Surat: Epitome of Gujarat Model

Ashleshaa Khurana

As ‘the Gujarat Model’ becomes the centre of political debate this election season, no other city in the state stands as significant as Surat. Last week, our city was judged as India’s best city to live in for the amenities it offers its citizens . For Surtis, it has always been the way of good life they have lived since ages.This is a trend that Tapi town has been following since centuries. Development is ingrained in the basic roots of this district and its denizens and overcoming all odds that have come its way ,Surat has managed to outshine all other Indian cities when it comes to progress, here is why :

Trade : A globally renowned port, with extensive amounts of commodities including textile and precious stones,exported out of and imported in here, Surat was one of the major money spinners of India as early as the fifteenth century.Surat’s markets were called ,”as populous as those in London” by Peter Mundy . With its constant international and national visitors of the mercantile community, many of whom settled here, it was a cosmopolitan centuries before Bombay, Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta.

Finance: Records state that Surat’s local businessmen from Surat like Virji Vora, Hari Vaishya, Mulla Abdul Gaffur who bankrolled the administration be it Mughal or British, lending lakhs of rupees in those days to the governing authorities, so that the city would have a steady governance to enable the traders to function better in their business. Surat’s shroffs controlled the price of the bullions and decided the rates at which gold from around the world would be exchanged here.

Infrastructure:  Built in 1510,Gopi Talav ,the city’s much celebrated lake had enough capacity to provide water to the entire city and a system to collect rain water ,as well cisterns to purify it from mud and dry leaves. Sir Thomas Roe , the English diplomat who obtained farmans for the English to trade in Surat in the 17^th century wrote how ,”Surat is the fountainhead and life of all East India trade. The road to Swally (Suvali) and the port of Surat are the fittest in all the Mughal’s territory.  The Surat-Agra-Delhi business corridor existed even 400 years ago as a major trade route! Edward Terry, chaplain at the English Factory of Surat penned,”Surat has luxurious summer houses with garden walks, fountains and bathing places that the wealthy merchants of Surat have built for them outside the city. Jari and textile industries took advantage of electricity as early as 1920’s thanks to Surat Electric Company.

Education : Surat was the seat of the learned Jain Bhataraks since the 14^th century.One of India’s earliest universities the Arabic IBO University,originally founded by the 43^rd Dai Syedna Abdeali Saifuddin in 1814, is located in Zhampa Bazar,home town of the foremost among litterateurs Kavi Narmad, Surat had a world class library –The Andrews Library way back in 1850,stacked with tomes from around the world ,even though India’s literacy rate at the time of Independence was only 12.2%

Agriculture and animal husbandry: The Encyclopedia of Indian Agriculture include Fryer’s accounts the 17^th century describing Surat’s fields growing in abundance potatoes and brinjals .The Portuguese brought in the cultivation of potatoes which they called ‘Batata’ as we still do.Abu Fazl’s early records praises the pineapples, pomegranates, custard apples,mangoes and oranges grown here.  While the hundreds of little villages which surround Surat grew in abundance everything from cash crops like poppy, to sugarcane to cotton, the city has had Panjarapol since more than 250 years now where the best of the veterinarians attend to cattle needs.

CHURNING OUT LAUGH RIOTS

Ashleshaa Khurana

Leaving Surtis hysterical with humorous performances, The Comedy Factory team made its debut in Surat last Saturday. The audience bent over their belly buttons laughing till they cried watching and listening to the first ever stand –up comedy show in Tapi town of quality calibre.

Brainchild of Manan Desai – an ace performer of dead pan humour , an intelligent mind with a poker straight face, The Comedy Factory renowned for its insanity around Gujarat found new fan following for their playful and mischievous dialogue while shooting down hilarious point bullets at existential and metaphorical buzzing bugs of present day topics. Team member Ojas Rawal, the specialist at researching local flavour focused on food and human behaviour encapsulating it brilliantly with the culmination of western and Indian mannerisms.

In for a funny treat, Surtis had the added advantage to watch winner of CEO’s Got Talent- Atul Khatri at what he does best-make people laugh. He found Surat’s audience as receptive as that of Bombay,Delhi and Bangalore. Amidst unending claps and whistles, he rendered dirty-hairy jokes about Sindhis, snack –shop tourism of Gujaratis and issues over toilet tissues. Weaving audience participation within his pieces to make them even more live wire. This CEO of a computer company, who found his calling in stand up comedy and has been short listed as one of the country’s most promising artists at that, Khatri said ,” I actually suffered from stage fright as a kid and although was never trained for this began it to make life spicier and increase my own confidence. It requires real guts. On stage one is up there, alone and knows he has to deliver the value of the audience’s money, engage them in an interaction, and ensure that the risky material in a joke does not offend, even though it is always at someone’s expense. Stand up comedians perceive even serious problems differently, with unique presentation. Within 30 – 35 minutes they begin strong, keep up the fizz and end with a grand high.”

