Rajkot Tourisam

         Shri Ramakrishna Ashrama

Rajkot (Rājkot  pronunciation (help·info)) is the fourth-largest^[7][8] city in the state of Gujarat, India, after Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara. Rajkot is the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population more than 1.2 million as of 2015.^[9] Rajkot is the seventh-cleanest^[10][11] city of India, and is the 22nd-fastest-growing city in the world.^[12] The city contains the administrative headquarters of the Rajkot District, 245 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and is located on the banks of the Aji and Nyari rivers. Rajkot was the capital of the Saurashtra State from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956, before its merger with Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was reincorporated into Gujarat State from 1 May 1960.

Rajkot has been under different rulers since it was founded. It has had a long history and had a significant influence in the Indian independence movement. Rajkot was home to many personalities like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Rajkot is in a transition period of growing cultural, industrial and economical activities. Rajkot is the 26th largest city of India and the 22nd fastest growing urban area of the world.^[12]

Rajkot was the capital of the then Saurashtra state from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956 before merging in bilingual Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was merged into Gujarat State from bilingual Bombay state on 1 May 1960. Thakur Saheb Pradyumansinhji died in 1973. His son, Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji, who has carved out a political career at the provincial level, succeeded him. He served as a Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for several years and as the state Minister for Health and Finance. Monoharsinhji's son, Mandattasinh Jadeja has embarked on a business career.^{[citation needed]}

On 26 January 2001 the 7.7 M_w Gujarat earthquake shook Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.

Vadodara

                                Vadodara 

Vadodara (Gujarati pronunciation: [ʋəˈɽod̪əɾa]; formerly known as Baroda), is the third largest^[7] city in the Western Indian State of Gujarat, after Ahmedabad and Surat. It is the administrative headquarters of Vadodara District and is located on the banks of the Vishwamitri river, southeast of Ahmedabad, 139 kilometres (86 mi) from the state capital Gandhinagar. The railway line and NH 8that connect Delhi and Mumbai pass through Vadodara.

As of 2011, Vadodara had a population of almost 2.2 million+ people.^[8] The city is known for the Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the residence of Baroda State's Maratha royal family, the Gaekwads. It is also the home of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda(Vadodara), the largest university in Gujarat. An important industrial, cultural and educational hub of western India, the city houses several institutions of national and regional importance while its major industries include petrochemicals, engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, IT and foreign exchange services amongst others

History[edit]

  The first recorded history of the city is that of the early trader settlers who settled in the region in 812 AD. The province was mainly Hindu-dominated with Hindu kings ruling until 1297. The Gupta Empire was the first power in the region in the early years of the CE. Later, the region was taken over by the Chaulukya dynasty. By this time Muslim rule had spread across India, and the reins of power were then snatched by the Delhi Sultans. The city was ruled for a long time by these Sultans, until they were overthrown by the Mughals.

Baroda State was a former Indian State in Western India(Asia). Vadodara's more recent history began when the Maratha general Pilaji Gaekwad conquered Songadh from the Mughals in 1726.^[12] Before the Gaekwads captured Baroda, it was ruled by the BabiNawabs, who were the officers of the Mughal rulers. Most notably, from 1705–1716, Sardar Senapati Khanderao Dabhade led the Maratha Empire forces in Baroda. Except for a short period, Baroda continued to be in the reign of the Gaekwads from 1734 to 1948. Initially detailed to collect revenue on behalf of the Peshwa in Gujarat, Pilaji Gaekwad remained there to carve out a kingdom for himself. Damajirao, son and successor of Pilaji Gaekwad, defeated the Mughal armies and conquered Baroda in 1734.^[12] His successors consolidated their power over large tracts of Gujarat, becoming easily the most powerful rulers in the region. After the Maratha defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761,^[12] control of the empire by the Peshwas weakened as it became a loose confederacy, and the Gaekwad Maharajas ruled the kingdom until it acceded to Independent Republic of India in 1949. In 1802,^[12]the British intervened to defend a Maharaja that had recently inherited the throne from rival claimants, and Vadodara concluded a subsidiary alliance with the British that recognised the Kingdom as a Princely state and allowed the Maharajas of Baroda internal political sovereignty in return for recognising British 'Paramountcy', a form of suzerainty in which the control of the state's foreign affairs was completely surrendered

