Gujarat is a part of India, known for lively traditions of both folk and classical music. Classical musicians and composers include Faiyaz Khan, Maulabux and Pandit Omkamath along with a tradition of Haveli Sangeet.

Gujarati folk music consists of a wide variety. Some of them are Bhajans - they are categorized by theme of poetry/lyrics and by musical compositions such as Prabhati, Katari, Dhol etc. Another rich tradition is of the Baardic tradition. The Chaaran/Deviputra/Ghadhvi community has preserved and enriched the folk tradition of story telling with/without music. This includes the forms of Duha, Sorathaa, Chhand, Bellads etc.

Gujarati folk dance includes the Raas and Garba dances, which are said to have been passed on by Krishna, who spent his childhood at Gokul, learning the flute. He also taught the folk drama Bhavai. Other dances include Dangi Nritya, Tippani Nritya, Padhar Nrritya and Siddi.

The Garba is a simple dance which involves clockwise and counter-clockwise movements. The Ras is a complicated dance performed by a group in a circle, to a rhythm marked by sticks (dandias), accompanied by voices, shehnai, flute, zanz, dhol or cymbals. The Garba (Garba Nritya) is a circle dance performed by women at festivals like Holi, Vasant Panchmi, Navaratri and Sharad Purnima.

References[link]

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Gujarat ગુજરાત
—  State  —
Seal
Location of Gujarat in India
Map of Gujarat
Coordinates (Gandhinagar): 23°13′00″N 72°41′00″E / 23.2167°N 72.6833°E / 23.2167; 72.6833Coordinates: 23°13′00″N 72°41′00″E / 23.2167°N 72.6833°E / 23.2167; 72.6833
Country	India
Established	1 May 1960
Capital	Gandhinagar
Largest city	Ahmedabad
Districts	26 total
Government
• Governor	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
• Chief Minister	Narendra Modi (BJP)
• Legislature	Unicameral (182 seats)
• Parliamentary constituency	26
• High Court	Gujarat High Court
Area
• Total	196,024 km2 (75,685 sq mi)
Area rank	7th
Population (2011)
• Total	60,383,628
• Rank	10th
• Density	310/km2 (800/sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
ISO 3166 code	IN-GJ
HDI	0.621 (medium)
HDI rank	14th (2005)
Literacy	79.31 %
Official languages	Gujarati, Hindi[1]
Website	http://www.gujaratindia.com

Gujarat /ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːt/ (Gujarati: ગુજરાત Gujǎrāt [ɡudʒ(ə)ɾat] ( listen)) is a state in western India. It has an area of 75,686 sq mi (196,030 km²) with a coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula, and a population in excess of 60 million. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra to the south, Madhya Pradesh to the east and the Arabian Sea as well as the Pakistani province of Sindh on the west. Its capital is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is home to the Gujarati-speaking people of India.

The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed to be one of the world's first ports. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat, served as ports and trading centers in the Maurya and Gupta empires. Mahatma Gandhi, India's "father of the nation", who led the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonial rule was a Gujarati.^[2] Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister was also from Gujarat.

Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India.^[3] The state has the fastest growing economy in India.^[4][5][6] It is also one of the most industrialized states of India, and has a per capita GDP above the national average.^[7]

Etymology[link]

Modern-day Gujarat is derived from Gujjar-ratra (Shauraseni form derived from Sanskrit Gurjar-Rashtra), the Gurjar nation.^[8][9][10] The origins of the Gujjars are uncertain. The Gujjar (or Gujar clan appeared in northern India about the time of the Huna invasions of northern India. The name of the tribe was Sanskritized to "Gurjara".^[11] The Gurjars/Gujjars are believed to have descended from Suryavanshi Kshatriyas (Sun Dynasty).^[12] Historically, the Gurjars were sun-worshipers and their copper-plate grants and seals also bear an emblem of the Sun.^[13]

History[link]

Ancient history[link]

The docks of ancient Lothal as they are today.

An ancient sophisticated water reservoir in Dholavira

The Somnath temple, known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed six times and rebuilt six times.

Historically, the state of Gujarat has been one of the main centers of the Indus Valley Civilization. It contains major ancient metropolitan cities from the Indus Valley such as Lothal, Dholavira and Gola Dhoro. The ancient city of Lothal was where India's first port was established. Also, Dholavira, the ancient city, is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. The most recent discovery was Gola Dhoro. All together, about 50 Indus Valley settlement ruins have been discovered in Gujarat.^[14]

The ancient history of Gujarat was enriched by their commercial activities. There is a clear historical evidence of trade and commerce ties with Sumer in the Persian Gulf during the time period of 1000 to 750 BC.^[14] There was a succession of Hindu and Buddhist states such as the Gupta Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire, Pala Empire and Gurjara-Pratihara Empire as well as local dynasties such as the Maitrakas and then the Solankis. The 11th century history of Gujarat saw the emergence of the Muslims in the political arena of the state. The first Muslim conqueror was Mahmud of Ghazni whose conquest of Somnath effectively ended the rule of the Solankis.^[14]

1297–1614 AD[link]

From 1297 to 1300, Allauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, destroyed Anhilwara and incorporated Gujarat into the Delhi Sultanate. After Timur's sacking of Delhi at the end of the fourteenth century weakened the Sultanate, Gujarat's Muslim Rajput governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar asserted his independence, and his son, Sultan Ishaan Shah (ruled 1411 to 1442), restructured Ahmedabad as the capital. Cambay eclipsed Bharuch as Gujarat's most important trade port. The Sultanate of Gujarat remained independent until 1576, when the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great conquered it and annexed it to the Mughal Empire. The port of Surat then became the prominent and principal port of India during Mughal rule. Gujarat remained a province of the Mughal empire until the Marathas occupied eastern and central Gujarat in the eighteenth century; Western Gujarat (Kathiawar and Kutch) was divided among numerous local rulers.

Bombay Presidency in 1909, northern portion

Bombay Presidency in 1909, southern portion

1614–1947 AD[link]

Portugal was the first European power to arrive in Gujarat, acquiring several enclaves along the Gujarati coast, including Daman and Diu as well as Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The British East India Company established a factory in Surat in 1614, which formed their first base in India, but it was eclipsed by Bombay after the English acquired it from Portugal in 1668. In late 17th century Chatrapati Shivaji the great Maratha leader attacked Surat between 1664 to 1679 and looted the city 3 times. This is marked as entry of Marathas in Gujarat.

Later in 18th century, Gujarat came under control of the Maratha Empire who dominated the politics of India. Pilaji Gaekwad, first ruler of Gaekwad dynasty, established the control over Baroda and much of Gujarat. After Battle of Panipat 1761, all Maratha general established them self as autonomous government while keeping nominal authority of Peshwas of Pune and Chatrapati from Satara. The British East India Company wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Many local rulers, notably the Maratha Gaekwads of Baroda (Vadodara), made a separate peace with the British and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for retaining local self-rule. Gujarat was placed under the political authority of the Bombay Presidency, with the exception of Baroda state, which had a direct relationship with the Governor-General of India. From 1818 to 1947, most of present-day Gujarat, including Kathiawar, Kutch, and northern and eastern Gujarat were divided into hundreds of princely states, but several districts in central and southern Gujarat, namely Ahmedabad, Broach (Bharuch), Kaira (Kheda), Panchmahal, and Surat, were ruled directly by British officials.

Mahadev Desai (left) reading out a letter to Mahatma Gandhi from the viceroy at Birla House, Bombay, 7 April 1939.