Ace of The Comedy Factory base -Smit Pandya won the audience applause and hearts with his desi flavoured fun takes. Spontaneous, free spirited, the clarity of his diction and voice modulation match up to that of Paresh Rawal. Pandya a theatre artist since the age of 11 is a lecturer and his Masters degree of Social work along with his mirth has helped him save three suicidal youngsters. With thousands of clicks on his Youtube performances, he makes sure his acts do not get monotonous.” Stand up comedians intertwine current topics into acts so that audiences can identify with them. We constantly upgrade ourselves to lift the genre and quality of entertainment. Manan and me have therefore begun the ‘Improv comedy ‘acts  .”

Managing director Vidya Desai points out that while profits are not the main motive, “The Comedy Factory is a platform where artists from all over India unite to bring a cosmopolitan flavour of English and regional comedy ,social and political issues, and acceptable adult content to the audience.”

Event partner Prakash Hathi said,”I have seen few things in life are better in actuality than on screen –this was one such event. Extracting humour out of everything, the way these guys connected with business minded Surtis was amazing.”

Freelance media consultant Hetvi Choksi said,”Am not a stand- up comedy lover and was forced to attend by a friend but I enjoyed it to the extent that my jaws were hurting post the show. I haven’t laughed so much in a live event and am looking forward to more in future.

  What Women Want

International Women's Day 2014 is themed on 'Inspiring Change'

Centuries after neurologist Sigmund Freud failed to psychoanalyze what it was that women want, and more than a hundred years of International Women’s Day celebrations later, modern man is still clueless about what it is that women want.

Maybe be it would help a little if we began with what men want. Peace, love, joy, money, power, sex,success and adventure would wrap all that an average man would desire in his life. The truth is, women are no different and require all of the above equally.

But here is where the rules of the game differ when it comes to men and women. She goes through PMS, labour and childbirth, yet is called the weaker sex because she is naturally inclined to be more emotional and sensitive. She runs home, hearth, handles saas-bahu issues playing both the roles, and raises the children while he is called the man of the house. She multitasks and steps out to earn but has to constantly protect her reputation in doing so. Men who go about womanizing are called ‘dudes,’ women who find it in their heart the capability to love more than one man are immediately branded being sluts. If he raises his voice for anything, he is a hero, if she has the courage to do so, she is a ‘burn the bra feminist who wants to be a man ‘

International Women’s Day is a special day designated for women to come forward seize the day to pledge and promise themselves first, and their mothers, sisters and daughters that they will be the change they need to see. Whether it is women in space, more lady pilots, more leaders, more activists amplifying for women’s rights to issues ranging from abortion to commercial sex workers, with every advancing generation, women are getting one step further towards their goal, breaking barriers the globe over.

What women need to do is think global and act local. Even as they love to adorn themselves , they need to be beyond being just an object of beauty seeking appreciation. Women need not cite a hero among them, for they all are one, just the way they are, all they need to do is realize it and never give up on themselves ,especially when all others do.

 That is why IWD is important. Happy Women’s Day.Celebrate being you, just the way you are.

Morality is what you make of it.

Surat's Power Puff Gals

                                                             Kimi Dangor                                         

                                                                  Durva Gandhi

                                                      

Malvika Mehta

                                                                     Puja Kedia  

 

Anxiously awaiting their Board exam results, an entire generation of Surtis is poised to put their best foot forward on the route that will lead them to what they want to be in the future. While the boys are set with their one track agenda of ‘We want to be millionaires’, the uppermost question on the minds of our girl students is ‘what field should I venture into?’

Last month, Surat’s super sports girl triathlete Pooja Chaurushi added another sparkler to her tiara by racing through adverse alien conditions and rough terrains, and winning a gold in the women’s sprint event at the South Asian Triathlon Championship .This takes her international medal tally to four, and this fantastic 21 year old is set to win a whole load more. What Pooja has achieved takes years of hard training, dedication and focus.

If you are amongst those who have through your school years not been particularly inclined towards either athletics or academics and are more confused than ever before of what the future holds for you, let me have the pleasure in pointing out a few Surti gals who have tread with their dainty feet roads that have been less travelled by localites and have achieved outstanding results while pursuing their hobbies.

