Surat's Legendary Namesakes

Call it co-incidence or otherwise, but every place in the world worth going to has another place by the same name ;Surat being no exception to this law of tourism, has a town in Thailand named similar to it –Surat Thani which also has a river Tapi flowing by ,if you please. The province which means ‘city of good people’ was thus called by King Vajiravudh –Rama VI only as recently as 1915. Our good old Tapi town on the other hand, has been known as Surat since ancient ages and has more than one tale attached to the reason it is so called.

How did the name ‘Surat’ come about? Whom is the city named after? What does its name mean? Historians and poets through the ages have pondered over these questions much before you and I did; which has caused speculation regarding the same to run rife in books penned long ago. Some suggestions abide by historic happenings others are merely inspired by local folklore, but, all make interesting stories behind the raison d’être of Surat’s name.

Surat Itihaas Darshan Vol I informs readers that the word ‘Surti’ has its first written reference in an essay ‘Kahanadde’(1456 A.D), which mentions Khambhat and Rander as well. Surat finds its first mention in Jain scriptures dated 1478 .Tapi Puran which is believed to have been written during the 16th century mentions the river as being Suryaputri –the Sun god’s daughter and hence the town was called Suryapur .Ancient texts also mention numerous prayer rituals which were carried out as a salute to the Sun from here and the religious importance attached to the same.

Poet Narmad’s take on the town’s namesake theories are as varied as his works and laced with a certain romance. One of his stories goes that Surat was so christened by Khwaja Safar Suleimani aka Khudawand Khan who built the Castle .Narmad suggests that the town is named after Khan’s amour with a lady named Surat. Another one of Narmad’s fables speaks about a trader named Rumi from Constantinople who fell in love with a concubine called Surtha, she belonged to the harem of the Emperor of Turkey. Both escaped the wrath of the royal rage and sailed out into the sea. They arrived on the shore of Tapi opposite to Rander and set up the trading port with the permission of Gujarat’s sultan. Rumi met with great success thereafter and named the town Surat after his lady love.

Surat also has its share of royal stories that suggest that it has been named after kings. One of them reads that the king of Kamrej had land measuring 1400 vinghas here which had 14 wells. Kavi Narmad tried to find all 14 and is believed to have listed 10. The Bhagwad Golmandal Kosh states that the owner of Surajwadi was Sursen, an heir of the king of Kamrej and that our town has been named after him. Author Ishwarlal Ichharam Desai has written in ‘Surat Sonani Murat’ that Surat was named as the capital of King Surath who has been mentioned in a text named ‘Govind Das Erakrchara’penned by Govind Das,a disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
French traveller Anquetil Du Perron of Paris, who visited Surat in 1758 mentions in his travelogue that a popular folklore here is about a prominent fisherman called Suratji Mahigir. A leader who protested against the Portuguese attacks and urged the Sultan of Ahmedabad to have a strong castle built to protect the locals. According to Perron, Surat was named after Suratji.

While some believe that the town was named after Malik Gopi’s mother Suraja ,historian Mohan Meghani informs readers via his book ‘Solmi sadi nu Surat’ about the folk lore of trader Malik Gopi who built Gopi Talav and set up the town as a successful trading port .Legend goes that he inherited immense wealth from a beautiful nautch girl named Suraj whom Gopi’s widowed mother served as house help. Suraj willed all her wealth to Gopi and later left for Hajj, never to return. Upon achieving great success as a trader and the title of Malik in 1515, Gopi called for Brahmin to name the trading town and suggested they name it ‘Suraj’, as a tribute to the generous lady who had left him her entire fortune. The reigning Mughal Sultan Muzzafar Shah however thought it would be inappropriate to name the town after a courtesan and suggested the word ‘Surat’ instead.

Suraa is the Arabic word used to mention every stanza of the Holy Quran and the Indian Muslim version of the same is known as Suraat.

