Information about Gujarati People

Gujaratis ગુજરાતી લોક?
Total population
40 to 60 million
Regions with significant populations
Primary populations in: India Significant populations in: Pakistan Kenya Tanzania South Africa Other: United Kingdom United States Singapore Malaysia Canada Pakistan Trinidad Mauritius Fiji Réunion New Zealand Australia
Languages
Gujarati
Religions
Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastrianism (see Parsis), Jainism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Iranians, Indo-Aryans, Marathi people, Marathas, Sindhi people,

The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, (Gujarati: ગુજરાતી લોકો Gujǎrātī loko, or ગુજરાતીઓ Gujarātīo), is an umbrella term used to describe traditionally Gujarati-speaking peoples who can trace their ancestry to the Gujarat region in India. Most of the Gujarati sub-ethnicities are of Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic extraction.

Origins

The Gujarati language has been adopted by communities such as the Kacchis, who use it as their literary language^[1], and the Parsis, who had made the Gujarat region of the Indian subcontinent their home.

Present status

People of the Gujarati ethnicity are primarily located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra (Primarily in Mumbai) and Madhya Pradesh regions of India; in the former Portuguese-ruled parts of India — Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, as well as in parts of Pakistan. The Gujaratis living in Pakistan are Muslims and are mainly those who migrated after the Partition of India and subsequent creation of independent Pakistan in 1947. They belong mainly to the Khoja and Bohra groups. A large majority migrated to Karachi. A number of families still have relatives in Indian Gujarat and consider Gujarati to be their native tongue, even though they were born and brought up in Karachi. A point to be noted that memons who are often mistaken as Gujaratis are not actually Gujaratis as their language and culture is different.

Food

The majority of Hindu and Jain Gujaratis are vegetarian. Gujarati cuisine follows the traditional Indian full meal structure of rice, cooked vegetables (curry-like in texture) and roti. The different types of rotli (breads) that a Gujarati cooks are rotli, bhakhri, thepla, puri, maal purah and puran-pohli. Ghari and Khakhra are also eaten as rotli, but they are usually eaten as a snack. Khaman, Dhokla, dhokli, dal-dhokli, undhiyu, fafda, chevdoh, papdi, bhusu and Sev mamra are Gujarati dishes savoured by many communities across the world. Use of Ghee in meals is very common. For example, rice or khichdi on rotli. The meal is usually accompanied with a sweet and a salty snack (farsaan) like Vada. Gujarati cookbook writers like Tarla Dalal are famous internationally.

The vegetable cooking involves preparing basic sauce first by frying masala with tomatoes and onions. Vegetables are usually added later. Gujaratis are more comfortable cooking with peanut oil (shing tel). However, while living abroad they adjust their cooking method with available canola or sunflower oil. The making of masala is traditionally done on grinding stones. Nowadays, people use a blender or grinder to make masala. Each person makes masala differently, hence cooking tastes differ depending on the household. People from north Gujarat use dry red chili powder, whereas people from south Gujarat prefer using green chili and coriander in their cooking. Gujarati Jains (and many Hindus) avoid using garlic and onions in their cooking. Traditionally Gujaratis eat Mukhwas or paan at the end of a meal. In many parts of Gujarat, having Chhass butter milk or soda after lunch or dinner is quite common. Gujarati families celebrate Sharad Purnima by having dinner with doodh-pauva under moonlight.

Pakistani or Muslim Gujaratis are normally non-vegetarian.

Dress and jewellery

Gujaratis change their dress according to the regional and local culture. Old wedding pictures of Gujaratis sometimes show the kurta (called zabbho) and pajama (called lehnghas). Kurtas have changed the appearance to more of a national culture from a regional culture. For quite some time, fashionable Gujarati ladies enjoyed wearing saris, but now they are switching to wearing the kameez at home and saris outside, wrapped in Gujarati style. Among men and women of the younger generations, western attire is becoming more common.

