Bhuj

For the dagger, see Bhuj (weapon).

Bhuj
—  city  —
The Prag Mahal
Bhuj
Coordinates: 23.27°N 69.67°E / 23.27; 69.67
Country	India
State	Gujarat
District	Kachchh
Founder	Rao Hamirji
Elevation	110 m (360 ft)
Population (2008)
• Total	289,429
Languages
• Official	Gujarati, Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	370001
Telephone code	2832
Vehicle registration	GJ-12
Sex ratio	0.92 ♂/♀
source:Census of India

Bhuj () (Sindhi: ڀڄ)is a city and a municipality in Kutch district in the state of Gujarat, India.

Information

Bhuj connects you to a range of civilizations and important events in South Asian history through prehistoric archaeological finds, remnants of the Indus Valley Civilization (Harappans), places associated with the Mahabharata and Alexander the Great's march into India and tombs, palaces and other buildings from the rule of the Naga chiefs, the Jadeja Rajputs, the Gujarat Sultans and the British Raj. Over the 4000-year inhabitation of Kutch it developed trading and migratory relationships with ancient civilizations as far abroad as Zanzibar, the Middle East and Greece, fostering a unique ethnic mix of peoples and traditions in the region.

In a walk around Bhuj, you can see the Hall of Mirrors at the Aina Mahal; climb the bell tower of the Prag Mahal next door; stroll through the produce market; have a famous Kutchi pau bhaji for lunch; examine the 2000-year-old Kshatrapa inscriptions in the Kutch Museum; admire the sculptures of Ramayana characters at the Ramakund stepwell; walk around Hamirsar Lake and watch children jumping into it from the lake walls as the hot afternoon sun subsides; and catch the sunset among the chhatardis of the Kutchi royal family in a peaceful field outside the center of town.

By road: For those traveling from Ahmedabad, the bus may be more convenient than the train, though slightly more expensive. Several private companies run sleeper buses (with a full horizontal bunk), leaving the city for Bhuj between 8pm and 11pm, arriving in Bhuj between 6am and 8am the next morning. These bus companies all have their offices around Paldi in Ahmedabad; Sahjanand Travels and Patel Travels are two recommended ones. There are also private sitting (non-sleeper) buses, and ST (State Transport) buses that make the trip for less money but considerably less comfortable seats.

By rail: Two daily express trains, the Bhuj Express and the Kutch Express, go from Bhuj to Ahmedabad (8hrs) and on to Mumbai (16hrs.) However, both trains pass through Ahmedabad in the middle of the night, as the schedules are designed to depart and arrive and reasonable hours from Bhuj and Mumbai, not Ahmedabad.

By air: One or more flights daily connect Bhuj to Mumbai.

Once in Bhuj, ST buses go to larger destinations around the district, private jeeps can also be rented (a good option for larger parties), and some smaller places can only be reached by chhakdas.\

Sai Baba Temple

Bridge at Hiralaxmi CraftPark

Top View Hiralaxmi CraftPark

History

It was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarji I in 1549. Its foundation stone as state capital laid formally on Vikram Samvat 1604 Maagha 5th (Approx. 25 January 1548). 1947 to 1956 Bhuj Capital of Kutch state after 1960 Kutch part of Gujarat state Currently it is the district headquarters of Kutch District,the largest district in India. Bhuj is home to one of the first Swaminarayan Sampraday temples, built in 1822.

In January 2001, the city was struck by a major earthquake which caused a great deal of damage and loss of life.

Geography

Bhuj has an average elevation of 110 metres (360 feet). On the eastern side of the town is a hill known as Bhujiyo Dungar, on which there is Bhujia Fort, that separates Bhuj city and Madhapar town. It has one big lake named Hamirsar and several small lakes.

The old city was surrounded by the fort, which had five major gates and one small gate known as "chathi bari" (sixth window). Much of the fort wall has either fallen down or been demolished, due to the city's development and the earthquake of 2001.

Transportation

Bhuj is connected to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and other major cities of India by railway trains. It has a domestic airport from where daily flights operate to Mumbai, with flights operated by Jet Airways. State Transport Buses are available from the ST stand in the middle of the town to various places in Gujarat. Additionally, many private tour operators also run frequent buses to major cities in and outside Gujarat. Kandla Airport is only 53 km from Bhuj city center.

Education

Alfred High School, the first High School of Kutch established in 1870 is also an architect heritage of town. Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kachchh University is located in Bhuj. University has 28 colleges affiliated, seven of them are in Bhuj. University gives degrees in Arts, Science, Commerce, Law Education, Management, Pharmacy, Social Welfare, Medicine and Engineering. Other schools include St. Xaviers High School(Eng. Med, Guj. Board), Matruchaya Kanya Vidhayalay( Guj. Med, Guj. Board), Sheth V.D. High School(Guj. Med, Guj. Board), Smruti School Mankuva( Guj.med, Eng. Med). There is also a Medical Collage, named Adani Medical College. The Learning Star International School (CBSE), an activity-based school, based on "a happy school" concept, is being established in the Citi Square Township (Lakhond-Bhuj) which started from the academic year 2012–13, which has Baichung Bhutia and many more passionate educationists as their advisory council members. Learning Star International School, Bhuj (Gujarat) has won the Limca Book of Record to be the First School in India to complete their admission process in the fastest time.^{[citation needed]}

