It‘s a proud moment for all Amdavadis to celebrate sensational 600 years of the city. People of Ahmedabad are so excited that every body has up with different and unique ways to celebrate the existence of amazing Ahmedabad!!
All the Amdavadis started the celebrations together with cake cutting ceremony on February 25 midnight by releasing 600 white balloons for peace and prosperity of the city.
The cake made for celebrating Ahmedabad birthday was not an ordinary one, it was 230 feet and 14 inches long, weigh around 850 kilograms and measured 3.4 inches in width, Mr Raheel Patel of Vaasro, an organisation working towards preservation of cultural and heritage of Ahmedabad, said “It shall be the biggest cake to be manufactured in India so far, as the previous one weighed around 804.5 kilograms and was 216 feet long. We aim to find an entry in Limca Book of Records. This record breaking cake will have 200 art works carved out of icing which are significant to 600 years completion of Ahmedabad, and shall be the longest one to be made in India".
And the celebrations are still going on!! The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has organized numerous events to make the celebrations more precious.
AMC has organized Run for Ahmedabad at 6.30 am from Riverfront to Ashram road, Town Hall, Ellis Bridge, Manek Buraj, Bhadra, Sardar Bag, Nehru Bridge, Riverfront. Jagannath Mandir has sponsored health drink for all participants. Participants also include Cricketer Parthiv Patel and former World Billiard’s champion, Geet Sethi.
Canvas Painting event in the presence of ex-Mayor Praful Barot, Madhav Ramanuj and other honorable dignitaries at 10.00 am on Riverfront.
Quiz competition at 2.00 pm involving 45 students from 15 different schools. The quiz would be handled by Honorable RJ Neha and RJ Meghl. Gujarat University Vice Chancellor and Nirma University’s NV Vasani would grace the occasion with his presence.
A photo exhibition would be inaugurated by Narendra Modi at 7.00 pm. The photos are about city’s history, traditions, heritage and events. Some photos are very rare. The exhibition is open between 26th February to 1st March.
On Friday evening, a cultural event would take place in which city’s famous people from all sections would remain present. HK Arts college principal Subhash Brahmbhatt’s team would present a show – Katha-E-Amdavad featuring city’s story starting from Ahmadshah Badshah to BRTS. Besides this, Garba, songs and other cultural stage shows will also be performed.
History of Ahmedabad:
The history of Ahmedabad begins in the eleventh century with the Solanki King Karandev I. The King was the ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan) and waged a successful war against the Bhil King Ashapall or Ashaval. After his victory, he established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the river Sabarmati. Karnavati was conquered by the Sultanate of Delhi at the end of the thirteenth century. In 1411 AD, the rule of Muzaffarid dynasty was established in Gujarat. After he conquered Karnavati, Karnavati was renamed to Ahmedabad after his name. Ahmedabad was the capital of the sultanate for 162 years ( 1411 - 1573 ).
In 1487, Mahmud Begada , the grandson of Ahmed Shah, enclosed the city with an outer wall of six miles (10 km) in circumference and consisting of 12 gates , 189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements to protect it from outside invaders. Conditions in the city were chaotic by the time of the last Sultan, Muzaffar III and the city was ruled by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the empire's thriving centres of trade, especially in textiles, which were exported to as far as Europe. The Deccan Famine of 1630-32 and 1650 and 1686 devastated the city. In 1753 , the armies of the Maratha generals Raghunath Rao and Damaji Gaekwad captured the city and ended Mughal rule in Ahmedabad. The famine of 1630 and the rule of the Peshwa and the Gaekwad virtually destroyed the city. The British East India Company took over the city in 1818 . A military cantonment was established in 1824 , a municipal government in 1858 , and a railway link between Ahmedabad and Bombay ( Mumbai ) in 1864 . Ahmedabad grew rapidly, becoming an important center of trade and textile manufacturing.
In 1915 , Mahatma Gandhi came from South Africa and established an ashram on the banks of Sabarmati. He started the salt satyagraha in 1930. He and many followers marched from his ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat , to protest against the British imposing a tax on salt. Before he left the ashram, he vowed not to return to the ashram until India became independent. Gandhiji established two ashrams- the Kochrab Ashram near Paldi in 1915 and the Satyagraha Ashram(now Sabarmati Ashram) on the banks of the Sabarmati in 1917.
