Loading AI tools
Town in Gujarat, India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mandvi is a beach town with municipality in the Kachchh district (Kutch) in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was once a major port of the region and summer retreat for Maharao (king) of the Cutch State. The old city was enclosed in the fort wall and remains of the fort wall can still be seen. The city has a four-hundred-year-old ship building industry which is still functional and dhows, a type of wooden ship, are still made. Mandvi Municipality's 36 Seat Of 9 Ward.
Mandvi | |
|---|---|
Town | |
Mandvi Beach | |
  Mandvi  Mandvi | |
| Coordinates: 22°50′00″N 69°21′20″E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Kutch district |
| Established | 1580 |
| Founded by | Khengarji I |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2023) | |
• Total | 91,330 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kutchi, Gujarati |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 370465 |
| Telephone code | 2834 |
| Vehicle registration | GJ-12 |
| Sex ratio | 0. 970 ♂/♀ 0. 930 |
| source:Census of India[1] | |
The Fortress of Mandvi was built by Raoshri Bharmalji in 1549.[dubious – discuss] It was eight km long, 2.7 metres broad and three metres high with five gates, three windows and seven bastions (kotha). In 1978, Mandvi municipality was handed over the fort under condition that it will preserve the fortress. Later in 1992, the municipality decided to demolish 290 metres of wall to free the land but was opposed by citizens. The appeal was rejected in 1993 and the 300-metre-long wall of west side was demolished in 1993. In 1999, the state archeological department considered it for declaring protected monument but later decided against it. After assessing condition of fort, the court rejected appeals against demolition in 2001. The fort wall was demolished in two phases except four gates and six bastions which were preserved as protected monuments.[2]
Mandvi is a port city located at 22.81°N 69.36°E where the Rukmavati River meets the Gulf of Kutch. It is about 56 km south of the regional capital, Bhuj. It is approximately 446 km from the major megacity of Ahmedabad. Because Mandvi has no rail transport, the nearest public airport and train station is Bhuj.
The climate here is tropical. The summers are much rainier than the winters in Mandvi. According to Köppen and Geiger, this climate is classified as Aw. The average temperature in Mandvi is 27.4 °C. In a year, the average rainfall is 1539 mm.
Mandvi was founded by the Rao of Kutch State, Khengarji I in 1580.[citation needed]
The city Mandvi was named after Sage Mandavya (Mahabharata story), who lived here. He was also known as AM BABA. When Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered Europe-to-India sea route in 1497, he had a Gujarati by his side to show him the way. A Kutchi sailor, Kanji Malam, navigated the commander to Calicut from Malindi on east African coast. Malam hailed from Mandvi, a shipbuilding hub. Historians have differed over the identity of the sailor, calling him a Christian and a Gujarati. German author Justus says it was Malam (Kharva) and he was a Hindu Gujarati who accompanied Vasco. Italian researcher Sinthia Salvadori too has concluded that it was Malam who showed Gama the way to India. Salvadori has made this observation in her 'We Came in Dhows', an account written after interacting with people in Gujarat.
Malam's role in the Vasco expedition has largely been overlooked by historians.[3] As per chronicles of Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas – many clans of their community, especially, Gohil, Bhatti, Jethwa, Solanki, Rathod clans & also Visavaria Brahmins shifted to Mandvi in between 15th to 16th century AD, from Dhaneti.[4] The establishment of the town dates back to the late 16th century (1581 AD) and is attributed to the first Jadeja ruler of Kutch, Rao Khengarji I. In the 18th century, the Mandvi merchants collectively owned a fleet of 400 vessels trading with East Africa, Malabar coast and the Persian Gulf. In the early 19th century, it was a major port of entry for the inland trade with Malwa, Marwar and Sindh.
Mandvi was at the junction of two trade routes the maritime spice trade-route and the desert camel caravan route, acting as an important trade center. Mandvi was originally a fortified town having a fort wall of about 8 m high and 1.2 m wide stone masonry.
The fort had several gateways and 25 bastions; but at present, most of the wall has disappeared. The bastion on the southwest is largest and acts as a lighthouse. In the heyday of maritime trade, before the arrival of steamboats, Mandvi was a rich and prosperous town, earning four times more revenue from export than import. It was a profit-making center of the Kutch state, surpassing the capital city of Bhuj in terms of wealth. Dr. Manubhai Pandhi, a local social leader, recorded shipbuilding art and collected old documents which is treasured now in Prince of Wales Museum (www.bombaymuseum.org) in Mumbai.
As most of the top ports of India were controlled by Europeans, especially the Portuguese, even the Mughals held the Maharaos of Kachchh in high esteem, as they needed the port of Mandvi for exports, imports and also for pilgrimages to Mecca. In the 1960s, the Dabeli is said to have been invented here by Keshavji Gabha Chudasama (Malam)(Kharva).[citation needed]
Mandvi houses a population of about 51,000 people, mainly Brahmin, Charan(Gadhavi), Brahmkshatriya, Bhanushali, Bhatalas, Kharvas, Lohanas, Maheshwari, Dawoodi Bohra, Muslims and Jains, Kandoi, Patidar, Mistris.
Mandvi is a unique town which captures the true Gujarat, Kutchi culture. Mandvi also incorporates the neighboring villages of Nagalpur and Moti Rayan. Mandvi is a town of merchants and seamen, both mutually benefiting from each other.
Mandvi had the Lal Bungalow / Arihant Bungalow Built by Khengarji III. It took 16 years to build this palace. with unique architecture and a lavishing of 55 Rooms and 5 Floors with all Teak Wood Ceilings. Lal Bungalow was Heritage Site and currently owned by Sanket Shah. It is demolished in 2011–2012. Now there is a new built shopping and residential complex.
Mandvi was one of the towns deeply impacted by the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.
Noted social worker Dr. Chhotalal J. Mehta (1911–1982) and his brother Dr. Prabhudas J. Mehta (1925–1959) started first free TB hospital in 1950 in the district if Kutch, and school for deaf and mute children and 1000th Rotary club in the world. Mrs Hiraben C Mehta(1916–2011) started first Baal Mandir and Bhagini Mandal.
Most of the industries in Mandvi are small-scale in nature, mainly in the areas of Bentonite mining, edible oil production, fishing, traditional ship building, cotton products and household Bandhani, and food-products like, sweets & farshan production.
.jpg)
Mandvi has a very pleasant climate throughout the year and was a summer retreat of the Kutch maharajas (kings).
Popular food items from Mandvi are Dabeli, which was invented in Mandvi and spread all over Gujarat and Maharashtra. Besides that, for the last 8 to 10 years various foods, e.g. Punjabi, South Indian, Chinese food, are easily available. Khari Daar, Toss etc are also famous near Azad Chowk. Good Gujarati food is also available in Mandvi. More than 20 small and big dining halls and restaurants are successfully running in the city, and good food is available over there.
Mandvi is Beach City
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