Post independence[link]

After Indian independence and the partition of India in 1947, the new Indian government grouped the former princely states of Gujarat into three larger units; Saurashtra, which included the former princely states on the Kathiawad peninsula, Kutch, and Bombay state, which included the former British districts of Bombay Presidency together with most of Baroda state and the other former princely states of eastern Gujarat. Bombay state was enlarged to include Kutch, Saurashtra, and parts of Hyderabad state and Madhya Pradesh in central India. The new state had a mostly Gujarati-speaking north and a Marathi-speaking south. Agitation by both Gujarati and Marathi nationalists for their own states led to the split of Bombay state on linguistic lines; on 1 May 1960, it became the new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The first capital of Gujarat was Ahmedabad; the capital was moved to Gandhinagar in 1970.

Geography[link]

Geography of Gujarat. Courtesy: NASA Earth Observatory

Gujarat borders with Pakistan's province of Sindh to the northwest, bounded by the Arabian Sea to the southwest, the state of Rajasthan to the northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and by Maharashtra, Union territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the south. Historically, the north was known as Anarta, the Kathiawad peninsula, "Saurastra", and the south as "Lata".^[15] Gujarat was also known as Pratichya and Varuna.^[16] The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast. The capital, Gandhinagar is a planned city. Gujarat has an area of 75,686 sq mi (196,030 km²) with the longest coast line 1600 km, dotted with 41 ports: one major, 11 intermediate and 29 minor ports.

Narmada is the biggest river of Gujarat followed by Tapi, although Sabarmati covers the longest area in the state. The Sardar Sarovar Project is built on the Narmada River. Narmada is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with a length of around 1312 km. It is one of only three rivers in peninsular India that run from east to west – the others being the Tapi River and the Mahi River. A riverfront project has been done on Sabarmati River. The other rivers are:

Sardar Sarovar Project, Gujarat, partially completed (up to E.L.121.92 m)

Construction work going on the banks of Sabarmati river under the Sabarmati River Front Development Project

Sub-divisions[link]

Districts of Gujarat

On 1960-05-01, Gujarat was created out of the 17 northern districts of former State of Bombay. These districts were further subdivided later on. There are 26 administrative districts in the state (as of 2007). Vallabhbhai Patel was independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister; played a key role in political integration of India, and was conferred with a posthumous Bharat Ratna award in 1991.^[17]

v t e Largest cities or towns of Gujarat 2011 Census
	Rank	City name	District	Pop.
Ahmedabad Surat	1	Ahmedabad	Ahmedabad	6,352,254	Vadodara Rajkot
	2	Surat	Surat	4,462,002
	3	Vadodara	Vadodara	1,839,428
	4	Rajkot	Rajkot	1,335,397
	5	Bhavnagar	Bhavnagar	1,300,000
	6	Jamnagar	Jamnagar	2,159,130
	7	Surendranagar city	Surendranagar	397,000
	8	Anand, Gujarat	Anand district	300,462
	9	Junagadh	Junagadh	285,000
	10	Gandhinagar	Gandhinagar	195,985

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City is the new upcoming city in the state of Gujarat to provide high quality physical infrastructure (electricity, water, gas, district cooling, roads, telecoms and broadband).

Demographics[link]

The population of the Gujarat State was 60,383,628 as per the 2011 census data. The density of population is 308/km2 (797.6/sq mi), a lower density compared to other states of the country.

About 89.1% of the population of Gujarat are Hindu.^[19] Muslims account for 9.1%, Jain 1.0% and Sikh 0.1% of the population.^[19] Amongst Hindus, the deity of Krishna is famously worshiped in His form of Shrinathji throughout Gujarat.

Government and administration[link]

Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat State. Picture shown above is of Legislative Assembly and seat of Gujarat Government.

Gujarat is governed by a Legislative Assembly of 182 members. Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of adult suffrage from one of 182 constituencies, of which 13 are reserved for scheduled castes and 26 for scheduled tribes. The term of office for a member of the Legislative Assembly is five years. The Legislative Assembly elects a speaker who presides over the meetings of the legislature. A governor is appointed by the President of India, and is to address the state legislature after every general election and the commencement of each year's first session of the Legislative Assembly. The leader of the majority party or coalition in the legislature (Chief Minister) or his or her designee acts as the Leader of the Legislative Assembly. The administration of the state is led by the Chief Minister.

After gaining independence in 1947, the Indian National Congress party (INC) ruled the Bombay State (which included present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra). Congress continued to govern Gujarat after the state's creation in 1960. During and after India's State of Emergency of 1975–1977, public support for the Congress Party eroded, but it continued to hold government until 1995. In the 1995 Assembly elections, the Congress lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party and Keshubhai Patel came to power. His government lasted only two years. The fall of that government was provoked by a split in the BJP led by Shankersinh Vaghela, who has won most of the subsequent polls. In 2001, following the loss of two assembly seats in by-elections, Keshubhai Patel resigned and yielded power to Narendra Modi. Political instability followed major riots in which rioters raided the homes of thousands of Hindus and Muslims, killing over 2,000 people. The BJP retained a majority in the 2002 election, and Narendra Modi has since served as Chief Minister of the state. Modi has been wrongly denied visas to the United States for his alleged involvement in the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.^[20] On 1 June 2007, Narendra Modi became the longest serving Chief Minister of Gujarat.^[21][22] On 23 December 2007, the BJP won the state elections in Gujarat and Narendra Modi became the chief minister for the third time in a row and has completed 10 years of governance on 7th Oct.2011.

The Government of Gujarat bans alcohol.

Economy[link]

Gujarat has some of the largest businesses in India. Major agricultural produce of the state include cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), dates, sugar cane, milk and milk products. Industrial products include cement and petrol.^[23] According the report on economic freedom by the Cato Institute, Guajarat is the second most free state in India, the first being Tamil Nadu.^[24]

Jamnagar Refinery owned by Reliance Industries in Jamnagar is the largest refinery in the world.

Reliance Industries operates the oil refinery at Jamnagar, which is the world's largest grass-roots refineries. The world's largest shipbreaking yard is in Gujarat near Bhavnagar at Alang. India’s only Liquid Chemical Port Terminal at Dahej, developed by Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Co Ltd. Gujarat has two of the three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in the country (Dahej and Hazira). Two more LNG Terminals are proposed, at Pipavav and Mundra. Gujarat is the only state in India to have State Wide Gas Grid of 2,200 km. 87.9% of the total roads in the state are asphalt surfaced. 98.86% village connectivity with all‐weather roads, one of the highest in India. Nearly 100% of Gujarat's 18,000 villages have electricity connection for 24hr power through the Jyotigram Yojana. Gujarat ranks first nationwide in gas-based thermal electricity generation with national market share of over 8% and second nationwide in nuclear electricity generation with national market share of over 1%.

Gujarat has largest OFC network of more than 50,000 km. The state owned Wide Area Network is the largest IP-based ICT network in Asia Pacific Region and second largest in the world, connecting 26 districts and 225 talukas through 12,000 nodes. There are more than 900,000 internet users and all villages are connected with broadband internet. The state registered 12.8% agriculture growth in the last five years against the national average of 2%.^[25]

Gujarat records highest decadal agricultural growth rate of 10.97% Over 20% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Gujarat.^[26] As per RBI report, in year 2006–07, 26% out of total bank finance in India was in Gujarat.

