Vadodara

Native name	Vadodara वडोदरा
Other name	Baroda
Nickname	Sayaji Nagari (Town of Sayajirao Gaekwad), Sanskari Nagari (Cultural City)
Type	Metropolitan City
State name	Gujarat
Skyline	NyayM.jpg
Skyline caption	Nyay Mandir in the heart of Vadodara
Locator position	right
Map caption	Location of Vadodara in Gujarat
Area total	100.95
Area total cite
Population density	10335
Sex ratio	909
Established title	Vadodara Municipal Corporation
Established date	Established 1950
Legislature type	Municipality
Legislature strength	84
Abbreviation
Area telephone	(91)265
Postal code	390 0XX
Unlocode	INBDQ
Vehicle code range	GJ-06
Seal	Vadodara-Emblem.jpg
Seal size	60px
Seal caption	Seal of The Vadodara Municipal Corporation
Website	www.vadodaracity.com
Website caption	Vadodara Municipal Corporation

Vadodara formerly Baroda is the third most-populated city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat. It is one of four cities in the state with a population of over 1 million, the other being Rajkot and the two cities listed above. It is also known as the Sayaji Nagari (Sayaji's City after its famous ruler, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III) or Sanskari Nagari (The City of Culture, a reference to its status as the Cultural Capital of Gujarat). Vadodara or Baroda, formerly the capital city of the Gaekwar State, is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri, a river whose name derived from the great saint Rishi Vishwamitra. It is located southeast of Ahmedabad, 139 km from state capital, Gandhinagar. It is the administrative headquarters of Vadodara District.

Vadodara is home to almost 1.6 million people (as of 2005), the beautiful Lakshmi Vilas Palace and the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (M.S.U.) which is the largest university in Gujarat. Its famous for the Science, Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Technology, Management, Psychology, Social Work, Law and Medicine streams. It has a high literacy rate by Indian standards of 78% (2001). Major industries include petrochemicals, engineering, pharmaceuticals, plastics and Forex. Famous companies such as ABB, Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro, DuPont, Bombardier, ERDA, General Motors Chevrolet, IPCL, ONGC, Sun Pharmaceuticals, GSFC, Alembic, Apollo Tyres, Suzlon, CG Glass and JCT Electronics all have a strong presence in this city, also it has presence of IT multi-national companies.

History

The first noted history of the city was of the early trader settlers who settled in the region in 812 AD. The province was mainly Hindu-dominated with Hindu kings ruling till the year 1297. The Gupta Empire was the first power in the region in the early years of the Christian Era. After fierce battles, the region was taken over by the Chalukya Dynasty. Finally, the kingdom was annexed by the Solanki Rajputs. By this time the 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 easily overthrown by the Mughal emperors. The Mughals biggest problem were the mighty Marathas who slowly but eventually took over the region. It became the capital of the Maratha Gaekwads. Sayaji Rao III (1875–1939), a most able ruler, made many public and bureaucratic improvements in the region. Although the British had a major influence on the region, Baroda remained a princely state until Independence. Like many other princely states, Baroda also joined the Dominion of India in 1947.

The eighteenth largest and one of the cosmopolitan cities of India, Vadodara alias Baroda is located on the banks of Vishwamitri River. This garden city is the industrial capital and the third most populated town of Gujarat and also the administrative headquarters of Vadodara District. Due to its rich cultural traditions, the district is referred to as Sanskari Nagari. With many museums and art galleries, this upcoming hub of industries and IT is a favorite spot of tourists. Vadodara was once called Chandravati, after its ruler Raja Chandan, then Virakshetra or 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.

Origin of name

Two thousand years ago, there was a small town known as "Ankottaka" (present day Akota) on the western bank of the river Vishwamitri. The earliest mention of Vadodara is in a Granth or charter of 812 that identifies it as "Vadapadraka", a village attached to the nearby town of "Ankottaka". In 600 AD severe floods in the Vishwamitri forced the inhabitants to move to the eastern side of the river to a village known as "Vatpatrak" (Leaf of Banyan tree) which developed into Vadodara. In the 10th century, Vadapadraka replaced Ankottaka as the main town.

