Bhuj
Bhuj
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| Bhuj | |
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| Coordinates | 23°16′N 69°40′E / 23.27°N 69.67°ECoordinates: 23°16′N 69°40′E / 23.27°N 69.67°E |
| Country | India |
| State | Gujarat |
| District(s) | Kachchh |
| Population | 289,429 (2008[update]) |
| Sex ratio | 0.92 ♂/♀ |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 110 metres (360 ft) |
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Footnotes
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Bhuj (ભુજ) is a city and a municipality in Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat, India.
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History
It was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarji I in 1549. Its foundation stone as state capital laid formally on Vikram Samvat 1604 Maagha 5th (Approx. 25 January 1548). Currently it is the district headquarters of Kachchh District, the second largest district in India. Bhuj is home to one of the first Swaminarayan Sampraday temples, built in 1822.
In January 2001, the city was struck by a major earthquake which caused a great deal of damage and loss of life.
Demographics
The total population of Bhuj was 136,429 in the year 2008, which consisted of 71,056 males and 65,373 females. The total number of houses was 27,999.
Geography
Bhuj has an average elevation of 110 metres (360 feet). On the eastern side of the town is a hill known as Bhujiyo Dungar, on which there is Bhujia Fort, that separates Bhuj city and Madhapar town. It has one big lake named Hamirsar and several small lakes.
The old city was surrounded by the fort, which had five major gates and one small gate known as "chathi bari" (sixth window). Much of the fort wall has either fallen down or been demolished, due to the city's development and the earthquake of 2001.
Transportation
Bhuj is connected to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and other major cities of India by trains. It has a domestic airport from where daily flights operate to Mumbai.Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways from Bhuj to Mumbai. State Transport Buses are available from ST stand in the middle of the town to various places in Gujarat.
Education
Alfred High School, the first High School of Kutch established in 1870 is also an architect heritage of town. Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kachchh University is located in Bhuj. University has 28 colleges affiliated, seven of them are in Bhuj. University gives degrees in Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Education, Management, Pharmacy, Social Welfare , Medicine and Engineering.
Culture
Bhuj is a famous destination for shopping of handicraft work. Artists of nearby villages bring their art work for sale in Bhuj. Important landmarks for people wishing to study and know more about Kutchi embroidery are Shrujan, Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), Kalaraksha and Women Artisans' Marketing Agency (WAMA, Bandhini).
Religion
The dominant religions of Kutch are a form of Vaishnav Hinduism, Jainism and Islam. Sikh Gurudwara is also situated in kachchh at Lakhpat. This gurudwara was originally a house where the first guru Shri Guru Nanak stayed during his journey. The Swaminarayan Sampraday has a huge following in this region. Their main temple in this district is Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuj. Anjar city is the really famous also as Swaminarayan Mandir and Swaminarayanians.
Bhuj as Taluka
Following villages belong to this taluka: Meghpur, Madhapar, Kukma, Nagor, Dhaneti, Hajapar, Reha, Jambudi, Sukhpar, Mirjapur, Mankuva, Baladia, Kodki and Khavda, Samtra, Desalpar, Surajpur, Naranpur, Kera, Rampur, Mandvi,
Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves of Kutch
From the city of Bhuj various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch / Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve etc..
Bhuj as a film location
J. P. Dutta's Hindi film Refugee and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam were shot on location in the Great Rann of Kutch and other locations in and around the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. This film was attributed to have been inspired by the famous story by Keki N. Daruwalla based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled "LOVE ACROSS THE SALT DESERT" which is also included as one of the short stories in the School Standard XII syllabus English text book of NCERT in India. The film crew having traveled from Mumbai was based at the city of Bhuj and majority of the film shooting took place in various locations around in the Kutch District of the Indian state of Gujarat including the Great Rann of Kutch (also on BSF controlled "snow white" Rann within), Villages and Border Security Force (BSF) Posts in Banni grasslands and the Rann, Tera fort village, Lakhpat fort village, Khera fort village, a village in southern Kutch, some ancient temples of Kutch and with parts and a song filmed on set in Mumbai's Kamalistan Studio.
Just after the film shooting of Refugee finished, the film crew of another Hindi film "Lagaan" descended on Bhuj in Kutch and shot the entire film in the region, employing local people and villagers from miles around. A set of a full period Village was constructed for the film with typical Kutch style mud houses or huts with thatched straw roofs called bhoongas.
Books About Bhuj
The Bhuj Story - After the Quake (2005) is a short book written by Rishi Mohan Sanwal. The Book relates to the experiences of the author and his friends after the earthquake of 26th Jan 2001 in Kutch, Gujarat. The Book has been published by Government of India. Rishi Mohan Sanwal was born in Kotdwara, Uttarakhand. After completing his engineering degree from Indian Institute of technology, Bombay and management studies from Indian Institute of management (llM), Ahmedabad, he is currently working as a management consultant.
See also
- Nagalpar
- Nagor
- Dhaneti
- Sinugra
- Bhojay
- Pantiya
- Khedoi
- Lovariya
- Chandiya
- Chandroda
- Mindiyana
- Ratnal
- Hajapar
- Kukma
- Shinai
- Adipur
- Gandhidham
- Anjar
- Kandla
- Mandvi
- Mundra
- Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuj
- 2001 Gujarat earthquake
Administrative Legends
| Preceded by Devraj gadhvi |
City Municipality Head 2009 – 2010 |
Succeeded by Narendra thacker |
- ^ a b "Census of India" (aspx). Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2007-06-26. http://censusindia.gov.in/Population_Finder/View_Village_Population.aspx?pcaid=6603&category=U.A.. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kachchh University
- ^ http://kskvku.digitaluniversity.ac/Content.aspx?ID=7
- ^ LOVE ACROSS THE SALT DESERT; by Keki N. Daruwalla. Pdf of full story posted at Boston University at [1]. Hindi connection - J. P. Dutta's "Refugee" is said to be inspired by this story; learnhub, University of Dundee
- ^ (iii) Supplementary Reader; Selected Pieces of General English for Class XII; English General - Class XII; Curriculum and Syllabus for Classes XI & XII; NCERT. Also posted at [2] / [3], [4]
- ^ Google Books Preview: "The spirit of Lagaan - The extraordinary story of the creators of a classic"; by Satyajit Bhatkal; Published by Popular Prakshan Pvt. Ltd.; ISBN 81-7991-003-2 (3749)
^http://india.gov.in/govt/publications/march08/bhuj.php
Kabir Mandir, Bhuj
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