In a July 2011 report, The Economist noted that Gujarat's infrastructure competes with Guangdong - the economic engine of China. With double digit growth rates, Gujarat continues to outpace growth in other Indian states. Beyond better road networks, The Economist article claims the state government of Gujarat has kept red tape to a minimum, does not ask for bribes, and does not interfere with entrepreneurial corporations. The state, the article claims has less onerous labour laws, reliable electricity and effective bureaucracy. This has led to a booming entrepreneurial economy in Gujarat.^[27]

Industrial growth

Shown here is the Tata Nano, the world's least expensive car.^[28] Sanand,Gujarat is home to Tata Nano

Gujarat's major cities include Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. In year 2010, Forbes list of world's fastest growing cities included Ahmedabad at number 3 after Chengdu and Chongqing from China.^[7] Surat is also one of the fastest growing city in India. Vadodara being the cultural city of Gujarat is fastly growing area wise and is industrialized to a large extent. It is the number 4th city in India in growing fastly. Major resources produced by the state include cotton, groundnut, dates, sugarcane, and petrochemical products. The state is rich in calcite, gypsum, manganese, lignite, bauxite, limestone, agate, feldspar and quartz sand, and successful mining of these minerals is done in their specified areas. Gujarat produces about 98% of India's required amount of Soda Ash and gives the country about 78% of its national requirement of salt. It is one of India's most prosperous states, having a per-capita GDP significantly above India's average. Kalol, Khambhat and Ankleshwar are today known for their oil and natural gas production. Dhuvaran has a thermal power station, which uses coal, oil and gas. Also, on the Gulf of Khambhat, 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Bhavnagar, is the Alang Ship Recycling Yard (the world's largest).General Motors manufactures its cars at Halol near Vadodara, Tata manufactures Nano from Sanand near Ahmedabad and AMW trucks are made near Bhuj. Surat, a city by the Gulf of Khambhat, is a hub of the global diamond trade. In 2003, 92% of the world's diamonds were cut and polished in Surat.^[29]

Gujarat passed an act for the SIRs and set up the first such hub—Petroleum Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) spread across 453,000 square hectares—in Bharuch 2009. SIRs are special regions spread over a minimum 50,000 hectares where industries can buy lands directly from local owners. They are not offered concessions like tax benefits as in SEZs. However, the main benefit of SIRs is that they provide quality infrastructure and development even before units become operational. In every SIR, 55 per cent area is to be set aside for residential townships and other non-processing units.^[30]

During the period of 1960–90, Gujarat established itself as a leader in various industrial sectors including textiles, engineering, chemicals, petrochemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, dairy, cement and ceramics, and gems and jewellery, amongst others. A post-liberalization period saw Gujarat's State Domestic Product (SDP) rising at an average growth rate of 14% per annum in real terms (from 1994–2002). Gujarat achieved as much as 35% of augmentation in its power generation capacity during the periods 1995–96 and 2000–01. The producers (IPPs) have contributed significantly in this addition. Gujarat is one of the first few states in India to have encouraged private sector investment, some of which are already in operation. In addition, the liquid cargo (chemicals) handling port at Dahej is also set up in joint sector and made operational. At an investor's summit entitled "Vibrant Gujarat," arranged between 10 January 2007 to 13 January 2007, at Science City, Ahmedabad, the state government signed 104 Memoranda of Understandings for Special Economic Zones worth a total of 2.5 lakh crore.^[31] However, most of the investment was from domestic industry.^[32] In the fourth Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit held at Science City, Ahmedabad, in January 2009, there were 600 foreign delegates. In all, 8668 MOUs worth 12.5 lakh cr were signed, estimated to create 25 lakh new job opportunities in the state.^[33] In 2011, Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit MOUs worth 21 trillion (US$ 463 billion) were signed.

Gujarat is the only state with surplus electricity. Recently Gujarat Government has upgraded its installed capacity of 13,258 megawatts (MW) by adding another 3,488 MW. According to the official sources, against demand of 40,793 million units during the nine months since April 2010, Gujarat produced 43,848 million units. Gujarat sold surplus power to 12 States. The 12 states are Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.^[34]

Gujarat government has been a front runner in development of solar energy in the state. It has alloted 716 MW of Solar Power capacity to 34 national and international solar project developers in 2009; against the planned 500 MW capacity under its Solar Power Policy.^[35] This is expected to bring in investments of INR 12000 crore and generate employment for 5,000 people. It also has the biggest industrial area for ceramic business in Morbi, Himatanagar, which produces around 80% of the country's gross ceramic production and around 80% of compact fluorescent lamp (CFL).

Language[link]

Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujǎrātī^?) is an Indo-Aryan language evolved from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is native to the Indian state of Gujarat, and is its chief language, as well as of the adjacent union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

About 59 million people speak Gujarati worldwide, making it the 26th most-spoken native language in the world. Along with Romani, Kutchi and Sindhi, it is among the most western of Indo-Aryan languages. Gujarati was the first language of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the "father of India", and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was popularly known as the "Iron Man of India". Owing to its apparent youth with respect to its written history, the Gujarati script follows the Nagari writing system. Nagari is a derivative of the Devanagari script, with one notable difference being the horizontal line is not used. Gujarati script also has a few other variations in terms of certain consonants and employs a slightly different set of symbols for numbers. Gujarati has also been the language spoken by two of South Asia`s most prominent leaders: the India's Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi and the Founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The majority of the population in the state speak Gujarati, while people from Kutch region of Gujarat also speak in the Kutchi language. Other native languages spoken in low proportions are Bhili and Gamit. As of the 2001 Census, a total of 84.5% of the population reported Gujarati as their first language, 5% were speakers of native tribal languages, 4.7% Hindi, 2% Sindhi, 1.5% Marathi and 1% were speakers of Urdu language. Religion-wise, 90% of Hindus in Gujarat speak Gujarati while the other 10% speak Hindi and other languages.^[36] Almost 88% of the Muslims speak Gujarati, while the other 12% speak Urdu. Almost all of the Jains speak Gujarati, a few speak Marwari, as well. Parsi Zoroastrians also speak Gujarati as their native language. Marathi is spoken by a large number of people in Vadodara and Surat. Apart from this, English, Marwari, Sindhi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Oriya, Malayalam, and others are also spoken by a lower proportion.

Culture[link]

Gujarat is home to Gujarati people. Notable populations of Marathi people and Marwaris currently reside in Gujarat. It is also the home of Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel, who preached the unity between all religions and became a worldwide figure for peaceful struggle against tyranny.

Cuisine

Gujarati food is primarily vegetarian. It is believed to be one of the healthiest cuisines in India. It has been portrayed in eminent Bollywood films, including the 2009 feature film 3 Idiots.^[37] The typical Gujarati thali consists of rotli or bhakri, dal or kadhi, rice and sabzi. Indian pickle and [[chhundo]] are used as condiments. North Gujarat, Kathiawad, Kachchh, and Surti Gujarati, the four major regions of Gujarat,t all bring their own styles to Gujarati food. Many Gujarati dishes are distinctively sweet, salty, and spicy at the same time. In Saurashtra region, chass (buttermilk) is believed to be a must-have in their daily food.

Dhokla is a popular Gujarati farsan.

Cinema

The Gujarati film industry is one the largest regional film industries in India. The first ever Gujarati film, Narsinh Mehta, was produced in 1932.^[38] Bhavni Bhavai is one of most acclaimed Gujarati films, having won National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration and National Film Award for Best Art Direction. Many famous actors have worked in Gujarati film industry, such as Sanjeev Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Bindu, Asha Parekh, Kiran Kumar, Prashant Trivedi, Arvind Trivedi, Aruna Irani, Mallika Sarabhai, Asrani, Naresh Kanodia, Sneh Lata, Jayshree T., Paresh Rawal, Neeraj Vora, Dilip Joshi, Ayesha Jhulka, and Himesh Reshammiya.

