Navsari

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This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Navsari district.
Navsari
નવસારી
city
File:Navsari.jpg
Country India
StateGujarat
DistrictNavsari
Elevation
9 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total163,000
Languages
 • OfficialGujarati, Hindi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
396445
Telephone code02637
Vehicle registrationGJ-21

Navsari is a city and municipality in the Surat Metropolitan Region and also the administrative headquarters Navsari District of Gujarat, India. Navsari is also the Twin City of Surat, and only 37 km south of Surat.

Geography

Navsari is located at 20°57′N 72°56′E / 20.95°N 72.93°E / 20.95; 72.93. It has an average elevation of 9m (29') above sea level. The city is located in southern Gujarat and is situated near the Purna River, within a few kilometres of the river's delta, which is west of the city and empties into the Gulf of Khambhat.

Weather in Navsari is sunny from September to May, rainy from June to August. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 40 °C (104 °F) and 18 °C (64 °F) respectively. The average annual rainfall is 122 cm (48 in).

The soil of the region is black. There are two lakes in the city: Dudhiya Talav (Talāv means Lake in Gujarati), and Sharbatiya Talav.

Demographics

The city's first settlers were the Chalukyas, followed by the Rashtrakutas, and subsequent settlements by the Parsis.

According to the 2001 census,[1] Navsari had a population of 134,009. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Navsari has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 72%. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Gujarati is the main language spoken in Navsari. Other languages spoken are Hindi and Marathi[citation needed].

Landmarks

One of the Seven Iranshah Atash Behrams is located near Tarota Bazar and many Parsi Zoroastrians from all over the world visit.[citation needed]

The Sayaji Vaibhav Public Library Navsari is an important public building in Navsari. The Meherji Rana library at Tarota Bazaar is home to some of the oldest texts of the Indian Zoroastrian community.[citation needed] The Clock Tower, Laxman Hall, Junathana, Court Building and Old Post Office Building serve as important landmarks. The city's main market is Mota Bazaar. There is also a statue of Dadabhai Naoroji in Tower area.

Dudhia Talao, another of the area's major commercial centers, was once a lake. There is a well-known ophthalmic hospital called Rotary Eye Hospital near Dudhia Talao, which was built in the early 1970s. The regionally popular Ashapuri Temple is situated near Dudhia Talao. At Dudhia Talao is built one of the finest auditoriums in south Gujarat, J.N. Tata Memorial Hall.

On the banks of river Purna is the famous temple of Ravariya Bapa. Another important place of worship is BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, located on the National Highway no. 8, which links Mumbai and Delhi. VIRWADI HANUMANJI MANDIR and TAPOVAN SANSKAR DHAM are highly visited worship places.Both temples are main worship places of Hinduism and Jainism.

At coastal line there lies a village, which is known as DANDI .The place where the salt Satyagraha took place against British rule. The Salt Satyagraha, which began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, was an important part of the Indian independence movement.On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhiji and 78 male satyagrahis set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, over 390 kilometres (240 mi) from their starting point at Sabarmati Ashram. According to The Statesman, the official government newspaper which usually played down the size of crowds at Gandhi's functions, 100,000 people crowded the road that separated Sabarmati from Ahmedabad.[38][39] The first day's march of 21 kilometres (13 mi) ended in the village of Aslali, where Gandhi spoke to a crowd of about 4,000. At Aslali, and the other villages that the march passed through, volunteers collected donations, registered new satyagrahis, and received resignations from village officials who chose to end cooperation with British rule.There a statue of Gandhiji and small museum in which photo gallery is there.

History

Navsari, one of the oldest cities of Gujarat, has an inspiring history of over 2000 years. According to the Greek historical writings, a celebrated Egyptian astronomer and geographer named Ptolemy mentioned about Navsari's port in his book written about 1850 years ago (150 A.D.). The geographic location he showed as Narispa, is in fact the Navsari of today.[2]

The origin of the name "Navsari" has a very fascinating history. In the past, the city of Navsari has been associated with many names such as Nag Vardhana, Nag Shahi, Nag Sarika, Nag Mandal, Nav Sarika and Nav Sareh. Some of the legends associated with the various names of Navsari are as follows:

Shayashray Shiladitya, who ruled over Navsari in the seventh century named this city NAG VARDHANA in honor of his Guru Nag Vardhana. During the same period, the name changed to NAV SARIKA as is evidenced by a recovered copper plate dated 669 A.D. The legend is that Shayashray Shiladttya presented a copper plate to a priest in his town. The copper plate read that Shiladitya, the ruler of "Nav Sarika," had bestowed a nearby village upon this priest of the Kashyapclan.