SURTIS SWOON UNDER PADVA MOON...................
Post the rare, dual Aso Sud Poonam and soft sultry surprise rain shower, Chandi Padva has officially commenced. Now that we are loaded with our custom made Ghari and swadisht Bhusu; it’s going to be ‘Ghari on the go’ time for Tapi town tonight.
Here are some popular places where Surtis swoon under the spell of the Chandi Padva Moon, with an added new twist to enjoy the same.
Tere mere beach mein-Dumas, the ditch by the Arabian Sea is where the romantic junta will be headed. With, ‘Chalo dildaar chalo chand ke paar chalo’ as the theme in mind, looking out at the receding waters, that are swallowed by the dark of the night. You could play ‘truth or dare’ with your gang and have a heart to heart about your fortes and drawbacks, like the Farah Khan show. [P.S-be careful not to turn it into Sach ka saamna].
Senior citizens zindabad!-Those who are not in the mood or health to venture out, can meet on their terraces and organize Antakshari.To be strictly played in original, non remix style, with simple singing and without annoying loud music. After all, what else can ever beat the magical charm of,’Tujhe Chand ke bahaney dekhu, tu chatt per aaja goriye’ and ‘Dum bhar jo udhar muh pherey, O Chanda’.
Gul Gulshan Gulfaam-Happy families will gather in gardens around town to picnic and play games together. Family bonding will grow strong while playing ’Ubhi kho’, dumb charades and night cricket which are most popular with large gangs.While the Kid brigade will enjoy strolling and storytelling sessions of’Chandamama dur ke ,pudey pakaye dudh kay’,’chandamama mere paas aana’ under the moonlit skies.
Surti sightseeing-Sheri dwellers will be lining up on the sides of suburban streets right from Chowpatty to Piplod through Airport road till Bhimpore. With wishful wanting of,’Chanda re chanda re kabhi toh zameen per aa, baithengay baatey kareingay.’ There are numerous new mean machines that have rolled into town that will be a sight for sore Surti eyes. We have A6, A4, Audis, BMW’s X-5 SUV, 3 and 7 series Sedan and Gujarat’s only XF Jaguar that put on a grand road show.
Farmhouse fantasy-The rich but not yet famous will party the night away under the ‘khoya khoya chand khula aasma, aankhon mein saari raat jayegi, tum ko bhi kaise neend ayegi’ theme. Not much Ghari will be eaten [the rich don’t eat at parties, silly, its passé’.]But a lot of business will go on .Subtle ‘aankh micholi’ will be exchanged and silent ‘chand mera dil, chaandni ho tum’will linger in the air. These farms will also be the only places in Surat where Ghari will be eaten in three different ways.
1. Chilled and chopped with the ghee layer severed off.
2. Microwaved and melted till the fat liquidates
3. Relished in its normal form at room temperature.
Devour this Surti delight just as you please, tonight.
Tapi town tattle-Joy of giving = Joy of living.

CHANDI PADVO-SURTI GHARI STORY...........
‘Sharad Purnima ‘is considered the brightest, coolest full moon night of the Hindu calendar year. Folk lore goes that on this Poonam, Lord Krishna performed ras- leela through the entire night with thousands of gopis in his ek-anek avatar. Garba revellers too, give it a go, for one last time, in all their colourful splendour.
Many Gujaratis observe a fast which is later broken by consuming ‘doodh-poha’ (offered as the first rice harvest to God) and galka bhajiyas served piping hot, on terraces.
On the next day, falls ‘chandi padvo’; celebrated with feasting, in Surat. Night picnics are organised at Dumas, farmhouses and sheris. Surtis reportedly consume and export more than 100 tons of ghari. Relished with bhusu-a namkeen mixture, ghari is distributed amongst family and friends .Packaged plastic boxes are sent country wide and to N.R.I s.Although this Surti speciality is in demand through the year, Surtis relish it only during the chandi padva day.
The trend is believed to have started in the 17th century. A Chauta bazaar sweetmeat shop owner, whose business had seen better days, went to the akhada of Nirvaan baba at Nawab ni wadi, Begumpura on Sharad Poornima, to seek blessings and luck for better business. Baba appeared in his dream and asked him to prepare a sweetmeat that looked like a full moon and offer it to please the Gods, on the next day. Thus,’Ghari’ is covered with ghee to look like the moon and relished on chandi padva.
Gharis are made with mawa, bits of almonds, pistachios, charoli, cardamom and some blend it with kesar. This mixture is cooked, cooled and rolled into a palm sized ball, then enveloped in a thin layer of kneaded plain flour, deep fried in ghee and later set in a layer of the same. Sold commercially, at most of Surat’s mithai shops, It is also popularly prepared to order in old city homes and ‘nyaath ni wadis ‘by communities who prefer the authentic pure version without additives like semolina and gram flour.
88 year old Surti, Leelaben Parekh’s eyes light up when she talks about her first experience of having a ghari’,’In the 1900’s,a Saurashtrian who worked for the royals of Junagadh, Dev Shankar Ghariwala,shifted to and set up shop in Surat. He sold gharis at 50 paise per piece, from Lalgate and also at the kerb of Bhagal below the Masjid. Nothing available these days tastes as good as that velvety delight. He used to add coconut milk, hand pounded in wooden mortar pestles to bind the flour. His ghari would have a thick layer of ghee that fingers would plunge into. It was packed in cane baskets lined with khakhar paans and tied with a sutli dori,’
More than 70,000 kilos of Ghari at an average price of around Rs.300 per kg will be sold on a single day in Surat this year .The divine constellation of Manekthari Poonam will be seen worldwide, but will be celebrated back to back only by ‘khai-pi ney jalsa’ loving Surtis.