Music

Gujarati folk music, known as Sugam Sangeet, is a hereditary profession of the Gadhvi and Charan communities. The omnipresent instruments in Gujarati folk music include wind instruments, such as turi, bungal, and pava, string instruments, such as the ravan hattho, rktaro, and jantar and percussion instruments, such as the manjira and zanz pot drum.^[39]

Festivals

Garba during Navaratri in Ahmedabad

Kites

The folk traditions of Gujarat include bhavai and rass-garba. Bhavai is a folk theatre; it is partly entertainment and partly ritual, and is dedicated to Amba. The rass-garba is a folk dance done as a celebration of Navratri by Gujarati people. The folk costume of this dance is chaniya choli for women and kedia for men. Different styles and steps of garba include dodhiyu, simple five, simple seven, popatiyu, trikoniya (hand movement which forms an imagery triangle), lehree, tran taali, butterfly, hudo, two claps and many more.^[40] Makar Sankranti is a festival where people of Gujarat fly kites. In Gujarat, from December through to Makar Sankranti, people start enjoying kite flying. Undhiyu, a special dish made of various vegetables, is a must-have of Gujarati people on Makar Sankranti. Surat is especially well-known for the strong string which is made by applying glass powder on the row thread to provide it a cutting edge.^[41] Apart from Navratri and Uttarayana, Diwali, Holi, Tazia and others are also celebrated.

Diffusion of culture

Foreigners playing Dandiya Raas

Gujaratis spread to many places outside of Gujarat with the success of the Maratha Dynasty (as the dynasty was spread over much of India.) Even today, Saurashtrians who migrated during the Maratha Dynasty's time can be found in Tamil Nadu.

Many Indians had migrated to Indonesia, some of them being Gujaratis. King Aji Saka, who is said to have come to Java in Indonesia in year 1 of the Saka calender, is believed by some to be a king of Gujarat.^[42] The first Indian settlements in Java Island of Indonesia are believed to have been established with the coming of Prince Dhruvavijaya of Gujarat, with 5000 traders.^[42] Some stories propose a Brahmin named Tritresta was the first to bring Gujarati migrants with him to Java, so some scholars equate him with Aji Saka.^[43]

Religion[link]

Gujarat consists of people following Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism, making it a religiously diverse state. Hinduism is major religion of the state, as 89.09% population of the state is Hindu.^[44] Major part of Hindu population follows Swaminarayan Hinduism and Vaishnavism. Muslims are the biggest minority in the state. Gujarat is where Jains have large population outside Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

The Zoroastrians, also known in India as Parsi and Irani, are believed to have migrated to Gujarat to maintain their traditions. They have also played an instrumental role in economic development with several of the best-known business conglomerates of India run by Parsi-Zoroastrians, including the Tata, Godrej, and Wadia families.

Education[link]

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) are in charge of the schools run by the Government of Gujarat. However, most of the private schools in Gujarat are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board. Gujarat has 13 state universities and four agricultural universities.

The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, is a premier university of Gujarat and has been ranked amongst the top ten universities by India Today and Hindustan Times in their surveys. It is one of the oldest universities of Guajrat and is known worldwide for its Faculty of Fine Arts, Engineering, Arts, Journalism, Education, Law, Social Work, Medicine, Science and Performing Arts. It is Gujarat's only fully English Medium State University. Originally known as the Baroda College of Science (established 1881), it became a university in 1949 after the independence of the country and later renamed after its benefactor Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the former ruler of Baroda State. Gujarat University, Saurashtra University, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, and Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University are also amongst reputed universities, affiliating many reputed colleges.

Gujarat is also known for many national level institutions. The Space Applications Centre (SAC) is an institution for space research and satellite communication in Ahmedabad, India, under the aegis of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, a renowned scientist, industrialist, and visionary Gujarati, played an important role in it. He also founded Physical Research Laboratory, a research institute encompasses Astrophysics, Solar System, and cosmic radiation. He also envisioned Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, one of the internationally reputed management research institute that is located in Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad and is the top ranked management institutes in the country.^[45][46]

The clock tower in Gujarat University, Ahmedabad

Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute has been established under Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Govt. of India at Bhavnagar. It was inaugurated by Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India on 10 April 1954, with a view to carry out research on marine salt, and salt from inland lakes and sub-soil brine. It is working on reverse osmosis, electro membrane process, salt and marine chemicals, analytical science, marine biotechnology, and other related fields.

Main Gate of SVNIT,Surat

Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology located in Surat is one of the best engineering colleges in India. It is one of the 20 National Institutes of Technology created by the central government and is a deemed university. It has students from all over India and some foreign students as well. Also, there is Nirma University ranked 14th in self-financed engineering colleges in India. Gujarat Science City,^[47] is a government initiative to draw more students towards education in science, which hosts India's first IMAX 3D theatre, an energy park, a hall of science, an amphitheatre, and dancing musical fountains among others.

B.K. School of Business Management is ranked 6th in terms of financial Management. K. S. School of Business Management is also an MBA College in Gujarat University providing a unique five year's integrated MBA Cource. The National Institute of Design (NID) in Gandhinagar is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost multi-disciplinary institutions in the field of design education and research. Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology University, popularly known as (CEPT) is one of the best planning and architectural school not in India, but across the world; providing various technical and professional courses.In addition, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) is one of the leading sectoral institution in rural management. IRMA is a unique institution in the sense that it provides professional education to train managers for rural management. It is the only one of its kind in all Asia.

Kala Bhavan, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Apart from that, Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad (MICA) is one of the most famous institutes for mass communication and is well-renowned across India. IIT Indian institute of technology was established at Gandhinagar in the year 2008. IIT Gandhinagar is mentored by IIT Bombay. IIT'S first batch started on 1 August 2008, at a temporary building of government college, Chandkheda, Gandhinagar. The Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) has been established by the Science and Technology Department, Government of Gujarat in 2003 and is registered as a Society.ISR campus is at Raisan, Gandhinagar in a sprawling and picturesque area on the banks of Sabarmati river. Aims and objectives include assigning optimum seismic factors for buildings in different regions and long-term assessment of earthquake potential. The ISR is the only institute in India fully dedicated to seismological research and is planned to be developed into a premier International institute in few years time.

Literature[link]

Gujarati literature's history may be traced to 1000 AD. Since then literature has flourished till date. Well known laureates of Gujarati literature are Hemchandracharya, Narsinh Mehta, Mirabai, Akho, Premanand Bhatt, Shamal Bhatt, Dayaram, Dalpatram, Narmad, Govardhanram Tripathi, Gandhiji, K. M. Munshi, Umashankar Joshi, Suresh Joshi, Pannalal Patel and Rajendra Shah.^[48]

Kavi Kant, Zaverchand Meghani and Kalapi are famous Gujarati poets.

Gujarat Vidhya Sabha, Gujarat Sahitya Sabha, and Gujarati Sahitya Parishad are Ahmedabad based literary institutions promoting the spread of Gujarati literature. Saraswatichandra is a landmark novel by Govardhanram Tripathi. Writers like Kavi Nanalal, Sundaram, Aanand Shankar Dhruv, Khabardar, Balwantray Thakore, Suresh Dalal, Harindra Dave, Jyotindra Dave, Tarak Mehta, Harkisan Mehta, Chandrakant Bakshi, Ashvini Bhatt, Vinod Bhatt, Kanti Bhatt, Makarand Dave, Gunvant Shah and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.

