The name Vadodara is derived from the Sanskrit word Vadodara, meaning – the heart of Banyan trees. With a copious amount of banyan trees surrounding the city’s cosmopolitan culture welcomes everyone with the same amount of gratitude, irrespective of the background.
Situated on the banks of river Vishwamitri, Vadodara has a rich heritage and is also the third-largest city in Gujarat. For a very long time, it was ruled by the Gaekwad family. It was Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad’s vision to make this city a cultural and educational hub. His vision was supported by some tireless work which resulted in the Princely State of Baroda witnessing an era of progress and achievements in all fields.
With ample importance given to economic development, a number of established industries made Baroda their home. A number of social reforms were also introduced and primary education was made compulsory following with the establishment of The Maharaja Sayajirao University, which to this day is one of the most prestigious and renowned educational institutes.
The city will forever be indebted to this great and virtuous ruler for putting Baroda (now Vadodara) on the map for its beauty, educational reforms, architecture, and culture.
Even though Vadodara isn’t a metro or the biggest city in Gujarat, it has a lot of things to show for.
- Known to be a culturally forward city, the people of Vadodara are soft-spoken and extremely welcoming. With various cultural events organized throughout the year, it’s citizens are very dynamic in their approach towards accepting new traditions and merging them with the already existing ones.
- In order to see Vadodara’s cultural enthusiasm, you should visit this city during any festival like Navratri, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, New Year, Uttarayan, Holi, etc. In fact, it is well-known all over the country for its vibrant Navratri and newly composed Garba tunes while maintaining it’s aesthetic sense every single year.
- Citizens take Navratri very seriously and one of the Garba grounds also holds a Guinness Record as the biggest Garba ground in the world. While classical music and dance have their patrons, even modern age and pop culture click with its people. The culture and the traditions are both alive and are forever being experimented with.
- The industrial clusters include chemicals & fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, cotton textiles, machine tools, glass, engineering, tobacco, fisheries, and dairy.
- There are over 18,000 small scale industrial units in Vadodara. Some small-scale industries include textiles, metal works, chemicals, equipment, rubber products, and food products, etc. Other industry segments showing growth in investments include sugar, vegetable oils, fermentation industries & transportation.
- The establishment of large industrial units in a region automatically brings into existence a number of smaller enterprises. Vadodara is no exception and the city along with its surrounding area is humming with industrial activity.
- The industrialization of Vadodara and its neighborhood has attracted entrepreneurs not only from the city itself but also from all over Gujarat and India. A large number of entrepreneurs come with sound business backgrounds and bring with them a highly skilled workforce
- A number of large-scale industries have also created a major base in Vadodara. These include the likes of Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Industries, Linde Engineering, Larsen & Toubro, etc. For instance, Halol, a town which is situated 40 km from Vadodara is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is home to the manufacturing facilities of many big companies such as MG, Aditya Birla Insulators, Sun Pharma, Adani Green Energy, etc.
- Vadodara is well connected to all major locations such as Delhi and Mumbai through the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
- National Highway No.8 connects Vadodara with Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Ankleshwar, and Surat, the other major industrial centers of Gujarat.
- India’s first National Expressway passes through Vadodara and connects it with Ahmedabad.
- It is also well connected to all major locations of the country and the state via railway and has its own domestic airport at Harni.
- The upcoming bullet train project will also provide Vadodara further impetus in terms of connectivity with major cities in India, such as Mumbai.
- Vadodara and its citizens hold the highest regard for education. The patronage of education was started with Maharaja Sayajirao and the city has further built on the academic infrastructure established by him.
- The present educational foundation rests on numerous public schools and over 100 private schools. Higher educational institutions also garner a lot of foreign interest with students coming from African countries such as Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, and Kenya.
- Towering graciously overall is The Maharaja Sayajirao University, the diamond of the Vadodara’s crown. MSU is the only university in Gujarat with English as the sole medium of instruction. It has 13 faculties and 17 residential hostels, 4 of them for women students. The university caters to over 30,000 students.
- Vadodara thus occupies a special place on the educational, cultural, and industrial map of India. It has been fortunate enough to retain the beauty of its glorious and varied past. Not many people consider the city as a place of importance as it is seldom talked about.
- Vadodara is the first Green Airport in Gujarat and Second Green Airport in India
- 35% of India’s power transmission and distribution equipment manufacturers and an estimated 800 ancillaries supporting the big players in Power Sector equipment manufacturing are situated in Vadodara
- Platform 6 of the Vadodara Junction railway station will be used as the platform for the bullet train project
- Before the Gaekwads, Vadodara was ruled by officers of Mughal rulers
- Vadodara is home to some really successful cricketers like Kiran More, Nayan Mongia, Atul Bedade, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda.
- Moti Baug is the oldest cricket ground in Asia
- Kamati Baug is the biggest garden in Western India
- Vadodara holds credit for the discovery of a rare 24 karat diamond called the ‘Moon of Vadodara’
- Vadodara is the first non-metro city in India to hold an international Marathon