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August 20, 2011.

Dear friends,

It gives us immense pleasure to welcome you all to Gujaratotsav 2011 event. Today, we are here because we areproud of our rich heritage and being Gujarati. We all have a deep commitment to preserve and promote Gujaraticulture and values here in the USA. SFVGA has been in existence as a vibrant non-profit organization for pastcouple of decades, serving and uniting the local Gujarati community.

In the first board meeting of 2011, our SFVGA board, decided to organize this event, celebrating 50 years ofGujarat in San Fernando Valley. The focus is to refresh our memories and learn more about our own Glorioushistory and off course today’s Vibrant Gujarat! Our SFVGA members have worked very hard for many days topresent this information in the form of a skit along with Audio-Video clips.

To make our celebration memorable, we are very happy to have renowned Gujarati singers Shri Ashitbhai Desaiand Smt. Hemanginiben Desai with us today. Their contribution to Gujarati Sugam Sangeet and Bhajans hasbeen extra ordinary. Shri Ashitbhai has won All India Radio’s Best Singer Award in 1969 at the age of 18.

We are very thankful for the great support of all our sponsors, reflective of their commitment to support ourculture through such authentic Gujarati event. We are also encouraged by the large presence of SFVGAmembers and their friends from across the Southern California. Together, we have clearly expressed thatalthough we are living thousands of miles away from Gujarat, Gujarat lives within us!

Thank you.

Gujaratotsav 2011 Committee Members

Pranav Desai (Committee Chairperson) Rajesh Patel (Board Liaison member for committee)Dinker Shah Bindu Jogani (Board Liaison member for committee)Vijay BhattPurnima AhujaAmeesh PandyaShanti ShethJitendra MehtaRoopa ManiarSudhir BankerRajni ThakkarDilip BhattSurbhi ShahNavendu TrivediKirit Doshi

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GUJARAT: A BRIEF JOURNEY THROUGH THE AGES . . . . .By MANDHATA CHAUHAN

PROLOGUE: Humans, being social animals, politics is inherent in their genes. Nations comprise of humansand that is the reason, why nations behave like human-beings. Ultimate goal of politics is to gain power -economic and/or military. Whenever a power vacuum occurs in a region, external forces would try to fill-in thatvoid. The situation would invariably lead to conflict. GUJARAT is no exception to this rule, it had its periodsof tranquil prosperity, often that was shattered by fierce clashes on the battlefields. If one believes stronglyenough in something, one must fight for it. Early Rajput princes adhered to the principles of warfare asenunciated by the Vedas, which inculcated justice and fair play without deceit and surprise attacks, whiletreating adversary as an equal. These rules were not respected by the invading armies. Owing to lack ofadequate transportation and communications in a vast country like India, different regions had developed theirown languages, cultures, politico-socio-economic philosophies independently of others. This evolution had keptthe people of various regions of India from thinking united, as one nation, which in turn, made it easy for theoutside powers to manipulate them. Although, the religions have been at the contention, for many wars in theworld, Indian religions have been remarkably tolerant of the other religions that came to India. Despite all thosewars, destruction and mayhem thru ages, GUJARAT remains to-day, a magnificent amalgam of a variety ofpositive influences. This is abundantly evident as social impact of the historical events, in its culture, art, music,dances, architecture, costumes and a vibrant economy humming along melodiously. This is our delightfulheritage.

ANCIENT ERA: Amongst archeologists it is an accepted belief that GUJARAT is a product of the IndusValley Civilization - of Mohenjo-Daro descent. Nevertheless, the recent excavations of Lothal and Dholavira,are evidence enough for some archeologist to contend that GUJARAT was the cradle of Saraswati RiverCivilization. Saraswati river ran parallel to the Indus river from the Himalayas (3000 BC), but, had dissipatedinto the earth, as a consequence of massive earthquakes. Vedas have prolific references to the river, hence, it isinferred that the Vedas originated on the banks of Saraswati.

Chandragupta Maurya (322- 294 BC) sprinkled the imperial grandeur into the glorious history ofGUJARAT, when he ordered building of the dams on the Sudarshan Lake and other water reservoirs inGirinagar, (Junagadh). Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka, ordered building canals from the Sudarshan Lake toirrigate the farmlands in the area, to which his rock edict reads as an eloquent witness, at Mount Girnar. Thiswas, perhaps, one of the oldest experiments in water conservation, in India. When the Gupta Empire started todeteriorate, their Maitrika Commander (470 AD), established Maitrika state and moved his capital fromGirinagar to Vallbhipur (near Bhavnagar). Maitrika kingdom encompassed all of GUJARAT reaching all theway to Malwa. Maitrika University rivaled the renowned Nalanda University, according to writings of theChinese traveler Hsuan-Tsang (640 AD).