The city was once called "Chandanavati" after its ruler "Raja Chandan" of the "Dor tribe of Rajputs, who wrested it from the Jains. The capital had also another name Virakshetra or Viravati (Land of Warriors). Later on it was known as Vadpatraka or Vadodará, which according to tradition is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit word Vatodar meaning In the heart of the Banyan tree. It is now almost impossible to ascertain when the various changes in the name were made; but early English travellers and merchants mention the town as Brodera, and it is from this that the name Baroda is derived. In 1974, the official name of the city was changed to Vadodara.

In 1907, a small village and township in Michigan, United States, was named after Baroda.

It is also rumoured that the name Baroda originated from two words Vat which means the Banyan tree and Aodh, which means a tent/canopy. According to a popular legend, the region in and around present day Baroda was full of Banyan trees that formed a dense cover that looked like a huge tent canopy from a distance. Thus the name Baroda stuck.

Old Ankotakka

The early man lived on the banks of the Mahi River. This river must have formed the flood plain during that age. The movements of these hunter-gatherers, living on the banks of the river, grumbling the roots and killing animals with crude stone tools made out of the cobbles and pebbles available on the river bank, were necessarily controlled by the availability of convenient raw materials for their tools. There are evidences of the existence of early man in the Mahi river valley at a number of sites within 10 to 20 km to the north-east of Vadodara. No evidences however of the existence of this man are found in and around present Vadodara. This may be because of the absence of gravels and cobbles on the banks of the Vishwamitri rivulet.

The next phase of the pre-historic Vadodara witnessed the first human settlement on the right bank of the river Vishwamitri on a group of dunes resting on the alluvium of the river. It also means that men knew about where to set up settlements, as they had selected an elevated land. The Vishwamitri must have been prone to seasonal floods even then. These people still belonged to the stone age, crafting their tools with finely grained stones. From their material culture and physical environment, they seem to have belonged to the same culture as those whose implements were found in the Mahi river valley. This human settlement has been dated to 1000 B.C.

Around the beginning of the Christian Era, a small township developed at the same spot as the above mentioned settlement on the right bank of the river. It came to be known as Ankotakka (present day Akota), the mound on which this settlement was established came to be known as Dhantekri. The entire settlement was developed by clearing grazing land and forests of Ankhol and covered an area of ½ to ¾ km². This is indicative of the presence of thick forests during those times. Due to its location on the ancient trade route between Gujarat and Malwa, this small township flourished in to a commercial centre. There was a supposed commercial relation between this township and Rome.

The township of Ankotakka developed during the rule of the Guptas and the Vallabhis. It was subjected to periodical heavy floods. But a severe flood which inundated the renovated public hall, forced the inhabitants to abandon this township and move away from the banks of the Vishwamitri.

The event occurred in 600 A.D. The inhabitants moved to the east of Ankotakka to another elevated portion located on the present Kothi area. This formed the nucleus of a new township.

Recent history

in 1909]] The City of Vadodara aptly described by a medieval Jain writer as a Tilak on the Brove of Lata was a nodal center of the coastal plain of Gujarat. It was strategically situated at a junction of the main highways linking Gujarat with Rajputana and the Punjab in the north, Malwa and the Ganges valley in the north-east, Konkan in the south and Khandesh in the south-east. Significantly Vadodara today is a junction on the western railway of the lines leading to Ahmedabad, Delhi & Mumbai. This confirms the historic role of Vadodara in the communication pattern for movements of people and culture. The history of Vadodara city amply bears out its cultural and commercial activities during the last two thousand years. Apart from the traditional stories, knowledge of the history of Vadodara is based mainly on Jain literature and a few old inscriptions pertaining to Vadodara.

