From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia: Navsari
History
Navsari, one of the oldest cities of
Gujarat, has an inspiring history of over 2000 years. According to the
Greek historical writings, a celebrated Egyptian astronomer and
geographer named
Ptolemy
mentioned about Navsari's port in his book written about 1850 years
ago (150 A.D.). The geographic location he showed as Narispa, is in
fact the Navsari of today (Ref: Bombay Gazetteer. Record 13).
The origin of the name "Navsari" has a
very fascinating history. In the past, the city of Navsari has been
associated with many names such as
Nag Vardhana,
Nag Shahi,
Nag Sarika,
Nag Mandal,
Nav Sarika and
Nav Sareh. Some of the legends associated with the various names
of Navsari are as follows:
Shayashray Shiladitya, who ruled over Navsari in the seventh
century named this city
NAG VARDHANA in honor of his
Guru Nag Vardhana. During the same period, the name changed to NAV
SARIKA as is evidenced by a recovered copper plate dated 669 A.D. The
legend is that Shayashray Shiladttya presented a copper plate to a
priest in his town. The copper plate read that Shiladitya, the ruler
of "Nav Sarika," had bestowed a nearby village upon this priest of the
Kashyapclan.
The above changes in names show that
Navsari, like any other city, has passed through many vicissitudes in
the matter of political reign. About fourteen hundred years ago, the
kings of the Chalukya Dynasty governed the region of Navsari. Later
on, the Parsis, who migrated from Iran, virtually ruled this small
town. One group of Parsis, then Persian Zoroastrians, left Iran from a
place in north eastern region with Sari as the main town; its possible
this is the name adopted by Parsis (new Sari-Navsari) for Nav Sarika.
The reign of the Parsis ended as the Muslim rulers took over. For the
last one hundred years, until India's independence in 1947, Navsari
was the property of the
Gaekwads of Baroda.
Navsari is recognized as the birthplace
of the great business tycoons such as Dadabhoy Naoroji, Jamshetji Tata
and Sir Jamshetji Jeejeebhoy. A Historical place in the history of
India is located just 17 km from main city. Dandi where Mahatma Gandhi
and lots and lots of his followers protest against the British salt
tax in colonial India. Mahatma Gandhi along with his followers, walked
from Sabarmati Ashram(Ahmadabad) to Dandi(Navsari), Gujarat to make
salt, large numbers of Indians following him of their own accord. The
road toward dandi is lined with tall trees and green fields. A large
number of tourists from the different places of the country come to
have a look at Navsari. Several people from the Parsi origin also come
here to see this site as this was the first dwelling place of the
Parsis who migrated to Gujarat. The excellence of the Parsi
architecture can be well understood from the various edifices of this
place that are built in the authentic Parsi style. The Parsi Vad is
one such structure that has become a heritage site and attracts a lot
of tourists. Being one of the important tourist attractions in Navsari.
Landmarks
The Sayaji Vaibhav Library is an
important public building in Navsari. The
Meherji Rana library at Tarota Bazaar has a very good collection
of literary works and is home to some of the oldest texts of the
Indian
Zoroastrian community.
The Clock Tower and Old Post Office
Building serve as important landmarks for the city's primary market (Mota
Bazaar).
There is also a statue to
Dadabhai Naoroji within the town (see below for details).
Dudhia Talao, another of the area's
major market and commercial centers was once a lake. There is a
reputed ophthalmic hospital near Dudhia Talao built in early 70's. The
regionally popular Ashapura Temple is near Dudhia Talao.
Another important place of worship is
BAPS Shri
Swaminarayan
Mandir. Lcated on Ntional Highway no. 8 which links Mumbai - Delhi
Lunsikui, the city's main residential
area is named after a large park where the children of the city come
to play cricket and eat in the evenings when Lunsikui is filled with
vendors, all serving different kinds of food.
Education
Schools
Colleges and Universities
Hospitals
- Kesrichand Gulabchand Hospital (K.
G. Hospital)
- Dabu Hospital
- Kejal Hospital
- Yashfin Hospital
- Gulab Ben Choteo Bhai Trust's
SHRUSHUSHA HOSHPITAL
- K.D.N GOHIL HOSPITAL
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