A huge contribution to Gujarati language literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso, like Bramhanand, Premanand, with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans.

Gujarati theatre owes a lot to Bhavai. Bhavai is a folk musical performance of stage plays. Ketan Mehta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as Bhavni Bhavai, Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Dayro (gathering) involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature.

Flora and fauna[link]

Gir National Park

Male Asiatic lion

As per the India State Of Forest Report 2009, Gujarat has 7.46% of its total geographical area under forest cover. As per the districts, The Dangs has the largest area under forest cover. Gujarat has four national parks and 21 sanctuaries. Gujarat is the only home of Asiatic lions and outside Africa, Gujarat is the only present natural habitat of lions. Gir Forest National Park in the southwest part of the state covers part of the lions' habitat. Apart from lions, leopards are also found in state. They are spread across the large plains of Saurashtra and the mountains of South Gujarat.

Saputara

Other National parks include Vansda National Park, Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar and Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch. Wildlife sanctuaries include: Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Porbandar Bird Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Anjal, Balaram-Ambaji, Barda, Jambughoda, Khavda, Paniya, Purna, Rampura, Ratanmahal, and Surpaneshwar.

Gujarat has some of major mountain ranges of India, including Aravalli, Sahyadri (Western Ghats), Vindhya and Saputara. Apart from this Gir hills, Barda, Jessore, Chotila, etc. are situated in different parts of Gujarat. Girnar is the tallest peak and Saputara is the only hill-station in the state.

Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco, cotton, and groundnuts in India. Other major food crops produced are rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, maize, tur, and gram. The state has an agricultural economy; the total crop area amounts to more than one-half of the total land area.^[49]

Animal husbandry and dairying have played vital roles in the rural economy of Gujarat. Dairy farming, primarily concerned with milk production, functions on a co-operative basis and has more than a million members. Gujarat is the largest producer of milk in India. The Amul milk co-operative federation is well known all over India, and it is Asia's biggest dairy.^[50] Among livestock raised are buffalo and other cattle, sheep, and goats. As per the results of livestock census 1997, there were 20.97 million head of livestock in Gujarat State. In the estimates of the survey of major livestock products, during the year 2002–03, the Gujarat produced 6.09 million tonnes of milk, 385 million eggs and 2.71 million kg of wool. Gujarat also contributes inputs to the textiles, oil, and soap industries, among others.

As in much of India, since the 1960s farmers in Gujarat have increasingly relied on extensive groundwater irrigation to maintain production. In recent years, however, experts have become increasingly alarmed at the rate of water depletion in the state. The water table in Gujarat has been falling steadily for the last 15–20 years, leading to a risk of catastrophic, irreversible saltwater intrusion into the groundwater.^[51] The problem is exacerbated because electricity for farmers is subsidized, leaving little incentive to conserve water. To address this issue, the government of Gujarat has begun working with NGOs and universities to create new incentives for water conservation and to promote the adoption of water-saving technologies.^[52][53]

Tourism[link]

Sabarmati Ashram also known as Gandhi Ashram

Lakhota Museum in Jamnagar

Mandvi Beach

Tourism in Gujarat is promoted by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited. It is one of the most popular state in the country for tourists with annual footfall of 19.81 million tourists in 2010-11.^[54] Gujarat offers scenic beauty from Great Rann of Kutch to the hills of Saputara. Gujarat is the sole home of the pure Asiatic Lions in world.^[55][56][57] During the Sultanate reign, Hindu craftsmanship mix with Islamic architecture, giving rise to the Indo-Saracenic style. Many structures in the state are built in this fashion. It is also the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the great iconic figures during India's Independence movement. Amitabh Bachchan is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism. ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki' campaign by megastar Amitabh Bachchan has grown tourism in Gujarat by 14 per cent, twice that of national growth rate.^[58]

Museums

Gujarat has a variety of museums on different genres. These museums are run by the state's Department of Museums located at the principal state museum, Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery.

Kaba Gandhi No Delo in Rajkot

The Kirti Mandir, Porbandar, Sabarmati Ashram, and Kaba Gandhi No Delo are museums related to Mahatma Gandhi. The former being the Place of birthof him and the latter being two of the places where he lived in his lifetime. All of them are now transformed into museums. Kaba Gandhi No Delo in Rajkot exhibits some of a rare collection of photographs relating to the life of Mahatma Gandhi.^[59] Sabarmati Ashram is the place where Gandhiji initiated Dandi March. On 12 March 1930 he vowed that he would not return to the Ashram until India won independence.^[60]

Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery and Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum are located in Vadodara. Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery is where state's Department of Museums is located.^[61] While the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum is housed within Lakshmi Vilas Palace. It's the palace where Maharaja lived, and now has been turned into museum. Located in Ahmedabad the Calico Museum of Textiles is managed by the Sarabhai Foundation and is one of the most popular tourist spots in Ahmedabad.

The Lakhota Museum or the Lakota Museum is a palace transformed into museum, was residence of the Jhala Rajputs. The collection of the museum includes artifacts spanning from 9th to 18th century, pottery from medieval villages nearby and the skeleton of a whale.^[62]

Other famous museums in state include Kutch Museum in Bhuj being the oldest museum in Gujarat founded in 1877,^[63] Watson Museum of human history and culture in Rajkot,^[64] Gujarat Science City and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad.

Bhavnath Mahadev, Girnar, Junagadh.

Religious sites

Sun Temple, Modhera

Religious sites are major part of tourism in Gujarat. Somnath is the first among twelveJyotirlingas, and has been mentioned in Rigveda.^[65] The Palitana temples of Jainism on Mount Satrunjaya, Palitana are considered the holiest of all pilgrimage places by the Svetambara and Digambara Jain community.^[66] The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque and Jama Masjid are holymosques for Gujarati Muslims. The Sun Temple, Modhera is a ticketed monument, handled by the Archaeological Survey of India.^[67] Dwarakadheesh Temple and Dakor holy pilgrimage sites for devotees of Lord Krishna. Other religious sites in state include Mahudi, Shankheshwar, Ambaji, Dakor, Shamlaji, Chotila etc.

Fairs

Tarnetar Fair

A five day festival is held during Maha Shivaratri at the fot of Girnar, Junagadh known as Bhavanth Mahadev Fair (Gujarati: ભવનાથ નો મેળો). The Kutch Festival or Rann Festival (Gujarati: કચ્છ or રણ ઉત્સવ) is a festival celebrated at Kutch during Mahashivratri. The Modhra Dance Festival is a festival for classical dance, organized by Government of Gujarat's Cultural Department, to promote tourism in state and to keep traditions and culture alive.^[68]

The Tarnetar Fair is held during the first week of Bhadrapad, (September–October according to Gregorian calendar), and mostly servesplace to find a suitable bride for tribal people from Gujarat. The region is believed to be the place where Arjuna did the difficult task of piercing the eye of a fish, rotating at the end of a pole, by looking at its reflection in the pond water, to marry Draupadi.^[69][70] Other fairs in Gujarat include Dang Durbar, Shamlaji Fair,Chitra Vichitra Fair,Dhrang Fair and Vautha Fair.

Transport[link]

Air[link]

Gujarat has seventeen airports. The Gujarat Civil Aviation Board (GUJCAB) has been formed to foster development of aviation infrastructure in Gujarat. The Board is headed by the Chief Minister.^[71]

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad

Bhavnagar ATC and Terminal

International airports

• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (Ahmedabad) — Many domestic as well as international flights operate from here.