Baroda State was a former Indian State in Western India. Baroda's more recent history began when the Maratha general Pilaji Gaekwad conquered Songadh from the Mughals in 1726. Before the Gaekwads captured Baroda, it was ruled by the Babi Nawabs, who were the officers of the Mughal rulers. Mughal rule came to an end in 1732,

Vadodara is divided by the Vishwamitri into two physically distinct eastern and western regions. The eastern bank of the river houses the old city, which includes the old fortified city of Vadodara. This part of Vadodara is characterised by packed bazaars, the clustered and barricaded Pol system of shanty buildings, and numerous places of worship. It houses the General Post Office and landmark buildings like Laxmi Vilas Palace, Mandvi area and Nyay Mandir. The colonial period saw the expansion of the city to the western side of Vishwamitri. This part of the city houses educational institutions like the Maharaja Sayajirao University, the Vadodara Railway Station, modern buildings, well-planned residential areas, shopping malls, multiplexes and new business districts centred around R. C. Dutt Road, Alkapuri, Nawayard and more recently, the Old Padra Road and Gotri.

Climate

Vadodara features a tropical savanna climate under Koppen's Climate classification. There are three main seasons: Summer, Monsoon and Winter. Aside from the monsoon season, the climate is dry. The weather is hot through the months of March to July — the average summer maximum is 36 °C (97 °F), and the average minimum is 23 °C (73 °F). From November to February, the average maximum temperature is 30 °C (85 °F), the average minimum is 15 °C (59 °F), and the climate is extremely dry. Cold northerly winds are responsible for a mild chill in January. The southwest monsoon brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September. The average rainfall is 93 cm (36.7 inches), but infrequent heavy torrential rains cause the river to flood. The highest temperature recorded is 47 °C (116 °F) and the lowest is -1 °C (30 °F).

In recent years, Vadodara has suffered from increasing air, water and soil pollution from neighbouring industrial areas. This has also amounted into a constant and uncomfortable increase in average temperatures across all three seasons. Uncontrolled chemical dump from nearby industries has arguably turned the local river Vishwamitri into one big sewer.

Industry & Commerce

Vadodara enjoys a special place in the state of Gujarat. Until the early 1960s 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 27,510 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 and Indian Oil Corporation Limited at the nearby village of Koyali. 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 Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC), Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL, now owned by Reliance Industries Limited) and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) 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 (GIPCL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) & Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL). In addition to these public sector enterprises, a number of other large-scale enterprises have come up in the private sector such as Bombardier Transportation, a Canadian company manufacturing the Delhi Metro from its site in Savli. Baroda also has quite a few established manufacturing units such as; General Motors,ALSTOM, ABB, Philips, Panasonic, FAG, Sterling Biotech, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Areva T&D;, Bombardier. There are also a number of glass manufacturing companies in and around Vadodara, including Haldyn Glass,HNG Float Glass Ltd., Piramal Glass or Gujarat Glass, etc.

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 the rest of India.

In line with the 'Knowledge City' vision of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Vadodara is gradually becoming a hub in Gujarat for IT and other development projects.

Vadodara is also home to the Vadodara Stock Exchange (VSE).

Civic Administration

Vadodara is administered by the Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan(VMSS) . Some of the regions surrounding the city are administered by the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA). The VMC was established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act, 1949. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into four zones and 26 wards.

The two main institutions involved in planning and development in Vadodara are the Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan and the Vadodara Urban Development Authority. The jurisdiction of both these agencies is demarcated clearly not only physically but also functionally. The governing acts for both the institutions differ. The principal responsibility of VUDA is to ensure a holistic development of the Vadodara agglomeration covering an area of 714.56 km². whereas VMC is involved in the development of a limited area of 148 km². member to the Lok Sabha and 5 to the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha. All of the 5 assembly seats of Vadodara were won by the BJP during the legislative elections in 2002. In the 2006 Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan elections, the BJP won 74 seats, 6 seats went to the Congress.