Another recovered copper plate dated 821 A.D. implies that the city's name later changed into NAG SARIKA. The copper plate indicates that a Rashtrakut king named Kark Suvarna Varsh gave "Nag Sarika" as a gift to his teacher named AparaJeet, pupil of Sumati kaharishi, who in turn was a pupil of the famous Digambar Jain teacher Acharya Mallavadi. There is a popular legend behind the name "Nag Sarika." Fables suggest that there was a big papal tree on the bank of a pond in the city. A huge Cobra lived in a hollow of this tree. On this same tree, Sarika _ a singing bird _ had her nest. As they resided in the same place, both became friends. Everyday Sarika entertained the Cobra by singing her melodious tunes. The legends have it that due to this remarkable friendship between the Nag (Cobra) and the Sarika (singing bird), the city's name became popular as NAG SARIKA.

Another legend of the Nag talks about the origins of a different name for the city: NAG SHAHI. Historically, a Nag (Black Cobra) temple was situated next to a talav (pond) in the city. People worshiped the Black Cobra for its power and Prowess. Although the pond (talav) does not exist any more, the historical Nag Temple still exists in the area known as "Nag Talavdi" today. Hence the city came to be known as NAG SHAHI, which means the power and prowess of the Black Cobra.

According to the Parsi tradition, in 1142 A.D., when they first came to Navsari, the city was named as NAG MANDAL. The Parsis found the city's atmosphere to that of "Sari" region of Iran. In the Persian language, "now" means new and "Sari" refers to the region in Iran. Hence, the name NAO SARI came into being.

The Fourteenth century marked the beginning of Muslim rule in Gujarat. Navsari came under the Muslim rule in the late sixteenth century when its name was changed to NAV SAREH. The anecdote is that according to the Muslim tradition, there were nine "Sarchs" of Muslims in the city and hence the name was derived as NAV (Nine) SAREH (Sarchs).

The above changes in names show that Navsari, like any other city, has passed through many vicissitudes in the matter of political reign. About fourteen hundred years ago, the kings of the Chalukya Dynasty governed the region of Navsari. Later on, the Parsis, who migrated from Iran, virtually ruled this small town. The reign of the Parsis ended as the Muslim rulers took over. For the last one hundred years, until India's independence in 1947, Navsari was the property of the Gaekwads of Baroda.

Navsari is also the birthplace of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of what would later become the Tata Group of companies; he is regarded as the "father of Indian industry"

Dadabhai Navroji, known as the "Grand Old Man of India," was originally from Navsari. He was an elected Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom between 1892 and 1895, and the first Asian to be a British MP.

Transportation

By Air: The nearest local airport is at Surat, 30 km north of Navsari, with the nearest international airports being Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Mumbai, 260 km to the south and to the north the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad. By Rail: Navsari also lies on the Mumbai-Delhi railway link, one of the busiest railway routes in India. By Road: Navsari is well connected by NH 228 also known as Sabarmati-Dandi Highway. NH 8 also passes through the city. Navsari is only 40 km south of Surat. Navsari has one of the best road connectivity.

Notable people

Education

Universities and colleges

  • Sorabji Burjorji Garda Arts College
  • B.P. Baria Science College
  • Navsari Agricultural University
  • P.K. Patel Commerce College
  • Navsari Law College
  • Mahatma Gandhi institute of technical education and research
  • Vallbhbudhi polytechnic navsari
  • Arts And Commerce College,Chovisi(Dist:Navsari)
  • Narnlala College of Profesional and Applied Science
  • S.S.Agrawal College of Arts, Commerce and Management, Navsari
  • S.S.Agrawal College of Nursing Training College and Research Centre, Navsari
  • S.S.Agrawal Institute of Management and Technology, Navsari
  • B.d.Gohil,Navsari.

Schools

Bai Navajbai Tata Zoroastrian Girls School (Estb By jamsetjee Nusserwanji Tata)

External links

* Navsari News - Navsaricity.com

References

  1. ^ Template:GR
  2. ^ Bombay Gazetteer. Record 13
  3. ^ "Homai gets Padma Vibhushan". The Times of India. Jan 25, 2011.

Surat Metropolitan Region

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