Shiv-ism was the most popular religion in Middle East, in the pre-Islamic period. Three Goddesses mostworshiped, were represented as stone idols, Manat (Godess of Destiny), Lat and Uzza, as mentioned in Qur'an(Satanic Verses). All three shrines were in the proximity of Mecca and Madina. In order to start a new religion,worship of earlier deities was opposed by Prophet Mohammd (570-632). He ordered his son-in-law, Ali, todestroy the shrines, which, he did, but idol of Manat, was secreted away to Kathiawad for safe-keeping.(Somnath, Professor Romila Thapar, p.48). Hinduism, Shivism, Jainism, and Buddhism were already popular,but, between 7th and 12th centuries, Bhakti movements, as a road to salvation grew. Swami Chakradhara(1194) popularized Vaishnavites (worship of Vishnu). At this time Kabir, Meera, Narsinh Mehta, Chaitanya andSurdas also came to the forefront (History Of Medieval India, Satish Chandra,p.186-196).

RAJPUT ERA: Chavdas were the vassal kings of the Maitrikas of Vallbhipur. Vanraj Chavda founded the newcapital of Anhilpur-Patan. Chavdas ruled Gurjar Desh for almost a century. Chalukyas (Solankis ofGUJARAT), who had originated in Rajputana, had migrated South to Karnataka, and ruledKarnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra, had now, conquered GUJARAT from the Chavdas. Mulraj Solanki (942

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AD), had adopted the Gupta pattern of administration in GUJARAT, Saurashtra and Kutch. He invited manytalented people, including Brahmin -Brahmabhatt from the Northern India to settle in Devasthali (Siddhpur) andemployed them in key positions in his administration. He initiated the construction of Rudra Mahal (996 AD),dedicated to Lord Shiva, before his death. Mulraj Solanki's regime was the beginning of a golden period ofGUJARAT, blossomed into a cultural icon of India, heralding 'renaissance' in music, dance, art, architecture,language, script, agriculture and trade, and came to be known as Gurjar-Desh, Gurjar-Rashtra and finallyGUJARAT. GUJARATi took its distinct structure from Marwadi and Malwi. Jain Muni, HemchandraCharya,Kumarpal's trusted Minister, actively promoted the development of the GUJARATi language and grammer. Asa result, GUJARAT evolved as a fully definable region, during the Solanki dynasty. Trade with West Asiacomprising of imports of horses, wine, and metals and exports of textiles, spices, semi-precious stones, timberand swords, increased several folds by Arab and Bania traders in this era. The guardian family deity of theSolankis was Somnath, at Prabhas-Patan (Veraval). The temple idol was desecrated and plundered during thetimes of Solanki king BhimDev (I), by Mahmud of Gazni. BhimDev and Parmar King Bhoj of Malwa rebuiltthe temple and enhanced the splendor of Someshwarnath. (Somanath temple was rebuilt eight times). Nosooner Mahmud of Gazni began retreating, after his devastating attacks on Somanath and annihilatingAnhilpur-Patan into rubbles, the sounds of hammer and chisel began to ring up the hills of Abu andArasur, with the building of splendorous temples at Delwada and Kumbharia. As if the death anddestruction caste upon them by the destroyer and the iconoclast, was but, a nightmare that vanished into the thinair of these mountains. Such resilience of the people of GUJARAT was to surface again and again through ages.