Like the other very talented Puja we are lucky to have in Tapi town is professional photographer Puja Kedia.Young, spunky, and with a spectacular eye for the right click, it’s an absolute pleasure to watch the result of what her camera has focused upon. Puja has the knack of making everything look beautiful. It comes from the kind of person she is. She brings romance into her pictures whether its classical Kathak poses by an artist performing at the English cemetery where she literally makes the music of tablas and ghunghroos come alive or romantic wedding clicks which bring mushy tears to the eyes or funny captures of Surtis enjoying life around town that speak about the very essence of their spirit.

Then there is the charmer Kimi Dangor daughter of the brilliant late architect Bomi Dangor. Kimi shifted base to Mumbai in her twenties and made it on her own to become one of the most read writers on lifestyle and fashion. A die hard fashionista herself (she describes herself as a recovering shopoholic) Kimi has an ardent following in women who want to know whats trending in the fashion scene.She is the fashion police on what bag is in, which cut is out, whats a classic, who is the copy cat and is the ultimate guide on the ‘it’ look and more. Being self made, she has a perfect line of advice for beginners,"The best way to begin is start small."

Another Surti star is Durva Gandhi, voted Elle ‘woman to watch out for’ in 2009, she has moved on from being an art collector to a curator to a designer to a publisher and has released this month her book called, “Secrets of the Art Millionaires” where she spills the beans on the do’s and don’t’s of collecting art –the way the auction houses and people of the ‘inner circle’ of art do, to make money while investing in whats aesthetic. Durva was always a bright child, way beyond her age. She is spiritually inclined which brings calm to her otherwise vivacious personality.

Surat’s new kid on the block is the petite and sweet Malvika Mehta –voted Femina Style Diva Goa 2012, this pretty miss is pursuing the pleasure of being a make up artist now.Confident, stylish and a thorough optimist, she is set to conquer what she ventures out to achieve.That is the attitude that wins the world.

You can connect with all of the above achievers on the online social network, to be inspired, to know more and to make your hobby your career. Good luck.

http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=ashleshaa+khurana+crest&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.45512109,d.bmk&biw=1024&bih=672&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=cNtzUaS3KcWHrAfz54GIBg            

Bullet Battalion's Motorcycle Diaries .........va va vroooommmmmm!

                                     BULLET BATTALION’S MOTORCYCLE DIARIES


Get your motor runnin’, Head out on the highway

Looking for adventure and whatever comes our way ......


Steppenwolf’s classic number from Born To Be Wild is what could aptly descirbe Surat’s Bullet Battalion. For a team that was formed barely more than a year ago, this gang of bikers has covered more than 7000 kms countrywide.

“We began with a team of four guys and now have 20 members to our non- profit organization with no commercial interests.”Says Ravi Bhatia - one of the core members of BB since its inception. All members of Bullet Batallion own classic models of Royal Enfield that are either 350 cc or 500 cc and have a passion for hitting the highway for day rides, as well as indulge in long distance travel once every two months.

The Battalion is all for bike -buddy bonding and its members vary in their age group from 24 to 42 years. “Age is just a number, on our recent day trip to Wilson Hill in Dharampur, we had a 61 year old rider enthusiast from Valsad join us, and his Bullet was a 1971 model that zipped with zeal.”Says an engineer groupie, who prefers to remain incognito; the BB gang also has as its members’ businessmen and bankers who hum in unison, the feeling of Steve Earle’s song:

“Nowadays I got me two good wheels and I seek refuge in aluminum and steel

It takes me out there for just a little while and the years fall away with every mile”

In June last year, a few BB guys cargoed their bikes to Chandigarh and then set forth for a journey to Ladakh. “We practiced for four months before attempting to ride upto the highest motorable peak. It was a dream come true that got us motorcycle lovers very emotional. The route was scenic yet tough, it also had a 22 km stretch of sand that had us sweating even in minus degree temperature; but, every time we gave up on ourselves the road beckoned us invitingly, tempting us to tour on.” Says Ravi Bhatia.

Alongwith their yen for riding, they also developed the art of motorcycle maintainance hence they carry along clutch wires, tyre tubes, air pumps and are well equipped to handle minorbreakdowns. Helmets are compulsory; long distance rides require bikers’s boots and jackets that are armoured to protect shoulders and backs. Pure passion drives this battalion who feel while others are commuters, they are comrades hence they ride in a single line alignment, at 60 kph, and ensure that the fastest rider is at the end, each rider is responsible for the one behind him thus no one is left out.

While alternate Sundays are reserved for city rides to Suvali and Dumas, on the 27th of April, they plan to make the metal hit highway mettle to Mumbai and catch an IPL match.

BB rides and Kms:

Padamdungri 250

Saputara 350

Ladakh 3000

Dandi 110

Kutch 650

Gira Fall, Dang 250

Valsad 180

Wilson Hill 300

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