Surat – The Silk City – The Diamond City – The Green City
Surat is an important city of Gujarat state of India. It is situated at 21°10′N 72°50′E21.17°N 72.83°E and 13 meters are its average elevation. Surat City has few others name also like ‘The Silk City, ‘The Diamond City’ and ‘The Green City’. It is the commercial capital of Gujarat and administrative capital of Surat district. It is India’s eighth most populated city and as per populous urban agglomeration it comes at ninth place. The city is developing at fast pace from every aspect and economic prosperity is also growing at great speed. Surat is also known as one of the clean city of India and comes at third place among India’s cleanest cities. Its population is 4.6 million and it is Gujarat’s second largest city.
Surat city is located on left side of the river Tapti or Tapi. It is famous among the people for its diamond business and called as the diamond capital of the world because world’s 92% diamonds are cut and polished here. Textile business of the city is also well known and it is famous as the textile capital/Manchester textile city of India. Large numbers of embroidery machines are available in the city so it is also known as the Embroidery capital of India. Real Estate business is also emerging here.
In Mughal period, the city was used as the primary port of India but later on British rulers preferred Bombay over Surat for this purpose.
Looking at the history of Surat it is said that its name has been described in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata. In the past Western Chalukyas and Hindu kings have ruled over the city and later on one of the generals of Qutbuddin Aibak captured the city. In 12th century Parsis began to settle in the city and they made it more prosperous. Surat’s port was used as the gateway to Mecca for pilgrims of the Hajj from India in the early centuries when Maratha King was ruling over the region.
Locally it is believed that a Brahman named Gopi called the city as Suryapur (City of the Sun) in the last years of the fifteenth century. Portuguese Empire burned and ravaged the city for maintaining their influence over it between 1512 and 1530. By 1520 its name got changed from Suryapur to Surat.
Surat became a chief commercial city of India during the ruling period of Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Portuguese were expert in doing business in Surat and they were using its port. Later on British East India Company also established a British factory at Surat. It was a wealthy town in Mughal era but Maratha King Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji attacked there and looted both the Mughal and Portuguese trading centres in Surat. The city again went under the control of British East India Company.
Though many problems occurred in the city but economically it was being developed and many industries were setup. Cotton mills, factories, paper mills and rice-cleaning mills etc. were established and manufacturing and trading business were giving new shape to the city.
Royal descendants of the amejee family were also settled in Surat, Gujarat.
Climate of the Surat is tropical and city receives heavy monsoon rain. Sometimes monsoon rain brings floods in Tapti River and its surrounding areas.
Many huge industries such as Reliance Petrochemical plant, Gas Authority India Ltd., Ambuja Cement, L&T’s heavy engineering unit, Niko Resources Ltd and many other industries are established in Surajt.
It has an Airport for domestic flights. The city connects from other major cities of India via its rail lines and roads. Port of Surat is used for shipping freight.
The city is equipped with modern facilities such as roads, flyovers, malls, cinema halls; best water treatment plants, proper light and drainage system, hospitals etc. and they have been built tin a planned way. Municipal Corporation of Surat maintains the city.
Many top grade schools and colleges are available in the city to provide good education to the students. Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) and Sardar Vallabhbhai Regional Engineering College (SVREC) and many medical colleges are established in the city. Parsi Theatre Academy is also built in the city.
Famous cuisines of the city are Locho, Undhiyu, Rasaawala Khaman, and Surti Chinese. Ghotala, kheema and half fry dishes are made from egges and these are city’s specialities.
Navratri, Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi and other important Indian festivals are celebrated in the city. Makar Sankranti (The kite-flying) festival is popular there.
The city has facilities for many sports such as cricket, swimming, badminton, table tennis and boat race.
The city has many interesting places such as Chintamani Jain Temple, the ancient Dutch gardens, the Surat Fort, the Sardar Patel Museum, Gaurav Path, Shree Sarweshvar Mandir Dham – A temple, Jawaharlal Nehru Garden, Saputara a hill station – 170 km from Surat, Wilson Hills – 120 km from Surat, Vansda National Park and number of beaches near Surat for visitors. It has largest monuments of the Old English and Old Dutch cemeteries.
The city has played an important role in the history of India because it the first place where British landed and the Dutch and the Portuguese established their business.