BhimDev's successor, KaranDev founded the town of Karnavati (near Mani-Nagar) on Sabarmatiriver. KaranDev and MinalDevi's son Siddhraj Jaisinh (1094-1142) was the most prominent of theSolanki Emperors, that most meticulously and efficiently ruled GUJARAT, Saurastra, Kutch and Malwa. Oneof the most tragic fables of the time, popular with the Barots (bards), is that of Ranak Devi. Siddharth Jaisinhwas engaged to Ranak Devi. But, she was married off to Ra'Khengar of Junagadh, by her family. SiddhrajJaisinh invaded Junagadh. In the war, Ra'Khengar, the ruler of Junagadh, was killed. RanakDevi, his queen, inthe Rajput tradition of the time, instead of surrendering to Siddhraj, chose to become 'Sati'. RanakDevi's templestill stands in Wadhwan, as a monumental reminder of her love for her husband, Ra'Khangar. Anothermelancholy episode that became a folklore of the time, was that of Jasma Oden. Siddhraj had orderedconstruction of Sahastra-Ling Talao (lake) in Patan, to conserve water for the use of his people. While theconstruction of the lake was going on, he came across Jasma Oden, a woman employed to dig the lake. Siddhrajfell in love with her beauty, and wanted to marry her. Jasma Oden was a married woman, and so, she gaveSiddhraj a 'Shrap' (curse) that his lake would never have water. The magnificent Sahastra-Ling Talao still standsbarren as a memorial to Jasma Oden, in Patan. Shahstra-Ling Talao, a lake adorned by one-thousand shrines ofShiv-Lings on its banks. It is a spectacular confluence of the pragmatic architectural splendor, intertwined withsymbolizing reverence for Hindu religious sanctity for water. The five kilometer lake, used to get water fromriver Saraswati, by canals. The awe-inspiring lake still leaves an onlooker with an ever-enduring memory of itsgrandeur. Solanki kings had built thousands of wells throughout GUJARAT, but, Rani-Ni-Vav (Queen's step-well) is a seven-story marvel outside Patan. Its steps are interwoven with sculptures of Lord Vishnu's Avtaras,Jain Tirthankars, Hindu Goddesses and glamorous Apsaras. VishalDev Vaghela followed the Solanki Dynasty,who built the famous temples of Dabhoi and Vishalnagar (Visnagar). King Virdaval Waghela entrusted his twodistinguished Diwans, Vastupal and Tejpal to building magnificient temples at Abu, Girnar and Shatrunjay. Fora thousand years, Rajput kings had repelled the invaders. But, KaranDev Vaghela was the last HinduRajput king of GUJARAT, since the superior forces of Alauddin Khilji conquored Anhilpur-Patan.

Vanraj Chavda was the founder of the strategically important town of Champaner in 8th century. It wasconsidered the strategic gateway to Malwa, Khandesh and Daccan, (thick Narmada river jungles had made themimpregnable), for highways ran thru the town which made it a militarily and a commercially viable arteryto central and southern India. It also collected lucrative customs duty for the goods that went thru it. Chauhansof Ranthambhor (Rajasthan), descendents of the last Rajput Emperor of Delhi, Prithviraj Chauhan, hadestablished their kingdom in Champaner in (1300 AD). Because of its strategic importance, in SouthGUJARAT, many Sultans of GUJARAT had tried to conquer it. Hindu kings had never discriminated againstany religion and so Champaner had many Hindu, Jain and Buddhist shrines, with Maha Kali temple at the topof the reddish/yellow Pawagadh hill. Garbas/Raas and stage-plays were also a cultural contribution ofChampaner to GUJARAT. It was a well-planned city with a distinctly defined drainage system, grain-storages,

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lakes and tanks for constant water supply with successively fortified walls at regular distances from the topof Pawagadh hills to the surface level. It was Mahmud Begda (1484), who succeeded in capturing the fort, aftertwo years of camping outside the fort and using deceitful tactics.

MUSLIM ERA: The fertile plains of northern India had always been a destination of choice for hordes ofinvaders from the North-West by the tribes that had just converted to Islam. For the reason of its geography, theRajput ruled states suffered the brunt of this aggression from various Mongol-Turk-Afghan war-lords thatrepeatedly invaded the subcontinent. Professor Stanley Wolpert (UCLA), in his book, New History of India,wrote, "The Rajputs were the vanguard of Hindu India in the face of Islamic onslaught". Had it not been for theRajputs, all of India would have been, perhaps, going to the Masjid to-day to pray, like Malaysia,Indonesia, Iran, Eastern Europe and Africa.

Before 1298, Muslims had only occasional contact with this part of India - GUJARAT, because, Rajputana wasa formidable obstacle to Muslim to advance from the North. They were allowed two small settlements, in porttowns of Bharuch and Khambhat. Abdullah, a missionary from Egypt, during Sidhraj's times preached there. Hebecame the founder of the Bohra faith in the region. It was Allauddin Khilji, who annexed GUJARAT intoDelhi Sultanate after destroying Anhilpur-Patan. Nevertheless, the Sultanate was not in a firm control ofGUJARAT. When Timur Langh (great grand-father of Babar, the founder of the Mogul Dynasty), brutallyransacked Delhi (1398), thereby pushing Delhi Sultanate to its breaking point. That is when Sultanate-Governor Muzaffer Shah, declared himself independent, Sultan of GUJARAT. His son, Ahmed Shah, movedthe capital from Karnavati to the new city named after himself, Ahmedabad, (February 26, 1411, 600 years old).Mahmud Begda, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, in 1487, fortified the city, six miles in circumference, havingtwelve gates. He was a ruthless but an efficient ruler. He was called Begada, because he had conquered two'Gadhs', Junagadh (1467) and Pawagadh (1484). He made Khambhat, a commercially viable port. Later, underthe Moguls, Surat rose in prominence.

