| |
|
|
| GOA |
|
|
Goa is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located on the west coast of India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast.
Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants, and conquered it soon thereafter. The Portuguese overseas territory existed for about 450 years, until it was annexed by India in 1961. |
|
| Renowned for its beaches, places of worship and world heritage architecture, Goa is visited by large numbers of international and domestic tourists each year. It also has rich flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which is classified as a biodiversity hotspot. |
|
| AHMEDABAD |
|
|
Ahmedabad is a city in India; it is the largest city in the state of Gujarat, with a population of approximately 52 lakhs (5.2 million). Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, the city is the administrative centre of Ahmedabad district and was the capital of Gujarat from 1960 to 1970; the capital was shifted to Gandhinagar thenafter. In colloquial Gujarati, it is commonly called Amdavad.
Ahmedabad was founded in 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah to serve as the capital of the Gujarat Sultanate. The city is named after its founder. Under British rule, a military cantonment was established and the city infrastructure was modernised and expanded. Although incorporated into the Bombay Presidency during the British rule in India, |
|
Ahmedabad remained the most important city in the Gujarat region. The city established itself as the home of a booming textile industry, which earned it the nickname "the Manchester of the East." The city was at the forefront of the Indian independence movement in the first half of the 20th century. It was the centre of many campaigns of civil disobedience to promote workers' rights, civil rights and political independence.
With the creation of the state of Gujarat in 1960, Ahmedabad gained prominence as commercial capital of the state. The city is witnessing a major construction boom and population increase. A rising centre of education, information technology and scientific industries, Ahmedabad remains the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat and much of western India. |
|
| BANGALORE |
|
|
Bangalore also known as Bengaḷūru, is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration.
Though historical references to the city predate 900 AD, a modern written history of continuous settlement exists only from 1537, when Kempe Gowda I, who many regard as the architect of modern Bangalore, built a mud-brick fort at the site and established it as a province of the imperial Vijayanagara Empire. During the British Raj, it became a centre of colonial rule in South India. |
|
| The establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country.Today, as a large and growing metropolis, Bangalore is home to many of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Numerous public sector heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defence organisations are located in the city. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is a major economic and cultural hub and the fastest growing major metropolis in India. |
|
| CHENNAI |
|
|
Chennai formerly known as Madras is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the fifth most populous city in India. Located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, Chennai city had a population of 4.34 million in the 2001 census within the area administered by the Corporation of Chennai.
The urban agglomeration of metropolitan Chennai has an estimated population over 8.2 million people. The city was established in the 17th century by the British, who developed it into a major urban centre and naval base. By the 20th century, it had become an important administrative centre, as the capital of the Madras Presidency. |
|
Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the car, technology, hardware manufacturing, and healthcare industries. The city is India's second largest exporter of software, information technology (IT) and information-technology-enabled services (ITES). A major chunk of India's car manufacturing industry is based in and around the city. Chennai Zone contributes 39 per cent of the State's GDP. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country's automotive exports and is referred to as the Detroit of South Asia.
Chennai hosts a large cultural event, the annual Madras Music Season, which includes performances by hundreds of artists. The city has a vibrant theatre scene and is an important centre for the Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form. The Tamil film industry, one of the largest film industries in India, is based in the city; the soundtracks of the films dominate its music scene. |
|
| KOCHI |
|
|
Kochi formerly known as Cochin, is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city is one of the principal seaports of the country and is located in the district of Ernakulam, about 220 kilometres (137 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. It has an estimated population of 600,000, with an extended metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the largest urban agglomeration and the second largest city in Kerala after the state capital.
In 1102 CE, Kochi became the seat of the Kingdom of Cochin, a princely state which traces its lineage to the Kulasekhara empire. Heralded as the Queen of Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast since the 14th century. |
|
| Ancient travellers and tradesmen referred to Kochi in their writings, variously alluding to it as Cocym, Cochym, Cochin, and Cochi. Occupied by the Portuguese in 1503, Kochi was the site of the first European colonial settlement in India. It remained the capital of Portuguese India until 1530, when they opted for Goa as their capital. The city was later occupied by the Dutch, the Mysore and the British.