Domestic airports under AAI

• Bhavnagar Airport — 9 km from the city of Bhavnagar.
• Deesa airport — 5 km from Deesa.
• Kandla Airport (Gandhidham) — situated at Kandla, near Gandhidham, in Kutch district.
• Keshod Airport (Junagadh) — Keshod Airport is found 3 km from Keshod city in Junagadh District.
• Porbandar Airport — is situated 5 km from the city of Porbandar.
• Rajkot Airport — 4 km from the city of Rajkot.
• Surat Airport — Located on Magdalla Road.
• Vadodara Airport - Integrated Terminal Airport (Vadodara).

Airports under IAF

• Bhuj Airport — Bhuj Civil enclave airport has been recently been named Shyamji Krishna Verma Airport.
• Jamnagar Airport — Civil enclave, 10 km from the City of Jamnagar.
• Naliya Air Force Station — airforce airport. For Military use only.

Airports under State Government

• Mehsana Airport — Meshana Airport is about 2 km from Meshsana city.
• Mandvi airport ^[71]
• Amreli airport — air strip (training airport)

Future airports

• Zalawad Airport — Future airport for Surendranagar area.
• Fedara (Ahmedabad) — Proposed International Airport near Fedara village of Bhāl region.
• Ambaji (Danta) near Palanpur, Banaskantha
• Palitana^[72]
• Dwarka^[71]

Rail[link]

Gujarat comes under the Western Railway Zone of the Indian Railways. Vadodara Railway Station is the busiest railway station in Gujarat and the fourth busiest railway station in India. It is situated on the Mumbai – Delhi Western Railway Mainline. Other important railway stations are Surat railway station, Ahmedabad Railway Station and Rajkot Railway Station. Indian Railways is planning Delhi–Mumbai dedicated rail freight route passing through the state.

Work on Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) first phase of the metro rail project in Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar will start by 2011 and the line is expected to be operational within 2–3 years. The first phase of the metro rail project will cover a distance of 32.65 kilometre in the north-south direction between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad and 10.90 kilometre east-west corridor between Kalupur and Thaltej.^[30]

Sea[link]

Kandla Port is one of the largest ports serving Western India. Other important ports in Gujarat are the Port of Navlakhi, Port of Magdalla, Port Pipavav, Port of Porbandar and the privately owned Mundra Port.

Road[link]

A city bus in Ahmedabad

Autorickshaw

Local transportation

Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) is the primary body responsible for providing the bus services within the state of Gujarat and also with the neighboring states. It is a public transport corporation providing bus services and public transit within Gujarat and to the other states in India. Apart from this, there are a number of services provided by GSRTC.

• Mofussil Services — It connects major cities, smaller towns and villages within Gujarat.
• Intercity Bus Services — It also connects major cities — Ahmedabad, Vapi, Vadodara (Baroda) and Rajkot.
• Interstate Bus Services — It connects various cities of Gujarat with the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
• City Services — GSRTC also provides city bus services at Surat, Baroda, Vapi, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, within the state of Gujarat.
• Parcel Services — This service is used for transporting goods.

Apart from this, the GSRTC provides special bus services for festivals, industrial zones, schools, colleges and pilgrim places.

• There are also city buses in cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar etc.

Auto rickshaw is an important and frequently used mode of transport in Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat is promoting Bicycles to reduce pollution.

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Asia portal
	South Asia portal
	India portal
	Gujarat portal

• Gujarati people
• Gandhinagar — Capital of Gujarat
• Ahmedabad
• Mumbai
• List of people from Gujarat
• Mahatma Gandhi
• Vallabhbhai Patel
• Narendra Modi
• 2001 Gujarat earthquake
• Vibrant Gujarat — biennial Global Investors' Summit
• Parsi

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Gujarat on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

Government

• Gujarat Government Website
• Department of Tourism, Government of Gujarat
• Vibrant Gujarat Website

Other

• Gujarat travel guide from Wikitravel
• Gujarat at the Open Directory Project

	Sindh,  Pakistan	Rajasthan
	Arabian Sea		Madhya Pradesh
		Gujarat    East
		Arabian Sea	Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli Maharashtra

v t e States and territories of India States Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal Union Territories Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli National Capital Territory of Delhi Daman and Diu Lakshadweep Pondicherry

v t e State of Gujarat Capital: Gandhinagar Major cities Ahmedabad Surat Vadodara Rajkot Jamnagar Bhavnagar Junagadh Gandhinagar Navsari Surendranagar Valsad Udhana Mehsana Anand Bharuch Ankleshwar Nadiad Kheda Patan Bhuj Districts Ahmedabad Amreli Anand Banaskantha Bharuch Bhavnagar Dahod Dang Gandhinagar Jamnagar Junagadh Kheda Kutch Mehsana Narmada Navsari Panchmahal Patan Porbandar Rajkot Sabarkantha Surat Surendranagar Tapi Vadodara Valsad Villages Telnar Topics History Politics Government Economy Education People Culture Cuisine Geography National parks and sanctuaries Cinema Tourism Major projects of Gujarat Ahmedabad BRTS Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project Sardar Sarovar Dam GSWAN Regions of Gujarat Bhal region Kathiawar Saurashtra Gohilwad Zhalawad Charotar Ghed Portal: Gujarat

lez:Гьуджарат

A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman in 2007
Background information
Birth name	A. S. Dileep Kumar
Also known as	A. R. Rahman, A. R. R.
Born	(1966-01-06) 6 January 1966 (age 46)[1] Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India[2]
Genres	Film score
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, music director, arranger, entrepreneur, philanthropist, conductor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, percussion, drums, harpejji, continuum fingerboard, keyboard, piano, accordion, goblet drum, concert harp
Years active	1980–present
Labels	K. M. Musiq
Associated acts	Nemesis Avenue, SuperHeavy
Website	www.arrahman.com

Allah Rakha Rahman (born 6 January 1966 as A. S. Dileep Kumar) is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist.^[3] Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time,^[4] his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards, thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. His extensive body of work for film and the stage earned him the nickname “the Mozart of Madras” and several Tamil commentators and fans have coined him the nickname Isai Puyal (English: Music Storm).^[5] In 2009, Time placed Rahman in its list of World's Most Influential People.^[6] The UK based World Music magazine Songlines named him one of 'Tomorrow's World Music Icons' in August 2011.^[7]

Having set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record Inn at Chennai, arguably one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios, Rahman's film scoring career began in the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja. Working in India's various film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman has reportedly sold more than 300 million records worldwide of his film scores and soundtracks as of 2009 for over 100 film scores worldwide, making him one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists.^[8][9][10] In a notable career spanning two decades, Rahman has garnered particular acclaim for redefining contemporary Indian film music and thus contributing to the success of several films. Rahman is currently one of the highest paid composers of the motion picture industry. He has also become a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for beneficial causes and supporting charities.

Early life[link]

A R Rahman receiving a Platinum sales disc at the MagnaSound Awards. The record label Magnasound released his first film soundtrack, Roja in 1992.

A. R. Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a musically affluent Mudaliar Tamil family.^[11] His father R. K. Shekhar, was a film music composer and conductor for Tamil as well as Malayalam films. Rahman used to assist his father during recordings and play keyboard for the songs. Rahman lost his father at the age of 9 and his family had to rent out his father's musical equipment as their source of income.^[12] Rahman was raised by his mother Kareema (born Kashturi).^[13] During these formative years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots", with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja.^[3] Rahman is the founder of the Chennai-based rock group, "Nemesis Avenue".^[14] He mastered various music instruments like Keyboard, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonium and Guitar. His curiosity in Synthesizer in particular, increased because, he says, it was the "ideal combination of music and technology".

