Vadodara
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Vadodara
Gujarat • India |
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| District(s) | Vadodara District |
| Coordinates | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area | 148.22 km² (57 mi²) |
| Population • Density |
2,521,000 (2005) • 11,682/km² |
| Mayor | Mr.Sunil Solanki |
| Codes • Postal • Telephone • Vehicle |
• 390 0xx • +0265 • GJ-06 |
Vadodara (Gujarati: વડોદરા, Marathi: बडोदा), pronunciation , also known as Baroda, is the third most-populated town in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat. It is one of four towns in the state with a population of over 1 million, the other being Rajkot and the two cities listed above. It is located on the Vishwamitri river, southeast of Ahmedabad and is known as the Cultural Capital of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of Vadodara District.
Vadodara is home to almost 1.73 million people (as of 2005), the beautiful Lakshmi Vilas Palace and the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (M.S.U.) which is famous for various departments, including the fine arts, performing arts, technology, management and medicine streams. It has a high literacy rate by Indian standards of 78% (2001). Major industries include petrochemicals, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and plastics.
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[edit] Origin of Name
The earliest mention of Vadodara is in a grant or charter of 812 that identifies it as Vadapadraka, a village attached to the nearby town of Ankottaka. In the 10th century Vadapadraka replaced Ankottaka as the main town. The city was once called Chandravati, after its ruler Raja Chandan, then Viravati, the abode of the brave, and then Vadpatra because of the abundance of banyan trees on the banks of the Vishwamitri. From Vadpatra it derived its present name "Vadodara"
[edit] History
Vadodara's more recent history began when the Maratha leader Pilaji Gaekwad (or Gaekwar) conquered Sonagad from the Mughal Empire in 1726. Initially detailed to collect revenue on behalf of the Peshwa in Gujarat, he remained there to carve out a kingdom for himself. Damajirao, son and successor of Pilajirao defeated the Mughal armies and conquered Baroda in 1734. He assumed the titles of an independent ruler. His successors consolidated their power over large tracts of Gujarat, becoming easily the most powerful rulers in the region. After the Maratha defeat by the Afghans at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, control of the empire by the Peshwas weakened as it became a loose confederacy, and the Gaekwad Maharajas ruled the kingdom until Indian independence. In 1802, the British intervened to defend a Maharaja that had recently inherited the throne from rival claimants, and Vadodara concluded a treaty with the British that recognized the Kingdom as a 'princely state' and allowed the Maharajas of Baroda internal political sovereignty in return for recognizing British 'paramountcy', a form of suzereignty where the subject of foreign affairs was completely surrendered.
Maharaja Sayajirao III, who ruled from 1875 to 1939, did much to modernize Baroda, establishing compulsory primary education, a library system, a university, and model textile and tile factories, which helped to create Baroda's modern textile industry. Modern Vadodara is a great and fitting memorial to Maharaja Sayajirao. It was the dream of this able administrator to make Baroda an educational, industrial and commercial centre and he ensured that his dream would come true. For this reason, the city is also referred to as Sayaji Nagari (the town of Sayaji).
With India's independence in 1947, the last ruling Maharaja of Baroda acceded to India. Baroda was merged into to Bombay State shortly after independence, which was divided into the states of Gujarat and Maharastra in 1960, with Baroda part of Gujarat.
In recent times, Vadodara was affected by the devastating January 26, 2001 earthquake that struck Gujarat. The city was spared the devastation suffered by some of the other major cities in Gujarat. However there were some casualties as poorly constructed buildings collapsed in the wake of the earthquake and the after shocks.
[edit] Culture
Vadodara is also known as ‘Sanskari Nagari’, means a ‘Cultured City’. Vadodara is one of India’s most cosmopolitan cities. Thanks to the vision and broadmindedness of the Gaekwads, the subsequent industrialisation, the proliferation of academic activities and a strategically important geographical location, Baroda has welcomed a wide variety of people from all over India and also from all over the world. In all of this, the sprawling and cosmopolitan MS University campus and the large number of local, national and foreign industries act as a catalysing and unifying force.