Kochi entered a period of economic growth after 2000, leading to a spurt in the city's development. A growing centre of shipping industries, international trade, tourism and information technology, Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala, and one of the fastest growing second-tier metros in India. Like other large cities in the developing world, Kochi continues to struggle with urbanisation problems such as traffic congestion and environmental degradation. |
|
| TRIVANDRUM |
|
|
Thiruvananthapuram also known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is characterized by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills and busy commercial alleys. With almost 745,000 inhabitants per the 2001 census, it is the largest and most populous city in Kerala; the wider urban agglomeration has a population of more than one million. Apart from being the IT hub of the state with over 80% of the state's software exports, Thiruvananthapuram ranks first in the number of international tourists in Kerala also. |
|
| The city is the state capital and houses many central and state government offices, organizations and companies. Apart from being the political nerve centre of Kerala, it is also a major academic hub and is home to several educational institutions including the University of Kerala, and to many science and technology institutions, the most prominent being the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Technopark, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER). It is also considered as one of the cleanest cities in India. |
|
| PUNE |
|
|
Pune also known as 'Punawadi' or Punya-Nagari or Poona, is the eighth largest city in India, and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra, after Mumbai. Once the capital of the Maratha Empire, situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula (Marathi: मुळा) and Mutha rivers (Marathi: मुठा), Pune is the administrative capital of Pune district and the 7th Metro city of India.
Pune is known to have existed as a town since 937 AD. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire, lived in Pune as a boy, and later oversaw significant growth and development of the town during his reign. In 1730, Pune became an important political |
|
centre as the seat of the Peshwa, the prime minister of the Chhatrapati of Satara. After the town was annexed to British India in 1817, it served as a cantonment town and as the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency until the independence of India.
Today, Pune is known for its educational facilities, having more than a hundred educational institutes and nine universities. Pune has well-established manufacturing, glass, sugar and forging industries since 1950-60s. Pune also has a growing industrial hinterland, with many information technology and automotive companies setting up factories in Pune district. Additionally, Pune is known for various cultural activities like Classical Music, Sports, Literature, Foreign language learning and Administrative, Economics, Social Science studies. These activities and job opportunities attract migrants and students from all over India, and also attract students from Middle-East, Iran, Eastern Europe, South-East Asia which makes for a city of many communities and cultures. |
|
| HYDERABAD |
|
|
Hyderabad is the capital and the most populous city of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is known as the "City of Pearls" and the "City of Nizams". Hyderabad is in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad has a population of over 4 million. The city has been classified as an A-1 city in terms of development priorities, due to its size, population and impact.
Hyderabad has developed into a major hub for the Information technology industry in India. It is the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Capital of the Country. The city is home to the world's largest film studio, the Ramoji Film City as well as the Telugu Film Industry, the second-largest in India, known popularly as Tollywood. It is also a sporting destination with numerous sporting venues and stadia. |
|
| Various national and international games are conducted here, and the city is the home of the Deccan Chargers, Indian Premier League team. Residents of Hyderabad are called Hyderabadis. The city is regarded as a blend of traditionality with modernity. |
|
| DAMAN |
|
|
Daman (Damão in Portuguese), is a city and a municipal council in Daman district in the union territory of Daman & Diu, India. Although there is no public airport in the area, the Indian Coast Guard operates the small Daman Airport which is sometimes used by public companies (mostly state run airlines operate some aircraft from there).
