Does Ahmedabad require the nickname ‘The Manchester of India’ any longer? Because apart from this rightful claim, it’s also a city that has the potential to grow further and further and become a mega-city because it’s already a metro and after Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Bangalore comes Ahmedabad in size, population, impact, location, among others.
India’s best MBA institute is in Ahmedabad which conducts one of the toughest entrance exams in the academic world of not just India but across the globe.
Mudra has its advertising institute. Vikram Sarabhai Space centre is here. The city is throbbing with life, exuberance, vivacity and brio.
The Telegraph of Calcutta called it ‘India’s culinary city’ in its food survey of 2002. It’s indeed a city of foodies. If you’re a vegetarian, you’ve a wide spread of vegetarian delights to choose from. Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marwari, Punjabi and other states’ signal dishes as well as typical ones can be easily available.
Non-vegetarians also have a mind-blowing array of cuisine to choose from. The climate is wonderful. City has tradition and trendiness juxtaposed beautifully.
Gujarati people love cricket. Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel Cricket stadium has the capacity to accommodate over 50 thousand spectators. Sabarmati river runs through the city.
Ahmedabad (official capital: Gandhinagar) has a famous university known as Gujarat Vidyapeeth.
Being very close to Bombay, the significance of Ahmedabad assumes greater proportions. One British traveller who visited the city in 2002 wrote in The Spectator (London) that Ahmedabad was far greater than Manchester in terms of fabrics, fashion, fun and freedom.
In short, Ahmedabad has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India. It’s the second largest producer of cotton in the country.
The ‘first-look richness’ of the city decides the wealthy status of Gujarat state. City is dotted with cloth mills. Arvind Mills is one such significant name on the canvas of city’s fabric scenario.
Morarji Desai once said, the very mention of the Pin Code 380007 brings the image of Ahmedabad before our eyes. Yes, its Pin Code is its identity and vice versa.
Despite a few riots taking place in Ahmedabad, it’s still a city where people love to live in a peaceful co-existence. And this is the mark of a city and its liveliness. A visit to western India is incomplete without seeing Ahmedabad. Though Bombay still has an unbeatable charm, Ahmedabad doesn’t lag behind in any sense.
To sum it up, ‘Ahmedabad is the undisputed cotton king/ It’s also a city, suitable to a commoner and king’ (read in an Indian Airlines’ flight magazine in 2006). So very true…
Lastly, India’s billiard and snooker legend Geet Sethi lives in Ahmedabad.