Gujarat

Capital: Gandhinagar
Area: 196,024 square km.
Population: 50,596,992 (2004)

Best time to visit: The weather is best from November to February, but there are a lot of reasons to visit at other times of year—for instance, the navratri celebrations, usually in October, when the State explodes in a riot of music, dance, great cuisine and colour.

The west coast state of Gujarat is not one of India's busiest destinations. Although it is quite easy to slot Gujarat in between Bombay and the cities of Rajasthan few people pause to explore this interesting state. Yet Gujarat has a long and varied history and a great number of interesting places to visit. If you want to go right beyond history into the realm of legend then the Temple of Somnath was actually there to witness the creation of the universe! And along the south coast are the sites where many of the great events in Lord Krishna's life took place.

On more firm historic footing Lothal was the site of a Harappan or Indus Valley Civilisation city over 4000 years ago. The main sites from this very ancient culture are now in Pakistan but it is thought Lothal may have survived the great cities of the Sind by as much as 500 years. Gujarat also featured in the exploits of the great Buddhist Emperor Ashoka and one of his rock edicts can be seen near Junagadh.

Later Gujarat was to suffer Moslem incursions from Mahmud of Ghazni on through the Moghuls and was to be a battlefield between the Moghuls and the Mahrattas. It was an early contact point with the west and at Surat the first British commercial outpost was established. The Portuguese enclaves of Daman and Diu survived within the borders of Gujarat right up to 1961. More recently Gujarat had a close tie with the life of the father of modern

India, Mahatma Gandhi. It was in Gujarat that the Mahatma was born and spent his early years and it was to Ahmedabad, the great city of Gujarat, that he returned to wage his long struggle with the British for independence.

Gujarat has always been a centre for the Jains and some of its most interesting sights are Jain temple centres like those at Palitana and Girnar. The Jains are an influential and energetic group and as a result Gujarat is one of the wealthier states of India with a number of important industries, particularly textiles. Apart from the Jain temples other major attractions of Gujarat include the last Asian lions in the Gir Forest and the fascinating Indo-Saracenic architecture of Ahmedabad.

Geographically Gujarat can be divided into three areas. The mainland region includes the major cities of Ahmedabad, Surat and Baroda. The Gulf of Cambay divides the mainland strip from the flat, often barren, plain of the Kathiawar Peninsula, also known as Saurashtra. This was never incorporated into British India but survived the more than 200 princely states right up to independence. In 1956 they were all amalgamated into the state of Bombay but in 1956 this was in turn split, on iff linguistic grounds, into Maharashtra and Gujarat. Finally the Gulf of Kutch divides Saurashtra from Kutch which is virtually an island cut off from the rest of Gujarat, to the east, and Pakistan, to the north, by the low-lying 'Ranns' of Kutch.

GUJARATI FOOD

The strict Jain vegetarianism has contributed to Gujarat's distinct regional cuisine. Throughout the state you'll find the Gujarati variation of the thali — it's the traditional all-you-can-eat vegetarian meal with an even greater variety of dishes than usual. But with the drawback, if you're not sweet-toothed, that it can be overpoweringly sweet. Popular dishes include kadhi, a savoury curry of yoghurt and fried puffs, flavoured with spices and finely chopped vegetables. Undhyoo is a winter speciality of potatoes, sweet potatoes, broad beans and aubergines roasted in an earthenware pot which is buried 'undhyoo', upside down, under a fire. In Surat there's a local variation on this which is more spicy and curry hot. Sev Ganthia is a crunchy fried chickpea flour snack which you buy from farsan stalls.

In winter, in Surat, you can try paunk, a curious combination of roasted cereals, or jowar garlic chutney and sugar. Then there's khaman dhokla, a salty, steamed chickpea flour cake. Or doodhpak which is a sweetened, thickened milk-based dessert with nuts. Srik-hand is a dessert made from yoghurt spiced with saffron, cardomon, nuts and candied fruit. Gharis are another rich sweet made of milk, clarified butter and dried fruits — it's another speciality of Surat. In summer am rasis is a popular mango juice drink.

SHOPPING

With its busy modern textile works it's not surprising that Gujarat has a number of interesting buys in this line. At the top end of this field there are the extremely fine, and often extremely expensive, Patola silk saris still made by a handful of master craftsmen in Patan. From Surat comes the zari or gold thread embroidery work. Surat is also a centre for silk saris. At a more mundane, but still beautiful, level there are the block prints of Ahmedabad where you will also find hand painted cloths in the traditional black, red, maroon and ochre colours. Look for them at Madhupura Rani-no-Hajiro on Mirzapur Rd, near the Ahmedabad GPO. Jamnagar is famous for its tie-dye work which you'll find in the bazaar shops in Jamnagar and other centres in Saurashtra. Brightly coloured peasant embroideries and bead work are also found in Saurashtra, along with woollen shawls, blankets and rugs while brass covered wooden chests are manufactured in Bhavnagar. In Kutch embroidered stuffed toys are made. Finally in Ahmedabad there are antique shops with wooden carvings such as window frames, shutters or doorways from old houses. In Ahmedabad you'll find most Gujarati handicrafts displayed at Handloom House or Gurjari, both on Ashram Rd.

FESTIVALS AND FAIRS

Gujarat has a busy calendar of events. Some of the main ones include:

January — Makar Sankranti, An end of winter festival celebrated with kite flying contests.

January/February — Muharram Tazias, large replicas of the tombs of two Moslem martyrs are paraded in the evening, particularly in Surat, Junagadh and Ahmedabad.

September/October — Navaratri, Nine nights of music and dancing celebrate this festival of the mother Goddess Amba. The Dandiya Ras, which Lord Krishna danced with his milkmaids or gopis, is featured. Champaner celebrates this festival with particular fervour.

October — Dussehra The 10th day of Navaratri culminates in the celebration of Rama's victory over the evil Ravana in the Ramayana.

October/November — Sharad Purnima Song and dance celebrates the end of the monsoon on the full moon night of the month of Sharad.
Gujarat has many fairs in temple towns and also in small villages. They're a chance to see religious festivals and celebrations and also, in the villages, a shop window on to local handicrafts.

Ambaji, a village 177 km north of Ahmedabad, celebrates four major festivals in the year. At the Bhavnath Fair, at the foot of Mount Girnar in the month of Magha (January/February) you have a fine chance to hear local folk music and see folk dances. The tribal Adivasi people have a major festival at Dangs near Surat — it's known as the Dangs Durbar. Lord Krishna's birthday or Janmashtamia falls in August and his temple at Dwarka is the place to be. Along the coast at Porbandar the Madhavrai Fair is held in the month of Chaitra (March/April) and celebrates Lord Krishna's elopement with Rukmini. In the same month there is a major festival at the foot of Pavagadh Hill by Champaner, near Baroda. Mahakali is the Goddess it honours. Somnath has a large fair at the full moon of Kartika Purnima in November/ December. Lord Shiva, the three-eyed one or Trinetreshwar, has an important festival in his honour in Bhadrapada (August/September) in Ternetar village — a chance to see colourful local tribal costumes.