The great museums on the palace grounds such as the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum and art gallery are unique and carry artifacts from around the nation and the world. There are Gujarati film studios in the city as well as a large number of large old-style movie theatres in addition to the newer multiplexes that have sprung up in the past few years.
Diwali, Uttarayan, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, Christmas and New Year are celebrated with great fervour. Classical music and dance have their patrons, and so does the modern stage and pop culture. The culture and the traditions are both alive and being forever experimented with.
Navratri is the city's largest festival, with song, dance and lights, occurring every October. Many of the residents spend their evenings at their local Garba grounds where local musicians play traditional music while people dance the raas and garba dances. This is also a time when the youth are more visible outdoors and until later than other times of the year. The people of Vadodara have preserved the original and the traditional part of the Navratri. Garba in Vadodara attracts a fairly large number of international tourists. Marathi is also a commonly spoken language of the city.
[edit] Economy
Vadodara enjoys a special place in the state of Gujarat. Till the early 1960’s Vadodara was considered to be a cultural and educational centre. The first modern factory (Alembic Pharmaceuticals) was established in Vadodara in 1907 and subsequently companies such as Sarabhai Chemicals, and Jyoti came up in the 1940s. By 1962 there were 288 factories employing 27510 workers. At that time, the dominant industrial groups were chemicals and pharmaceuticals, cotton textiles and machine tools. The establishment of Bank of Baroda by Sayajirao III in 1908 also help industrial growth.
In 1962, Vadodara witnessed a sudden spurt in industrial activity with the establishment of Gujarat Refinery, Indian Oil Corporation. Several factors like raw material availability, product demand, skillful mobilisation of human, financial and material resources by the government and private entrepreneurs have contributed to Baroda becoming one of India’s foremost industrial centres.
The discovery of oil and gas in Ankleshwar led to the industrial development of Gujarat in a big way. The Vadodara region is the largest beneficiary in the process of this industrialisation. Gujarat Refinery went into the first phase of production in 1965. The refinery being a basic industry made vital contributions on several fronts at the regional and national levels.
In Vadodara various large-scale industries such as Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited have come up in the vicinity of Gujarat Refinery and all of them are dependent on it for their fuel and feedstock. Other large-scale public sector units are Heavy Water Project, Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited, ONGC & GAIL. In addition to these public sector enterprises, a number of other large-scale enterprises have come up in the private sector. The products of these industries have wide applications in various sectors of the Indian economy.
The establishment of large industrial units in a region automatically brings into existence a number of smaller enterprises. Vadodara is no exception and the city and the surrounding areas are today humming with industrial activity. The industrialisation of Vadodara has attracted entrepreneurs not only from Vadodara but also from all over Gujarat and India.
[edit] Education
The patronage of education started with Maharaja Sayajirao and the city has built further on the academic infrastructure established by him.
The present educational foundation rests on over 20 public schools and over 100 private schools. Towering benevolently over all is the MS University, the jewel in the Baroda crown, so to speak. MSU is the only university in Gujarat with English as the only medium of instruction. It has 13 faculties and 17 residential hostels, 4 of them for women students. The university caters to over 1,00,000 students. There are various courses that are being offered in here ranging from Medical college to Commerce Departments. The university has been divided into several departments and there are number of courses offered in each of the department. The fine Arts faculty is famous worldwide for its contribution in arts. The faculty of performing arts is also a very reputed institution teaching music, drama, dancing etc.
Baroda has many public and private schools, imparting quality education.
The recent decision of CII to develop Vadodara as 'Knowledge CITY' has been well received by the Barodians all over the world...
[edit] Transport
The city is on the major rail and road arteries joining Mumbai with Delhi and Mumbai with Ahmedabad. Due to this Vadodara is known as a ‘Gateway to the Golden Corridor’. National Highway No. 8 passes through the city. Vadodara is also connected with Ahmedabad through National Expressway No. 1, a stretch of 97 km Super Highway with only 2 exits. The Vadodara Railway Station belongs to the Western Railways division of Indian Railways and is a major station on the Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Ahmedabad routes. All trains, including superfast and express, stop here. Vadodara Airport is well connected with the cities of Mumbai and Delhi, with multiple daily flights to these locations.