Mogul Emperor Akbar, conquered Ahmedabad (1573), and brought it under control of Delhi again. Akbar wasthe first Muslim king that made India his home. Until then all those invaded India, just plundered riches of Indiaand left behind a ghastly trail of death, destruction and mayhem. Akbar wanted to weave into Indian tapestry ofart, architecture, culture, tradition, administration and history, his own vision of the greatness of the country.But, unfortunately that trend ended with Aurangzeb. During the Mogul reign, Ahmedabad thrived as a tradecenter of textile goods, which were exported as far away as Europe thru the ports of Surat and Khambhat, byenterprising GUJARATi Banias. Shah Jahan, Mogul Ruler, spent prime of his life in Ahmedabad. He sponsoredthe construction of Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. Mogul Faujdars appointed Nawabs to administer theregion. Control of GUJARAT gave them an unprecedented power and prestige, financial and manpowerresources, command over gateway to Malwa, Khandesh and Deccan. But, soon enough breakdown of sucha remote-controlled authority gave rise to local powers to fill the vacuum.

Resourceful Parsis had landed in Sanjan from Iran, sometime in the 7th century and made GUJARAT theirhome. Of the Europeans, first Portuguese (1512-1619), and then DUTCH, followed by the British (1609),appeared on the shores of Surat as traders. Sir Thomas Roe obtained permission of the Mogul EmperorJahangir, to establish a factory in Surat (Surajpur), and DUTCH followed them. Portuguese withdrew fromSurat, when Princess Catherine of Brenganza was married to Charles II of England in 1662, and Surat andBombay islands were given to the British in dowery. By 1687, British had established Presidency in Bombay,while took control of local governance in Surat by 1800.

ANGLO-MARATHA ERA: Marathas began to consolidate their power. Moguls sent Afzal Khan to kill Shivaji,rising Maratha king. Shivaji (1659) killed Afzal Khan at Pratapgadh, using tiger claws. Shivaji had used theguerrilla warfare tactics combined with swift surprise-attack military strategy on the horse-back, developedby Maharana Pratap almost a century earlier, against the Moguls in Rajasthan. Thereafter, Chhatrapati Shivajiinvaded and plundered Mogul stronghold, port of Surat, in 1664 and 1672. These were the initial incursions ofthe Marathas into GUJARAT. Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shivaji appointed the Peshwa (Prime Minister or Pant-Pradhan) to run his day-to-day administration. These Peshwas had control of finances of the military, which putthem in a position of power.

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Before the time of Aurangzeb's death (1707), cracks had begun to develop in the Mogul Empire. Thecentralized hierarchical vertical power of Mogul Empire from Delhi was coming to an end. GUJARAT was oneof the sixteen Subas of the Mogul Empire, throughout India. Constant Maratha raids could not be controlled bythe Mogul officers in GUJARAT. In 1748, Sher Khan established Babi Dynasty in Junagadh with the help ofthe Sultan of Ahmedabad. A towering statesman, his Nagar Diwan, Amarji, made Junagadh a prominentstate. Ahmedabad remained under the control of Moguls until 1758, when Moguls surrendered to thecontending Marathas - Peshwas (Brahmins) of Poona and Gaekwads (Maratha-Rajput descent) of Baroda. In1774, a succession dispute arose, when Narayan Rao peshwa was killed and Raghoba wanted to become thePeshwa, bypassing Narayan Rao's son. The British and the Gaekwads successfully supported Narayan Rao'sson's candidacy. Gaekwads recognized British power after the treaty of Salbai (1782). Surat went to the Britishin 1800, and Bharuch in 1803. PilajiRao Gaekwad and Kanoji Kadam-Bande raided region south of Surat andbuilt a fort in Songadh, and took residence there. South GUJARAT's Rajas of Rajpipla and Chhota-Udaipursupported the Marathas. Nizam Haider Qualikhan appointed his Naib, Hamid khan, to take chargeof GUJARAT and went to Deccan and declared independence from the Moguls. Royal court appointed Shuja-ut-Khan to replace Hamid Khan. Hamid Khan asked for help of Kanoji and Pilajirao. Shuja-ut Khan waskilled and the Marathas, for the first time, entered Ahmedabad. Wealthy Desais of Padra, Chhani, Bhailiand Viramgam needed safety and security from often unruly Moguls, and so, they helped Marathas establishthemselves in GUJARAT. Desais collected Chauth for the Marathas. Shroffs and Nagarsheths became veryprominent in GUJARAT politics and finance, during the Rajput and the Maratha rule. Until now, the Gaekwadsand the Peshwas of Poona shared the revenues collected in GUJARAT. After the treaty of Salbai, Gaekwadsand the British shared the revenues. Maharaja Sayaji Rao (1863 – 1939) was the most enlightened of theGaekwad kings. His was one of the most efficiently and effectively run administration of a princely state ofIndia. He gave to his people, the Baroda College (Maharaja Sayaji Rao University), Gaekwad Baroda StateRailway (first narrow gauge railway in India), Nyay Mandir, Kirti Mandir, Sur Sagar Lake, Dufferin Hospital,Jamnabai Hospital, Laxmi Vilas Palace, Nazar Baug Palace, Makarpura palace, Kamati Baug, the museum,Ajwa water supply, Mandvi, Khanderao Market, Polo Grounds and so on.

