, ghazal and qauwwali music are the traditional music enjoyed by Mainpuris. Folk song rasiya which sings the divine love of Lord Krishna and Radha is also popular in Mainpuri. Classical dance form Kathak and folk dance Charukala symbolises the rich cultural heritage of the city and its state. The play Ramlila which describes the life of Lord Rama is staged during festive seasons in Mainpuri.

Fairs in Mainpuri Cultural fairs, religious fairs and trade fair are much popular in Mainpuri as it invite people of all disciplines to rejoice the occasion. Being the district headquarters these fairs attract large number of visitors and tourist from and the district. Fairs are also common during the festival seasons like Dusshera and Ramlila in Mainpuri. Devji fair in village Uddetpur under Mainpuri Tehsil falls on Chaitra attracts nearly 20,000 persons every Chaitra. Village Bidhuna hosts the biggest bathing fair in Mainpuri to celebrate Kaitiki purnima which brings a lot of devotees to its vicinity. Mainpuri hosts the Kans ka mela on Chaitra and the popular Narain ka mela which is attracts nearly 10,000 people. The 20-day exhibition-cum-trade fair organised at Sheetla Mata Mandir on April in Udetpur Abhai village is also popular in Mainpuri. Fairs in Gurudwara on the occasion of Baisakhi are also attended by people of all religions and castes.