Current Time in Chānda, India

Chānda, known officially as Chandrapur, is a city in the eastern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra, in the region historically called Vidarbha. It lies at the meeting of the Irai and Zarpat rivers, surrounded by teak forest and low hills, roughly 150 kilometres south of Nagpur. The old town is still enclosed by a long fortified wall pierced by gateways, an unusual survival that gives the place an immediately historic feel.

The population is around four hundred thousand. Chandrapur is one of the most industrially significant cities of central India because of what lies beneath it. The surrounding coalfields are among the largest in the country, and the Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station is one of India's biggest coal-fired generating plants. Cement works, paper mills at nearby Ballarpur and a large state-owned steel presence add to a heavily industrial economy.

The city was the capital of the Gond kings, who ruled much of this forested region from the medieval period. Rulers of the Gond dynasty built the encircling wall in the sixteenth century and endowed temples and tanks, and their tombs still stand within the town. The Marathas took control in the eighteenth century, after which the area passed to the British and became a district headquarters. The name was changed from Chanda to Chandrapur in 1964, although the older form remains in common use.

The most visited monument is the Mahakali temple, a major pilgrimage site whose annual fair draws large crowds. The Anchaleshwar temple, the Gond royal tombs, the Bhadravati Jain caves and the massive gates of the city wall are the other principal sights. The greatest attraction of the district, however, lies outside the city: Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, the oldest and largest national park in Maharashtra, is one of the most reliable places in India to see wild tigers, along with leopards, sloth bears and enormous herds of deer.

Local culture blends Marathi traditions with the customs of the Gond and other Adivasi communities of the forest, visible in dance, drumming and village festivals. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with energy, and the markets sell forest produce such as tendu leaves, mahua flowers and bamboo goods. Chandrapur has a reputation as one of the hottest cities in India, with summer temperatures that regularly pass forty-five degrees, and life adjusts accordingly, with activity concentrated in the early morning and evening.

Transport is provided by the railway line between Nagpur and Hyderabad, on which Chandrapur is an important stop, and by national highways running through the district. The nearest airport is at Nagpur. Higher education is centred on Gondwana University, established in 2011 to serve this forested and tribal region, together with engineering, mining and medical colleges.

Chandrapur is worth attention because it combines three quite different identities in one place: a walled Gond capital, a powerhouse of Indian coal and electricity, and the gateway to one of the country's finest tiger reserves.