Orai

Orai was named after Saint Uddalak because he worshiped there and has historical value because of its location, which is between Jhansi, Mahoba and Kalpi.

Aalah of the Banaphar Rajput clan was the famous general of the great Chandel king Parmal, who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE. Alha is one of the heroes of the Alha-Khand poem, popularly recited in the Bundelkhand region of India, a work that is also known as Parmal Raso.

The town of Kalpi on the Yamuna was conquered by the armies of Muhammad of Ghor in 1196. Early in the 14th century the Bundelas occupied the greater part of Jalaun, and even succeeded in holding the fortified post of Kalpi. During 1553–56, the Hindu Prime Minister and Chief of Army of Suri empire, who later became Emperor of north India at Delhi with coronation on 7th Oc.1556 won this area. He established Hindu Raj in north India and acquired title of Vikramaditya. After Hem Chandra Vikramaditya's death at 22nd battle of Panipat, this important possession was soon recovered by Akbar's army, and passed under the way of the Mughal Empire. Akbar's governors at Kalpi maintained a nominal authority over the surrounding district, and the Bundela chiefs were in a state of chronic revolt, which culminated in the war of independence under Maharaja Chhatrasal. On the outbreak of his rebellion in 1671 he occupied a large province to the south of the Yamuna. Setting out from this base, and assisted by the Marathas, he conquered the whole of Bundelkhand. On his death in 1732 he bequeathed one-third of his dominions to his Maratha allies, who before long succeeded in annexing the whole of Bundelkhand. Under Maratha rulethe country was a prey to constant anarchy and strife. In 1806 Kalpi was made over to the British, and in 1840, on the death of Nana Gobind Ras, his possessions lapsed to them also. Various interchanges of territory took place, and in 1856 the boundaries of the British district were substantially settled, with an area of 1477 square miles.

Radhakrishna mandir

Orai, Jalaun was the scene of much violence during the Revolt of 1857. When the news of the rising at Kanpur reached Kalpi, the men of the 53rd Native Infantry deserted their officers, and in June the Jhansi rebels reached the district, and began their murder of Europeans. It was not until September 1858 that the rebels were finally defeated. In the later 19th century, the district suffered much from the invasive kans grass (Saccharumspontaneum), owing to the spread of which many villages were abandoned and their land thrown out of cultivation. The population of the district was 399,726 in 1901, and the two largest towns are Konch and Kalpi (pop. 10,139 in 1901). The district was traversed by the line of the Indian Midland railway from Jhansi to Kanpur. A small part of it is watered by the Bethwa Canal. Grain, oil-seeds, cotton and ghee were exported.

Orai participated in the freedom struggle under the leadership of Bundelkhand Kesri Dewan Shatrughan Singh and Rani Rajendra Kumari. These were the founders of the freedom movement in Bundelkhand. Their ancestral fort in Mangrauth is on one side of the river Betwa and on the other side of the betwa is Jalaun where Orai is.

Orai has a composite climate, with temperatures high in summer and low in winter. Relative humidity remains about 40-50%. The climate of Orai district is characterized by a hot summer and general dryness, except for rainfall during the southwest monsoon season. The year has four seasons. The cold season lasts from December to February; January's minimum temperature is 7.1 C. The hot season is from March until the first week of June. May is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 42.1 C. The southwest monsoon runs from the middle of June until the end of September. October and middle of November constitute the post-monsoon or retreating monsoon season. The normal annual rainfall of Orai is 793.8 mm. About 90.4% of annual rainfall is received during monsoon season; only 9.6% of annual rainfall takes place between October to May. The humidity is lowest in April and varies between 26% and 83% throughout the year.

The literacy rate was 82.35 percent as per Orai City Census 2011 data

Orai City Overview Orai city is governed by Municipal Corporation which comes under Orai Metropolitan Region. The Orai city is located in Uttar Pradesh state of India. The Total Area Of Orai Is 20.86 km².

Orai Population 2016 The population of Orai in 2016 is 217,389; of which male and female are 111,987 and 105,402 respectively.

Orai Sex Ratio 2011 The sex ratio of Orai city is 880 per 1000 males. Child sex ratio of girls is 845 per 1000 boys.

Orai Child Population 2016 Total children (0-6) in Orai city is 31,011 on 2016. There were 17,859 boys and 13,152 girls. Children form 7.01% of the total population of Orai City.[4]

It is a recreational place with a paved walkway around a small water pond. Locals visit the park for their morning walk. It is located near Thadeshwari Maharaj Mandir (Sri Hanuman Mandir) and every year on "Budhwa Mangal", a large crowd from surrounding villages gathers for festivals of prayer for Lord Hanumana.

"Shri Radha Krishna Mandir" is a sacred temple located in Galla Mandi.

This Galla Mandi is big Galla Mandi in this District- Jalaun. There is around more than 1000 small and big buyer's shops for buying farmer's grains.

• Government Medical College, Jalaun is a government medical college located in Orai.

• Orai travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Indira Gandhi Stadium
• Jalaun District website