INTRODUCTION
Gujarat is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about 1,600 km is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area and the ninth-most populous state, with 60.4 million people residing in the state. Gujrat has Hindu,Muslims,Jains,Christians and Budhist religion. The Zoroastrians, also known in India as Parsi and Irani, migrated to Gujarat as refugees to escape adverse conditions. There is a small Jewish community centred around Magen Abraham Synagogue. Gujarati is the official language of the state. It is spoken natively by 86% of the state's population, or 52 million people.
Here are some other cool facts about the state of India,
GEOGRAPHY
Gujarat was also known as Pratichya and Varuna The capital, Gandhinagar is a planned city. Gujarat has an area of 75,686 sq mi. The Narmada is the largest river in Gujarat followed by the Tapi. The Sabarmati has the longest course through the state. The Sardar Sarovar Project is built on Narmada.
CLIMATE
The plains of Gujarat are very hot and dry in summer and cold and dry in winter. Summer is milder in the hilly regions and the coast. The average daytime temperature during winter is around 29 °C. Most of Gujarat receives scanty rainfall.
ECONOMY
Major agricultural produce of the state includes cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), dates, sugar cane, milk and milk products. Industrial products include cement and petrol. Gujarat is ranked number one in the pharmaceutical industry in India. Gujarat records highest decadal agricultural growth rate.It also has the largest coastline and harbours many ports.
FOOD
Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian. The typical Gujarati thali consists of rotli or bhakhari or thepala or rotlo, dal or kadhi, khichdi, Bhat and shak. Athanu (Indian pickle) and chhundo are used as condiments.
CULTURE
Bhavai is a folk musical performance of stage plays. Gujarati folk music, known as Sugam Sangeet, is a hereditary profession of the Barot community. Apart from Navratri and Uttarayana, Diwali, Holi, Janmashtami, Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, Eid, Tazia, Paryushan and others are also celebrated.
Navratri celebrations with Dandiya dance are very popular in Gujarat
MONUMENTS/Places to Visit
Great Rann of Kutch and the hills of Saputara, and it is the sole home of pure Asiatic lions in the world. Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery in Vadodara, which is also the location of the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum. The Kirti Mandir, Porbandar, Sabarmati Ashram, and Kaba Gandhi No Delo are museums related to Mahatma Gandhi, the former being the place of his birth and the latter two where he lived in his lifetime.
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