Daman is divided by the Daman Ganga River into two parts namely Nanidaman (Nani meaning "small") and Motidaman (Moti meaning "big"). Ironically, Nanidaman is the larger of the two towns. It is the downtown area containing most of the important entities like the major hospitals, supermarkets, major residential areas etc. |
|
| While Motidaman is mainly the old city inhabited mostly by the fishing communities and government officers (most of the public offices are located there). Both Nanidaman and Motidaman are connected to each other by two bridges (one for light vehicles like two-wheelers and the other for heavy vehicles like trucks, cars etc). The smaller bridge collapsed in August, 2004 killing 28 school children. It was replaced but that bridge also collapsed. Since then it has not been rebuilt. Small boats ferry people from one side to the other several times a day for INR 2. New bridge has been constructed that connects two parts of daman i.e Nani Daman and Moti Daman. |
|
| BARODA |
|
|
Baroda is the third most-populated city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat. It is one of four cities in the state with a population of over 1 million, the other being Rajkot and the two cities listed above, although it has a massive population of over 3 million. It is also known as the Sayaji Nagari (Sayaji's City after its famous ruler, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III) or Sanskari Nagari (The City of Culture, a reference to its status as the Cultural Capital of Gujarat). Vadodara or Baroda, formerly the capital city of the Gaekwar State, is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri, a river whose name derived from the great saint Rishi Vishwamitra. It is located southeast of Ahmedabad. It is the administrative headquarters of Vadodara District. |
|
| Baroda is home to almost 1.6 million people. (as of 2005), the beautiful Lakshmi Vilas Palace and the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (M.S.U.) which is the largest university in Gujarat and undoubtedly the best. Its famous for various faculties and departments, including the Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Technology, Management, Psychology, Social Work, Law and Medicine streams. It has a high literacy rate by Indian standards of 78% (2001). Major industries include petrochemicals, engineering, pharmaceuticals, plastics and Forex. Famous companies such as ABB, Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro, IPCL, ONGC and Sun Pharmaceuticals all have a strong presence in this city, also it has presence of IT multi-national companies. |
|
| SURAT |
|
|
Surat (Gujarati: સુરત) formerly known as Suryapur, is the eighth largest city in India. The city proper is the one of the populous cities in the world. Surat is the administrative capital of Surat district.
The city is situated on the left bank of the Tapti River, 14 miles from its mouth. The Population of Surat with its twin city Navsari is above 6.3 million as of 2009. A moat divides the older parts of the city, with its narrow streets and handsome houses, and the newer suburbs. The city is largely recognized for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world and the textile capital of India. 92% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. Surat is also the Second cleanest city in India after Chandigarh. |
|
Surat was once the largest city in India. It has one of the highest GDP growth rates in India at 11.5% as of 2008. Surat was the primary port of India during the Mughal period, a distinction it lost to Bombay during the British Raj.
Surat is mentioned in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata when Lord Krishna stopped there en route from Mathura to Dwarka. According to other later Sanskrit records, the area was ruled by the Western Chālukyas in 610 CE, and continued to be ruled by Hindu kings until one of Quṭbuddīn Aibak's generals captured it. The Parsis started to settle there in the 12th century, and added greatly to its prosperity. Local traditions state that the city was founded in the last years of the fifteenth century by a Brahman named Gopi, who called it Suryapūr, or 'City of the Sun'. In 1512 and 1530 Surat was burned and ravaged by the Portuguese who were trying to maintain influence in the area. In 1513 the Portuguese traveler, Duarte Barbosa, described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. By 1520 the name of the city was Surat. |
|
| NAVSARI |
|
|
Navsari is a city and municipal corporation headquarters of Navsari district of Gujarat, India. And a 40 km south of Surat. The Navsari administrative district is named after it. Navsari is located at 20°57′N 72°56′E/20.95°N 72.93°E20.95; 72.93. It has an average elevation of 9m (29') above sea level.
The city is located in southern Gujarat and is situated near the Purna River, within a few kilometres of the river's delta, which is west of the city and empties into the Gulf of Khambhat. |
|
| The weather is sunny from September to May, rainy from June to August. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 40 °C (104 °F) and 18 °C (64 °F) respectively. The average annual rainfall is 122 cm (48 in). The soil of the region is black. There are two lakes in the city: Dudhiya Talav (Talāv means Lake in Gujarati), and Sharbatiya Talav. |
|
|
|