Public transport vehicles within the city include buses, autorickshaws and taxis. There are a few private bus and taxi services as well. A significant proportion of the population uses their own vehicles – cars, scooters, motorcycles and bicycles.
- Distance from Mumbai: 358 km(From Bandra terminus to Vadodara Station)
- Distance from Delhi: 1039 km
- Distance from Ahmedabad: 110 km
- Paved Roads: 1680 km
- Unpaved Roads: 400 km
- Total Roads: 2080 km
[edit] Sports
Cricket is by far the most popular sport in the city, as it is in the rest of the country. However, the interest in football (soccer), field hockey, volleyball, table tennis and tennis is much greater than the average Indian city.
Not only Vadodara has its own first-class cricket team that competes at the national level,but it also boost of the Oldest cricket ground in Asia, called Moti Baug. Prominent cricket players from Vadodara include Vijay Hazare, Chandu Borde, Kiran More, Nayan Mongia, Anshuman Gaekwad and more recently Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Jacob Martin and Connor Williams. The Baroda cricket team has been a consistently good performer at the national domestic Ranji Trophy championship and has won it 6 times.
At schools a huge range of sports tend to be played. Baroda has a rich tradition in which various schools compete against each other in various inter-school sporting competitions.
[edit] Trivia
- The famous American writer Mark Twain had visited Baroda in the early 1900s.
- Baroda is mentioned as a city on the route to Bombay by train in Salman Rushdie's 'Midnight Children'.
Edison, New Jersey, United States which has a large Gujarati and Indian population, is a sister city of Vadodara.
[edit] Climate
- Winter Temperature: Max 31 °C, Min 9 °C
- Summer Temperature: Max 46 °C, Min 24 °C
- Rainfall (mid-June to mid-September): 931.9 mm
- Lowest Recorded Temperature: −1 °C
- Highest Recorded Temperature: 49 °C
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Vadodara had a population of 1,306,035. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Vadodara has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 74%. In Vadodara, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
- Population trends in recent years
- 1961: 298,398
- 1971: 467,487
- 1981: 734,473
- 1991: 1,031,346 (males 53%; females 47%)
- 1995: 1,200,000
- 1998: 1,400,000
- 2005: 1,729,000
- 2010: 2,200,000 (projected)
- Number of households: 213,540
- Population density: 9,527/km²
- Literacy: 76.11% of total population (males 79.21%; females 68.41%)
- Motorised vehicles: 350,000
[edit] Government and politics
- Election Wards: 26
- Seats (Corporators): 78
- Population per ward: 31,122
- Seats reserved for women: 26
- Total voters (as on 17-1-97): 809,185
[edit] Places of interest
- Laxmi Vilas Palace
- Najar Baug Palace
- Sayaji Baug
- Ajwa - Nimeta
- Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
- Temples - Kirti Mandir, EME Temple
- Sindhrot
- Malls and Multiplexes - Vadodara Central, Deep, Chandan, Inox, Westside
- Baroda museum and picture gallery
- Champaner-Pavagadh (UNESCO world heritage site 40 kilometres north-east of Baroda)
- Sursagar lake
- Raopura Tower - Clock tower that was the center of the walled city
- Nyay Mandir - District courts housed in Byzantine architecture
- Walled City gates - Mandvi, Gendigate, Champaner Darwaza, Laheripura gate, Panigate
- Sardar Patel Planetarium
- Khanderao Market
- Lalbaug
- Gandhi Nagar Gruh - Town hall that also functions as a venue for cultural events
- Central Library
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• History • Notable people • Cities and Towns • Education institutes • National parks & Sanctuaries |
Buildings of Maharaja Sayadjirao University
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Vadodara Municipal Corporation
- Vadodara Collectorate
- Baroda-Online
- Maharaja Sayajirao University Of Baroda
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