Jabalpur is a major city in Madhya Pradesh. Jabalpur an ancient city in central India on the shores of the holy river Narmada and on the tributary plains the Hiran, Gour, Ken and Sone rivers. The Narmada River valley is famous for its Marble Rocks, a unique formation where the whole river flows for nearly 2 kilometers between varied coloured and tinted marble rocks with a deep water fall. Its cardinal point are 23 degree 10’N latitude and 79 degree 57' E longitude with altitude of 393 meters mean sea level. Pleasure resort and capital of the Gond Kings during the 12th century, Jabalpur was later the seat of the Kalchuri dynasty. The Marathas held sway over Jabalpur until 1817, when the British wrested it from them and left their impression on the spacious cantonment with its colonial residences and barracks. Today Jabalpur is an important administrative, industrial and business center of MP and India. Population wise ranks 27th in the country. Jabalpur is an industrial city with a large component of defense industry and a lot of smaller cottage industry. It is a great education center as well, with two universities, Rani Durgavati University and Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, and with about 30 colleges with a range of faculties. Vinoba Bhave, the modern saint philosopher of India, christened this city as Sanskar Dhani- the capital of various cultural influences. He was impressed by its cosmopolitan character and communal harmony. The city has a sizeable population of people from Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and South India who live in total harmony and peace and add richness to the life in the city. One can also see the fusion of cultures in this city. The best time to visit is September to March. Summers should be avoided. Rains are beautiful too (July to September).