Top 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Gujarati – the Language, the State and Its People
Most of us know that Gujarati is the language of Mahatma Gandhi, who was born in Porbandar in Gujarat. Did you know, that Gujarati was significantly influenced by the Persian and Arabic languages as well? We look at the top 5 things you probably didn’t know about the language Gujarati, the state of Gujarat and its people: the geography of Gujarat, its wildlife, the Gujarati diaspora and more.
Facts you didn’t know about the Gujarati language
We think of Gujarati as an Indian language, however there is a significant number of Gujarati speakers in Pakistan as well. Certain non-Hindu Gujarati communities carry their language with them even when they leave Gujarati. The Parsi Zoroastrians community (that I was born into) is one such; the reason why Gujarati is my mother tongue even though I have lived a majority of my life outside Gujarat. Apart from Parsis, the Bohra, Ismaili and Memon communities among the Muslims also speak Gujarati or dialects of it.
The Gujarati script is a form of Devanagari, albeit with some differences. Gujarat has been a hub of commerce with distant places for centuries. Gujaratis have had trading relations with different countries and hence developed a diverse vocabulary that has been accepting of many different languages. Trading in textiles, spices and gems with distant parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa ensured that Gujarati continued to remain a diverse and vibrant language. Words such as
ખોજ (khoj, search or discovery)
ખબર (khabar, news or information),
બંદૂક (bandook, gun),
બાકી (baaki, remaining or the rest),
ખાસ (khaas, special)
…and many more are derived from Arabic. Also, there are many similarities between Gujarati on the one hand and Hindi as well as other Indian languages such as Marathi and Marwari on the other, making it easier for the speakers of these languages to learn Gujarati.
Facts you didn’t know about the geography of Gujarat
India has a long coastline and Gujarat has the longest coastline of all the Indian states. This comprises about one fourth of the total coastline of India. The state’s unique Kathiawar peninsular area (what we know as the Saurashtra region) is responsible for this very long coast line. The two gulfs – the Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Khambhat are like long arms of the sea that push into the landmass of Gujarat, creating this extraordinarily long coastline.
This unique geographical feature of Gujarat has given rise to large ports and many fishing harbours. Gujarat boasts big and busy ports such as Kandla and Mundhra as well as the world’s biggest ship breaking yard in Alang. Gujarat is also home to Lothal, a port town that is a part of the Indus Valley Civilization and thought to be over 4000 years old. The sea has receded significantly in the intervening years. I was amazed to see on my recent visit to Lothal however, that the archaeological remains of the ancient dockyard are still visible.
Facts you didn’t know about Gujarat’s wildlife (and the Indian Jurassic Park)
It is well known that the Gir Forest of Gujarat is the only home of the Asiatic Lion and the only place where these big cats can be found in their natural habitat. This was the area where Indian royals and British colonisers used to hunt lions; the private hunting grounds of the Nawab of Junagadh. The big cats were hunted to the point where there were just about a dozen lions left here by the end of the 19th century. However, it was also the Nawab who set up a wildlife sanctuary here and as of 2015, there are over 500 lions in the Gir National Park!
There is also the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary the arid Kutch area of North Gujarat. This is also one of the last places in the world where the Indian Wild Ass (khur or godhkhur) is found. Again, Gujarat is the only place in the world where this species is found in the wild.
Something that I discovered only recently, is that Gujarat is also home to what is known as India’s Jurassic Park. About a hundred kilometres from Ahmedabad is Balasinor, known to be one of the largest dinosaur egg hatcheries. It is also where dinosaur enthusiasts have found many other fossilised dinosaur remains such as dinosaur bones, rocks with dinosaur footprints and evidence of the Rajasaurus (the one dinosaur found only in India) and more.
Facts you didn’t know about the Gujarati diaspora
According to estimates, about a third of all Indians living abroad are Gujarati. Given the age old Gujarati flair for trade and travel, Gujaratis can be found in 129 countries around the world today. I remember how NRIs would point out that there were more Patels and Shahs than Jones and Smiths in some of the phone directories in the UK. There was a time when non-resident Gujarati Patels so dominated the motel trade in the United States that these establishments had come to be known (somewhat disparagingly) as ‘Potels’.
Though Gujaratis live abroad in such large numbers, they continue to maintain connections to their homeland and to their language. They continue to celebrate Gujarati festivals and create close communities of other Gujarati people living abroad. This affinity for the culture and language is one of the reasons that so many Gujarati families look for tutors to ensure that their children don’t miss out on their heritage.
Facts about famous Gujaratis
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is the most famous Gujarati ever and followed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel however, there are other famous Gujaratis that need mention as well. Did you know that the Father of Pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah was also Gujarati? The father of India’s space program, Vikram Sarabhai was also a Gujarati.
Wipro’s Azim Premji, the Ambanis of the Reliance Group and the Adani family all hail from Gujarat as well. Ela Bhatt, the founder of SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association that transformed the lives of lakhs of women) also born, lived and worked in Gujarat. The list of famous Gujaratis that have made huge contributions to the country and even the world at large is a very long one. This is just a small sample.