Election Wards: 28 On November 5, 1951 the BBCI Railway was merged with the Saurashtra, Rajputana and Jaipur railways to give rise to the Western Railway. Now, the Vadodara Railway Station belongs to the Western Railway zone of Indian Railways and is a major Junction on the Wstern Railway Main Line. Vadodara junction is Gujarat's Busiesit Junction with almost 150 trains passing everyday. One can travel to almost all the parts of India from Vadodara Junction, where there is a Junction of rails from the directions of Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Kota (4 sides). It has one of the largest Electric Locomotives Shed in Gujarat and various trains have a loco change over at Vadodara. Trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi and important Mail/Express Trains halt at Vadodara Junction. Vadodara has 5 railway stations namely Vadodara Junction (BRC),Pratapnagar, Vishwamitri, Makarpura & Bajwa.

Vadodara also has a Locomotive Shed homing numerous WAP-4,WAM-4,WAG series of Indian Locos.

Road

National Highway 8, connecting Delhi & Gandhinagar with Ahmedabad to Mumbai, passes through the city. Vadodara is also connected with Ahmedabad through Indian National Expressway 1, a stretch of 97 km Super Highway with exits at Anand, Nadiad,S.P.Ring Road and finally Ahmedabad(or Vadodara depending on where you are coming from.) It has made travel extremely fast and the travel from Vadodara to Ahmedabad very convenient.

Public transport vehicles within the city include buses, autorickshaws and taxis. Now there are buses owned by VTCOS for an easy public transportation operated by the private bus operators VTPL which now runs over a hundred buses of 33 and 50 seater configurations. It has taken a lot of two wheeler traffic off the road and helped the people in easy safe and cheap transport service. A significant proportion of the population uses their own vehicles – cars, scooters, motorcycles and bicycles.

Paved Roads: 1680 km

Unpaved Roads: 400 kilometer

Total Roads: 2080 km

Demographics

India census, Vadodara metropolitan area had a population of 1,492,398. 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. Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and English are the languages spoken in the city.

Population trends in recent years

1961: 298,398

1971: 467,487

1981: 734,473

1991: 1,031,346

2001: 1,306,035

2007: 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%)

Sex Ratio: 909 Female per 1000 Male

Culture

Vadodara is also known as ‘Sanskari Nagari’, i.e. Cultured City. It is the most sought after location for Garba in the entire Gujarat. 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, Eid, Gudi Padwa and Ganesh Chaturthi 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.

Navarātrī or Garba is the city's largest festival, with song, dance and lights during 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 which often goes on past midnight. 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 Navarātrī. Garba in baroda attracts a fairly large number of international tourists.

The most followed religion in the city is Hinduism, practised by 90% of the population. The second most followed religion is Islam, followed by 6% of the population. All other religious groups make up the remaining 4% of the city's population.

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 over all is the MS University, the jewel in the Baroda crown, so to speak. It has 13 faculties and 17 residential hostels, 4 of them for women students. The university caters to over 100,000 students. There are various courses on offer, ranging from Medicine to Commerce. 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.

Apart from many good schools, there are landmark schools which are still epitome of high value Education like Baroda High School. There are many students who are alumni of the school and settled in many developed countries. Many students of the school also pursue courses like Dairy Technology and work in MNC at the doorstep of Baroda( Vadodara ) - ( Pranav Shah, GEA Niro, Vadodara, GEA Niro ). Many engineers having done MBA from MSU, Vadodara grab good opportunities in city itself which has lot to offer.

The recent decision of CII to develop Vadodara as 'KNOWLEDGE CITY'. called Moti Baug (The same ground on which Mohammad Azharuddin had scored a record fastest century of 62 balls, now broken). Apart, from that there is also a private cricket ground owned by Reliance, which also hosts ODIs. Prominent cricketers from Vadodara include Atul Bedade, Vijay Hazare, Chandu Borde, Kiran More, Nayan Mongia, Anshuman Gaekwad (former coach of the Indian cricket team), Jitendra Patel and more recently, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, , Pinal Shah, Jacob Martin, Ajitesh Argal and Connor Williams. The Cricketers like Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel who are part of the Indian cricket team, were started to play on domestic level from Baroda Cricket Association. 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. Vadodara has a rich tradition in which various schools compete against each other in various inter-school sporting competitions.