The British took over the city of Ahmedabad in 1818. Military cantonment was established in1824 and municipal government was setup in 1858. In 1864, a railway link was created by B B & C I (BombayBaroda and Central India) Railway, which made Ahmedabad a prosperous industrial and commercial center ofGUJARAT linking Northern and Southern India. Textiles and Tobacco industries flourished and hugepopulation migrations took place between rural and industrial centers of GUJARAT. As the Peshwas declinedin power, the British replaced them. The British had direct control over Surat, Bharuch, Godhra, Kheda,Dholka, Dhandhuka and Ahmedabad, while the Gaekwads had direct control over Navsari, Mehsana, Amreliand Baroda. Peshwas gradually disintegrated. The British had signed separate treaties with each prince of India.

MODERN GUJARAT: Beehive-activities of the Independence Movement, began in Ahmedabad withMahatma Gandhi establishing Kochrab Ashram (1915-Paldi) and Sabarmati Ashram (1917-Satyagrah Ashram),in Ahmedabad. Protests against the extension of war-time regulations (Rowlette Act-1919), and Textile workersstrike for better civil rights and pay, rocked the city. From here, Gandhiji embarked upon his civil disobediencemovement, with Dandi Salt March (1930) and Quit India Movement (1942). The city endured intense Hindu-Muslim riots on the eve of the Independence. British Bombay Presidency comprised of the western coastalregions of India. When Reoganization of The States Commission decided to keep bi-lingual Bombay State(1956), the riots broke out through-out the state. Indulal Yagnik led the Maha-GUJARAT movement, whichresulted in the birth of today’s GUJARAT state in India and Ahmedabad as its capital. L.D. College ofEngineering initiated the Nav-Nirman Agitation (1974), which shook-up not only GUJARAT, but, withJayaprakash Narayan leading the movement, led to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, imposing'National Emergency' (1975).

GUJARAT has produced such legends as, Narsinh Mehta, Dhumketu, Umashankar Joshi, Kanaiyalal Munshi,Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Jinnah, Morarji Desai, Jivraj Mehta, Dhirubhai Ambani, Vikram Sarabhai, Dr, VergheseKurian and others. GUJARAT State has made some giant leaps in economic development since year 2000. Ithas experienced double digit growth, especially in the areas such as Agriculture, Auto, Chemical, Infrastructure(Power, Road, Port and Communications), Dairy, Diamond, Oil Refinery, Pharmaceutical, Textiles, and so on,making GUJART as the premier state and the economic growth engine of India.

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Sponsors of Gujaratotsav 2011

Grand Sponsor: Godrej Properties

Chief Guest: Shri Navin Doshi and Pratima Doshi

Gold Sponsors:

1. Moksha Restaurant

2. Babubhai & Madhuben Mehta3. Ushakant & Irma Thakkar4. Govind & Sonal Vaghashia

Silver Sponsors:

1. State Bank of India, Canoga Park Branch

2. Wilshire State Bank

3. Vikram & Anjana Kamdar4. Sharad & Jyothsana Patel5. Satish & Nidhi Tomar