Computer Education Institutes There few number of well known computer institutions 1. C-DAC Gist PACE C-DAC Gist PACE 2. Indian Institute of Hardware Technology – IIHT IIHT

Climate

Climate data for Bhuj
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	36 (97)	38 (100)	43 (109)	45 (113)	47 (117)	46 (115)	40 (104)	38 (100)	40 (104)	41 (106)	40 (104)	35 (95)	47 (117)
Average high °C (°F)	26 (79)	28 (82)	33 (91)	37 (99)	38 (100)	36 (97)	32 (90)	31 (88)	33 (91)	35 (95)	32 (90)	27 (81)	32.3 (90.3)
Average low °C (°F)	11 (52)	13 (55)	17 (63)	21 (70)	25 (77)	26 (79)	25 (77)	24 (75)	23 (73)	21 (70)	16 (61)	12 (54)	19.5 (67.2)
Record low °C (°F)	1 (34)	1 (34)	8 (46)	13 (55)	16 (61)	16 (61)	19 (66)	19 (66)	17 (63)	12 (54)	7 (45)	3 (37)	1 (34)
Precipitation mm (inches)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	30 (1.18)	160 (6.3)	70 (2.76)	40 (1.57)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	300 (11.81)
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.1 in)	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	4	3	0	0	0	18
% humidity	54	52	53	56	60	70	76	78	78	72	52	55	63
Source: Weatherbase

Culture

A pair of shoes

Bhuj is a famous destination for shopping of handicraft work. Artists of nearby villages bring their art work for sale in Bhuj. Important landmarks for people wishing to study and know more about Kutchi embroidery are Shrujan, Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), Kalaraksha and Women Artisans' Marketing Agency (WAMA, Bandhini).

Bhuj as Taluka

Following villages belong to this taluka: Meghpur, Madhapar, Kukma, Nagor, Dhaneti, Hajapar, Reha, Jambudi, Sukhpar, Fotdi, Mankuva, Bharasar, Baladia, Kodki and Khavda, Samtra, Desalpar, Surajpur, Naranpur, Kera, Rampur, Daisara, Mirjapur, Mankuva,mandvi

More History Available at www.mybhuj.com developed by Bharat Parmar

Demographics

The total population of Bhuj was 136,429 in the year 2008, which consisted of 71,056 males and 65,373 females. The total number of houses was 27,999.

Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves of Kutch

From the city of Bhuj various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch / Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve etc..

Religion

Swaminarayan temple at Bhuj

The dominant religions of Kutch are a form of Vaishnav Hinduism and Jainism. Sikh Gurudwara is also situated in kachchh at Lakhpat. This gurudwara was originally a house where the first guru Shri Guru Nanak stayed during his journey. The Swaminarayan Sampraday has a huge following in this region. Their main temple in this district is Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuj. Anjar city is the really famous also as Swaminarayan Mandir and Swaminarayanians, new Swaminarayan Mandir is under construction. Umiya ma temple located at Vandhay is the goddess of kadva patel's is historical places & recently developed Laxminarayan mandir sanskardham is also religious place for people to see.

Books About Bhuj

The Bhuj Story – After the Quake (2005) is a short book written by Rishi Mohan Sanwal. The Book relates to the experiences of the author and his friends after the earthquake of 26th Jan 2001 in Kutch, Gujarat. The Book has been published by Government of India. Rishi Mohan Sanwal was born in Kotdwara, Uttarakhand. After completing his engineering degree from Indian Institute of technology, Bombay and management studies from Indian Institute of management (llM), Ahmedabad, he is currently working as a management consultant.

Bhuj as a film location

J. P. Dutta's Hindi film Refugee and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam were shot on location in the Great Rann of Kutch and other locations in and around the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. This film was attributed to have been inspired by the famous story by Keki N. Daruwalla based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled "LOVE ACROSS THE SALT DESERT" which is also included as one of the short stories in the School Standard XII syllabus English text book of NCERT in India. The film crew having traveled from Mumbai was based at the city of Bhuj and majority of the film shooting took place in various locations around in the Kutch District of the Indian state of Gujarat including the Great Rann of Kutch (also on BSF controlled "snow white" Rann within), Villages and Border Security Force (BSF) Posts in Banni grasslands and the Rann, Tera fort village, Lakhpat fort village, Khera fort village, a village in southern Kutch, some ancient temples of Kutch and with parts and a song filmed on set in Mumbai's Kamalistan Studio.

Just after the film shooting of Refugee finished, the film crew of another Hindi film "Lagaan" descended on Bhuj in Kutch and shot the entire film in the region, employing local people and villagers from miles around. A set of a full period Village was constructed for the film with typical Kutch style mud houses or huts with thatched straw roofs called bhoongas.

See also

• Nagalpar
• Nagor
• Dhaneti
• Sinugra
• Pantiya
• Khedoi
• Lovariya
• Chandiya
• Chandroda
• Mindiyana
• Ratnal
• Hajapar
• Kukma
• Shinai
• Adipur
• Gandhidham
• Anjar
• Kandla
• Mandvi
• Mundra
• Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuj
• 2001 Gujarat earthquake

External links

• Kachchh University
• Kabir Mandir, Bhuj
• Bhuj Bole Chhe - Website maintained by the citizens of Bhuj about their city