Vadodara also has a couple of large-sized swimming pools at Lal Baug and Sardar Baug which have become learning centers of swimming for lots of students from different schools in and around the city.

Vadodara also held an International Marathon on 22nd Nov, 2009. It became the first non-metro city of India to have held a Marathon of such a large scale.

Media

Vadodara has a number of newspaper publications. English-language dailies published and sold in the city are the Times of India, Indian Express, DNA and The Economic Times. There are three Gujarati dailies in the city — Sandesh, Gujarat Samachar and Divya Bhaskar. A large number of national and regional magazines, periodicals and journals are regularly published and circulated across the city. The Gujarati film and television industry has a small but significant presence in the city. The city has five local FM stations: Radio Mirchi (98.3 MHz), now Red FM (93.5 MHz), Big FM (92.7 MHz), Radio City (91.1 MHz) and All India Radio, Vividh Bharti (93.9 MHz). All India Radio is broadcast on the AM band. Satellite radio was launched in nearby city of Ahmedabad by WorldSpace in 2005. Vadodara News Magazine(VNM) is a local news TV channel that covers events in the city. Households receive television through two main cable networks, InCablenet and Siti Cable, while DTH is steadily gaining popularity in Vadodara. A network of optical fibre cables connects almost the entire city. The city's telephone services are provided by landline and mobile operators like BSNL, Reliance Infocomm, Airtel, Vodafone, Idep, Uninor, Videocon and Tata Indicom. Broadband Internet services are provided in most parts of the city by the telecom companies.

Places of interest

Palaces: Laxmi Vilas Palace, Nazarbaug Palace, Makarpura Palace, Pratap Vilas Palace which is converted to Railway Staff College

Buildings & Monuments: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Kirti Mandir, Kirti Stambh, Nyay Mandir, Mandvi & Walled City, Khanderao Market, Aurobindo Ashram, EME Temple (Dakshinamurty Temple), Hazira Maqbara, Tambekarwada, Kala Ghoda, Anglo-Vernacular School now Music College, Juni Kothi, Central Jail, Kala Bhavan, Motibaug Palace, Sursagar Lake

Museums & Gardens: Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery, Sayaji Baug, Jubilee Baug, Lal Baug, Sardar Baug

Malls and Multiplexes: Vadodara Central, 7 Seas, Big Bazaar, Center Square Mall, Spencer's Hyper, PVR Deep multiplex, Chandan multiplex, Inox multiplex, Fame Multiplex, Westside, More Megastore, Fame Vihar Multiplex, Cine Mall

Other Interesting Places: Gandhi Nagar Gruh (Town Hall), Vadodara Central Library, ABS Tower Art Gallery, IPCL-Reliance Mandir Complex, Kirti Mandir

Excursions: Ajwa & Nimeta, Dabhoi, Pavagadh, Champaner, Sindhrot Nature Park, Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kayavarohan, Chandod, Galteshwar, Dakor, Nareshwar, Sankheda, Kabirwad

See also

Gaekwar Dynasty

Sita Devi Gaekwar - Maharani of Baroda

"Moon of Baroda" Diamond

"The Star of the South" Diamond

References

Further reading

External links

Vadodara Municipal Corporation

Vadodara Collectorate

Vadodara City Traffic Police

Maharaja Sayajirao University Of Baroda

Railway Staff College

Vadodara Stock Exchange

Baroda Cricket Association

Vadodara @ Wikitravel

Vadodara @ Panoramio

Photogallery - Vadodara in olden days

Photogallery - Present-day Vadodara

Vadodara Initiative

Baroda Medical Guide

City Community Forum - barodatalk.com

City Community Site - Baroda.com

City Community Site - Gobaroda.com

City Community Site - Barodian.com

Design Website - Barodadesign.com

Vadodara Real Estate

Estate Broker's Association

Vadodara Junction/BRC Railway Station Rail Info

Vadodara Airport Flight Information

Category:Cities and towns in Vadodara district Category:Railway stations in Gujarat Category:Vadodara railway division Category:Divisions of Indian Railways