A chance meeting with a stranger on the streets of Rajkot sparks of the beginnings of knowing an exuberantly spirited city of Gujarat. Walk the streets at any time of the month or day and you will meet people who are lively, vibrant and festive. Sampling delicacies at fast food stalls outside the Galaxy cinema or spinning threads of life in the Rashtriyashala, evenings spent playing cricket at the gymkhana or manufacturing machine tools and auto parts; a citizen of the city spends his life in hard work and leisure.
Typical Kathiawari hospitality greets people from all walks of life and complicated business deals are struck over cups of tea, jalebis and ice-cream. The city over the years has earned the title ‘Rangilo Rajkot’ and the exuberance of the people more than make up for it. Sprawling Rajkot, located on the banks of River Aji and Nirari, is the centre of Saurashtra and a mushrooming industrial hub with wide streets and a distinctly urban architecture. The city is a curious blend of the modern layered over the traditional and it is this uniqueness that attracts people from various parts of the country to come and settle in the heart of Kathiawar.
Under the bustle and noise of pistons and engines, trading and business consuming numerous cups of tea, is a town which has become the educational hub of Saurashtra opening the doors of its elite institutions to a Prince and a commoner alike. From the hallowed gates of the Alfred High school where walked a young Gandhi to the Cricket stadium at Rajkumar College where played a young Ranji, Rajkot is a jewel of Kathiawar. A walk through the streets of the city is the fulfillment of knowledge and nostalgia, the Watson Museum vies for your attention along with the Ramkrishna Math and the Lang Library jostles for space with an evening spent frolicking around the lakes. The tinkling of red bangles at the Bangdi Bazaar match the garish reds of ice candies on summer afternoons, browsing and shopping in Rajkot can be such fun!
For Take A Gujrat Tour Visit
http://www.indiabycolours.com
No comments:
Post a Comment