He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj.^[15][16] At the age of 11, he started playing musical instruments in the orchestra of Malayalam composer and a close friend of Rahman's father, M. K. Arjunan.^[17] Soon he started working with other composers such as M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Ramesh Naidu, Raj-Koti^[16] and also accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship with Trinity College, London, board of the Trinity College of Music.^[13] Studying in Chennai, he graduated with graded examinations and a diploma in Western classical music via the college.^[18] He was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister fell severely ill in 1984. Subsequently, Rahman along with other members of his family converted to Islam in 1989, when he was 23 years old. He changed his name from A. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman i.e. A. R. Rahman.^[13][19]

Career[link]

Film scoring and soundtracks[link]

When he was nine, Rahman accidentally played a tune on piano during his father's recording for a film, which R. K. Shekhar later developed into a complete song, "Vellithen Kinnam Pol", for the Malayalam film Penpada. This track credited to his father, was sung by Jayachandran and penned by Bharanikkavu Sivakumar.^[20] His film career began in 1992, when he started Panchathan Record Inn, a music recording and mixing studio attached to the backyard of his house. Over time it would become the most advanced recording studio in India,^[21] and arguably one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios.^[22] He initially composed scores for documentaries, jingles for advertisements and Indian Television channels and other projects. In 1987 Rahman, then still known as Dileep got his first opportunity to compose jingles for new range of watches being launched by Allwyn.^[23] In 1992, he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for Ratnam's Tamil film Roja.^[21][24] The debut led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, an unprecedented win for a first-time film composer. Rahman has since been awarded the Silver Lotus three more times for Minsara Kanavu (Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Hindi) in 2002, Kannathil Muthamittal (Tamil) in 2003, the most ever by any composer.^[25]

Roja's score met with high sales and acclaim in both its original and dubbed versions, led by the theme song "Chinna Chinna Aasai" bringing about a marked change in film music at the time. Rahman followed this with successful scores for Tamil–language films of the Chennai film industry including Ratnam's politically charged Bombay, the urbanite Kadhalan, Thiruda Thiruda and S. Shankar's debut film Gentleman, spurred by the popular dance song "Chikku Bukku Rayile".^{[26][27][28][29]} Rahman worked with director Bharathiraaja's Kizhakku Cheemayile and Karuththamma, producing successful Tamil rural folk inspired scores and delivered the grand saxophonic score for K. Balachander's Duet.^[30][31] The 1995 film Indira and the romantic comedies Mr. Romeo and Love Birds all gained him considerable notice.^[32][33][34] His fanbase in Japan increased with Muthu 's success there.^[35] His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and around the world for his stylistic versatility incorporating Western classical, Carnatic and Tamil traditional/folk music traditions, jazz, reggae and rock music.^{[36][37][38][39]} The soundtrack of Bombay sold 12 million copies worldwide.^[40] The "Bombay Theme"—from Ratnam's Bombay—would later reappear in his score of Deepa Mehta's Fire and various compilations and media around the world. It was featured in the Palestinian film Divine Intervention in 2002, and in the Nicolas Cage film Lord of War, in 2005. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut for Hindi-language films made in the Mumbai film industry.^[41] Many successful scores for films including Dil Se.. and the percussive Taal followed.^[42][43] Sufi mysticism would inspire the track "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the former, as well as the composition "Zikr" from his score for the film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero for which he created large symphonic orchestral and choral arrangements.^[19] His score for the Chennai production Minsaara Kanavu garnered Rahman his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1997, and a South FilmFare Award for Best Music Direction in a Tamil film, breaking a record with six consecutive wins in the latter category. Rahman would go onto win the award a further three consecutive times. Musical cues in scores for Sangamam and Iruvar employed Carnatic vocals and instruments such as the veena with leads of rock guitar and jazz.^[44] In the 2000s Rahman created hit scores for Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain, Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades and Rang De Basanti.^[45] He composed songs with Hindustani motifs for Water (2005). By the end of 2003, Rahman had sold more than 150 million records of his film scores and soundtracks for over 50 film scores worldwide.^[10][40][46]

Rahman has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Vairamuthu and Vaali. He has consistently produced commercially successful soundtracks when collaborating with particular film directors such as Mani Ratnam, who he has worked with since Roja, and the director S. Shankar in the films Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Sivaji and lately for Enthiran.^[47]

In 2005, Rahman extended his Panchathan Record Inn studio by establishing AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai, thereby creating the most cutting-edge studio in Asia.^[48][49] In 2006, Rahman launched his own music label, KM Music.^[50] Its first release was his score to the film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal.^[51] Rahman scored the Mandarin language picture Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 after researching and utilizing Chinese and Japanese classical music,^[52] and won the Just Plain Folks Music Award For Best Music Album for his score of the 2006 film Varalaru (God Father).^[53] He co-scored the Shekhar Kapur project and his first British film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in 2007.^[54] He garnered an Asian Film Award nomination for Best Composer at the Hong Kong International Film Festival for his Jodhaa Akbar score.^[55] His compositions have been sampled for other scores within India,^[56] and appeared in such films as Inside Man, Lord of War, Divine Intervention and The Accidental Husband. In 2008, Rahman scored his first Hollywood picture, the comedy Couples Retreat released the next year, which won him the BMI London Award for Best Score.^[57] Rahman scored the film Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, for which he won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards, becoming the first Asian to do so. The songs "Jai Ho" and "O…Saya" from the soundtrack of this film met with commercial success internationally. In 2010, Rahman composed scores for the romance film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, blockbuster sci-fi romance film Enthiran and Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. Rahman started off the year 2011 by scoring Imtiaz Ali's musical film Rockstar. The soundtrack became a phenomenal success and earned Rahman immense critical praise.^[58]

Performing and other projects[link]

Rahman performing at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2010

Rahman has been involved in several projects aside from film. Vande Mataram, an album of his original compositions released on India's 50th anniversary of independence in 1997, enjoyed great commercial success.^[59][60][61] Vande Mataram is the largest selling Indian non-film album to date.^[62] He followed it up with an album for the Bharat Bala–directed video Jana Gana Mana, a conglomeration of performances by many leading exponents and artists of Indian classical music.^[63] Rahman has written jingles for ads and composed several orchestrations for athletic events, television and internet media publications, documentaries and short films.^[64] He frequently enlists the Czech Film Orchestra, Prague and the Chennai Strings Orchestra.