Dance

Chimnabai was knowledgeable in Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music, and brought a troupe with her comprising two dancers, two nattuvanars (leaders of Bharatanatyam concerts) and two teachers (Khandwani 2002). Others followed later, including Nattuvanar Appaswamy and his dancer wife Kantimati, who had studied with Kannusamy and Vadively, two members of the Tanjore Quartet. After the death of Appaswamy in 1939, Kantimati and their son, Guru Shri Kubernath Tanjorkar, left Baroda to teach in Lucknow, and then worked in the film industry in South India until Sayajirao's successor, Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad recalled the family to Baroda in 1949 to teach in the Music Department in the Kalavan Palace, later absorbed into the Maharaja Sayajirao University (Gaston 1996: 158–160).Later Guruvarya Shri Kubernath Tanjorkar established his own Institute namely Tanjore Dance Music & Art Research Centre at Baroda with his Son Guru Shri Ramesh Tanjorkar and Guru Smt.Leela R. Tanjorkar and their family. This established a tradition of Bharatanatyam dancers and teachers, who were members of a family considered an offshoot of the Tanjore Quartet bani (stylistic schools; Gaston 1996: 159), already established in Gujarat by the time Mrinalini set up her own academy.

Ahmedabad

Ahmedaba

Ahmedabad, in western India, is the largest city in the state of Gujarat. The Sabarmati River runs through its center. On the western bank is the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati, which displays the spiritual leader’s living quarters and artifacts. Across the river, the Calico Museum of Textiles, once a cloth merchant's mansion, has a significant collection of antique and modern fabrics.

In the labyrinthine alleyways of the walled old city, you’ll find temples and pols, clusters of interconnected houses with ornate wooden facades. Also here are historic mosques such as the Sidi Saiyad Masjid, with its famous lattice stone windows, and the Jumma (or Jama) Masjid, constructed from the remnants of Jain and Hindu temples in the early 1400s. Several green spaces dot the city, including Law Garden, site of a well-known clothing and crafts market. Many restaurants serve the Thali platter, Gujarat's iconic assortment of seasonal vegetarian dishes.

Akshardham

Swaminarayan Akshardham in Gandhinagar, Gujarat is a large Hindu temple complex inspired by Pramukh Swami, the former spiritual head of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. Located in the capital of Gujarat, the complex was built over 13 years and is a tribute to Swaminarayan and his life and teachings.^[1] At the center of the 23-acre complex is the Akshardham mandir, which is built from 6,000 metric tons of pink sandstone from Rajasthan.^[2] The complex’s name refers to the divine abode of Swaminarayan in the BAPS philosophy; followers of Swaminarayan believe that the jiva or soul goes to Akshardham after attaining moksha, or liberation. BAPS followers worship Swaminarayan as God almighty.he focal point of the complex is the Akshardham Mandir, which measures 108 feet high, 131 feet wide and 240 feet long and features 97 carved pillars, 17 domes, 8 balconies, 220 stone beams and 264 sculpted figures.^[2] In accordance with Vedic architectural principles, no steel or iron has been used anywhere in the mandir.^[1] 20 foot-long stone beams, each weighing five tons, have been used as load-bearing support throughout the mandir.^[1] The mandir’s central chamber houses a seven-foot-tall, gold-leafed murti, or sacred image, of Swaminarayan, who is worshipped by followers as God. The murti rests upon a three-foot pedestal and weighs 1.2 tons. It is flanked by the murtis of the ideal devotee, Aksharbrahma Gunatitanand Swami and Aksharmukta Goplanand Swami, both in postures of loving devotion toward Swaminarayan. In each of the four corners of the mandir sits a life-sized marble murti of the lineages of gurus or successors of Swaminarayan revered by BAPS.^[3] The first floor of the mandir is known as the Vibhuti Mandapam and features lotus-shaped displays describing the spiritual character of Swaminarayan, while the basement of the mandir, called the Prasadi Mandapam, houses a historical display of various sacred relics from Swaminarayan’s life.

   Sidi Saiyyed Mosque

he Sidi Saiyyed Mosque more popularly known as "Sidi Saiyyid ki Jaali" (Sidi Saiyyed Ni Jaali), built in 1573, is one of the most famous mosques of Ahmedabad. As attested by the marble tablet fixed on the wall of the mosque, it was built by in the retinue of sultan Ahemad ShahBilal Jhajar Khan, general in the army of the last Sultan Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah III of the Gujarat Sultanate.^[1]

The mosque was built in the last year of the existence of Sultanate of Gujarat.^[1] The mosque is entirely arcuated and is famous for beautifully carved ten stone latticework windows (jalis) on the side and rear arches. The rear wall is filled with square stone pierced panels in geometrical designs. The two bays flanking the central aisle have reticulated stone slabs carved in designs of intertwined trees and foliage and a palm motif. This intricately carved lattice stone window is the Sidi Saiyyed Jali, the unofficial symbol of city of Ahmedabad and the inspiration for the design of the logo of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

The central window arch of the mosque, where one would expect to see another intricate jali, is instead walled with stone.^[2] This is possibly because the mosque was not completed according to plan before the Mughals invaded Gujarat.