For jewellery and accessories, Gujarati ladies often hang a bunch of keys on the waist. The keyring holder is usually made of silver. Usual jewelry worn by ladies include the mangal sutra, necklace, earring, bangles and ring. With incidence of theft rising, cheaper costume jewelry is becoming more common. During weddings, Gujarati brides wear a lot of jewellery. It is common to see a Gujarati (Hindu) male wearing a gold chain and a ring. Married Gujarati (Hindu) women also traditionally wear a red 'bindi' (red powder worn in a round shape on the forehead also found in the form of stickers).

Most Hindu woman, married or not, wear 'bindi'. Married women, at times, wear red powder, called 'sindoor', on the forehead or near the hairline. In addition to this they may also wear the 'bindi' or 'tika'. Traditional married women still apply this red power to their forehead each morning. The red power, 'sindoor', is not round in shape but is rubbed in a short straight thickish line on the scalp, starting near the hairline and covers the area where the hair is generally parted(middle). During a traditional Hindu wedding, the groom applies 'sindoor' on the bride for the very first time. This act can be compared to a ring ceremony in western weddings. Modern Bindis are like stickers, and are available in various shapes, sizes, color and design. Most women, married or not, wear these as a fashion accessory and select their bindis to match their outfits in color and design.

Arts, literature, and entertainment

Fabric designs involve use of Batik. The embedding of mirrors (called abhla) in fabric is a favourite among art lovers. Wall hangings demonstrate use of knitting and embedding of mirrors. Gujarati pottery includes different kinds of deeva (lamps) and pots. During the festival of Navratri, youngsters wear traditional dress and go out to play dandia and sing garbas.

Gujarati theatre owes a lot to bhavai. Bhavai is a musical performance of stage plays. Ketan Mehta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as Bhavni Bhavai, Oh Darling Yeh Hai India and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Dayro (gathering) involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature.

Gujarati literature has come a long way since being pioneered by Narmad. Saraswatichandra is a landmark novel by Govardhanram Tripathi. Writers like K. M. Munshi, Suresh Dalal, Jyotindra Dave, Tarak Mehta, Harkisan Mehta, Chandrakant Bakshi, Pannalal Patel, Prahlad Brahmabhatt, Vinod Bhatt, Kanti Bhatt, Makarand Dave, Kalapi, and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.

A huge contribution to Gujarati language literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso, like Bramhanand, Premanand, with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans.

Gujarati films have made artists like Upendra Trivedi, Snehlata, Raajeev, Mahesh Kumar Kanodia, Naresh Kanodia, Aruna Irani and Asrani popular in the entertainment industry. In the U.S., Bali Brahmbhatt came up with the hit song "Patel Rap", referring to changing values of Gujarati culture.

There are dedicated television channels airing Gujarati programs.

Prominent Gujarati people

• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), Father of the Nation, Leader of the Indian independence movement
• Swami Dayananda, founder of Arya Samaj, a monotheistic Hindu sect
• Vallabhbhai Patel, also known as Sardar Patel, the founder of modern United India
• Morarji Desai, former Prime Minister of India
• Anil Ambani, industrialist
• Dhirubhai Ambani, industrialist
• Mukesh Ambani, industrialist
• Jagdish Bhagwati, economist
• Manibhai Desai, Gandhian who helped to transform Indian agriculture and dairy industries
• Hemachandra, Jain scholar and author of the Gurjar (Solanki) kingdom of Gujarat
• Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan
• Pramukh Swami Maharaj, religious Leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Organisation
• Ravishankar Maharaj, social reformer
• Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat
• Karsanbhai Patel, industrialist
• Kal Penn, U.S. actor
• Sheetal Sheth, U.S. actor
• Azim Premji, founder of Wipro
• Vasant Rai, musician
• Mallika Sarabhai, actress
• Vikram Sarabhai, first head of the Indian Space Research Organization
• Harilal Upadhyay, writer

See also List of people from Gujarat for a more comprehensive list.

Sources

Further reading

• Jhaveri, Krishanlal Mohanlal (ed.) (2003), The Gujaratis: The People, Their History, and Culture, New Delhi: Cosmo Publications.