In 1999, Rahman partnered with choreographers Shobana and Prabhu Deva and a Tamil cinema dancing troupe to perform with Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany at his "Michael Jackson and Friends" concert.^[65] In 2002, he composed the music for his maiden stage production, Bombay Dreams, commissioned by musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.^[66] Finnish folk music band Värttinä collaborated with Rahman to write the music for The Lord of the Rings theatre production and in 2004,^[25] Rahman composed the piece "Raga's Dance" for Vanessa-Mae's album Choreography performed by Mae and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.^[67]

Rahman on stage at Sydney concert 2010

Since 2004, Rahman has performed three successful world tours to audiences in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Dubai, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and India.^[25][68] He has been collaborating with Karen David for her upcoming studio album. A two-disc soundtrack, Introducing A. R. Rahman (2006) featuring 25 of his pieces from Tamil film scores was released in May 2006,^[69] and his non-film album, Connections was released on 12 December 2008.^[70] Rahman also performed at the White House State dinner arranged by US President Barack Obama during the official visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 24, 2009.^[71] Rahman is one of over 70 artists who performed on "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a charity single to raise emergency relief funds in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[72] In 2010, Rahman composed "Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat" in honor of the 50th anniversary of the formation of Gujarat State,^[73] "Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam" as part of World Classical Tamil Conference 2010,^[74] and the official theme song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto".^[75] Rahman organised his first world tour, named A. R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour, in 2010. The ongoing tour was kicked off on June 11 at the Nassau Coliseum in New York and will span 16 major cities worldwide.^[76]

Some of his notable compositions were performed live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2010.^[77] In February 2011, Rahman collaborated with Michael Bolton for his new studio album Gems – The Duets Collection.^[78][79] Rahman reworked on his song "Sajna" from the 2009 American film Couples Retreat to create the track.^[80]

On 20 May 2011, English musician Mick Jagger announced the formation of a new supergroup, SuperHeavy, which includes Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Damian Marley, and Rahman.^[81] The band's self-titled album is slated for release in September 2011.^[82] The album will see Mick Jagger singing in Rahman's composition "Satyameva Jayate", which translates to "the truth alone triumphs".^[83]

In January 2012, it was announced the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg would join KM Music Conservatory musicians in a 100-member concert tour of five Indian cities performing Rahman's compositions. The tour, named "Germany and India 2011–2012: Infinite Opportunities'. Classic Incantations", will mark the centenary of Indian cinema and of Studio Babelsberg, the world's oldest film studio.

Music style and impact[link]

Skilled in Carnatic music, Western classical, Hindustani music and the Qawwali style of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahman has been noted to write film songs that amalgamate elements of these music systems and other genres, layering instruments from differing music idioms in an improvisatory manner.^[19][84] Symphonic orchestral themes have accompanied his scores, occasionally employing leitmotif. In the 1980s, Rahman recorded and played arrangements on monophonic sound, synonymous with the era of his musical predecessors K. V. Mahadevan and Vishwanathan–Ramamoorthy. In later years his methodology changed as he experimented with the fusion of traditional instruments with new electronic sounds and technology.^[19][85]

Rahman's musical interests and outlook stem from his love of experimentation. Rahman's compositions, in the vein of past and contemporary Chennai film composers, bring out auteuristic uses of counterpoint, orchestration and the human voice, melding Indian pop music with unique timbre, forms and instrumentation. By virtue of these qualities, broad ranging lyrics and his syncretic style, the appeal of his music cuts across the spectrum of classes and cultures within Indian society.^[86]

His first soundtrack for Roja was listed in Time's "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time in 2005. Film critic Richard Corliss felt the "astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman."^[87] Rahman's initial global reach is attributed to the South Asian diaspora. Described as one of the most innovative composers to ever work in the industry, his unique style and immense success transformed film music in the 1990s prompting several film producers to take film music more seriously.^[88] The music producer Ron Fair considers Rahman to be "one of the world's great living composers in any medium".^[89]

The director Baz Luhrmann notes

Awards[link]

AR Rahman at his residence in Chennai after bagging two Academy Awards for his work in Slumdog Millionaire (2009)

Rahman was the 1995 recipient of the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for contributions to music.^[91] He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his first West-End production. A four-time National Film Award winner and recipient of six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South for his music and scores.^[1] He has been conferred Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu for excellence in the field of music, special music achievement awards from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Padma Shri from the Government of India.^[92] In 2006, he received an honorary award from Stanford University for contributions to global music.^[93] In 2007, Rahman was entered into the Limca Book of Records as "Indian of the Year for Contribution to Popular Music",^[94] and the Guinness World Records in 2010 as the original composer of "Maa Tujhe Salaam", from the album Vande Mataram – the song performed in the most number of languages worldwide (265).^[95] He is the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Rotary Club of Madras.^[96] In 2009, for his score of Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score,^[97] the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and two Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. Rahman has received honorary doctorates from Middlesex University and Aligarh Muslim University.^[98][99] Later the year Rahman was conferred the honorary doctorate from Anna University in Chennai.^[100] He has also won two Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for a Visual Media.^[101] Rahman was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2010.^[102] Rahman's work for the film 127 Hours garnered him Golden Globe, BAFTA, and two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song in 2011.^{[103][104][105]} He is an Honorary Fellow of the Trinity College of Music, presented to him by Trinity College London.^[106]

On May 7, 2012, he was conferred Honorary Doctorate from the Miami University, Ohio. During the acceptance speech, he mentioned that he received a Christmas card from the US President's family and an invitation for the dinner at White House.^[107]

Personal life[link]

He is married to Saira Banu and has three children, Khatija, Rahima, and Ameen.^[108] Ameen sings the track "NaNa" from Couples Retreat and his daughter Khatija the track "Pudhiya Manidha" from Enthiran.^[109][110] Rahman is the uncle of composer G. V. Prakash Kumar, who is the son of Rahman's elder sister, A. R. Reihana.^[111] Prakash Kumar's first work in film was singing on the Rahman composition "Chikku Bukku Rayile" from his score to the 1993 film Gentleman.^[112] A. R. Reihana debuted in film singing on the track "Vidai Kodu Engal Naadae" from Kannathil Muthamittal and is also a music director. Rahman's younger sister Fathima is in charge of his Music conservatory in Chennai. The youngest Ishrath has her own music studio.^[113] A. R. Rahman is the step brother of film actor Rahman.^[114]

An atheist through much of his childhood, in 1989 Rahman converted to Islam, the religion of his mother's family. After the early death of his father, his family went through hard times and Sufism had a great influence on his mother and slowly on his family.^[115] During the 81st Academy Awards ceremony, he paid tribute to his mother, saying "There is a Hindi dialogue, mere pass ma hai, which means 'even if I have got nothing I have my mother here'."^[116] He also began his own catchphrase, "Ella pughazhum iraivanukke", in Tamil which literally means "All praises dedicated to God". The phrase was popularized after Rahman uttered it prior to his speech at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony.^[117]

Humanitarian work[link]

Rahman is involved in various charitable causes. In 2004, he was appointed as the Global Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership, a project by WHO.^[25] He has shown support to charities including Save the Children, India, and worked with Yusuf Islam for his song "Indian Ocean". The song featured a-ha keyboard player Magne Furuholmen and drummer Travis, Neil Primrose. The proceeds of the song went towards helping orphans in Banda Aceh, that was affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.^[118] He produced the single "We Can Make It Better" by Don Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota.^[119] In 2008, Rahman opened his KM Music Conservatory partnered with Audio Media Education facility to tutor and train aspiring musicians in vocals, instruments, music technology and sound design. The conservatory – with preeminent musicians on its panel and a newly founded symphony orchestra – is located near his studio in Kodambakkam, Chennai, offering courses at Beginners, Foundation and Diploma level. Violinist L. Subramaniam is on its board of advisors.^[120] Several of Rahman's proteges from the studio have gone onto score music for feature films.^[121] Rahman composed the theme music for a short film for The Banyan in 2006, in aid of destitute women in Chennai.^[122] In 2008, Rahman with noted percussionist Sivamani created a song titled "Jiya Se Jiya", inspired by the Free Hugs Campaign and promoted it through a video shot in various cities in India.^[123]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• List of films directed by Mani Ratnam featuring A. R. Rahman

Notes[link]