Rajkot is the 35th-largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population more than 1.28 million as of 2012. Rajkot is also the 22nd-fastest-growing city in the world. The city contains the administrative headquarters of the Rajkot District, 245 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and is located on the banks of the Aji and Nyari Rivers. Rajkot was the capital of the Saurashtra State from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956, before its merger to Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was reincorporated into Gujarat State from May 1, 1960. Rajkot is frequently referred to as “Rangilu Rajkot” (રંગીલુ રાજકોટ) meaning colorful Rajkot. Garba, a dance form, is popular both with men and women and is performed during the Navratri festival. The dance starts before midnight and continues until dawn. Mata Ambe, who rides a Lion, has a special reverential status with any highly religious Gujarati. The ‘Janmastami Mela’ organizes by for five days at the Race Course grounds to celebrate Janmastami. Diwali is the New Year for Hindus and people celebrate by doing Ma Laxmi Pujan. Moharam is new year of Muslim. Muslim’s also celebrate ramzan Eid and bakri Eid. Rajkot Municipality arranges the Firecracker Show for the citizens of Rajkot. People clean and paint their houses and purchase new clothes to wear on New Year’s Day. Dhuleti is the colour festival and Mahashivratri is God Shiva’s day. People also celebrate Uttarayan (Makar Sankranti) on 14 January by flying kites from their terraces. Other holidays are Ganesh Utsava, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti etc. Since Rajkot has people from many different castes and races, their various celebrations occur throughout the year. Rajkot is home to Rajkumar College, Rajkot, also known RKC, which is one of the oldest schools of India. Near RKC, OrnaSkin is located which is saurashtra’s largest cosmetology centre, serving modern techniques for hair and skin treatment. Rajkot is famous for providing education to Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhiji), at the Alfred High School. The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) runs regular buses to and from from Rajkot to other cities of Gujarat. More than 81000 people travel daily with GSRTC .Rajkot is very well connected with Gujarat State Highways and Rajkot is allocated the vehicle registration code GJ-3 by RTO. There are a number of private bus operators connecting city with other cities of Gujarat state and other states of India Trains for the all the major cities of India are available from here. Rajkot Junction is the more widely used railway station for passenger trains. Its elevation is 128 m above sea level. Its station code is “RJT”. Air travel is developing slowly in the city. There are multiple daily flights to Mumbai, served by Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and other carriers. Intermittent services to Ahmedabad and a hopping service to Bhavnagar on the way to Mumbai have been undertaken periodically. Rajkot is famous for its jewelry market, silk embroidery and watch parts. The city hosts several small scale manufacturing industries. Some of the industrial products for which Rajkot is known include bearings, diesel engines, kitchen knives and other cutting appliances, watch parts (cases & bracelets), automotive parts, forging industry, casting industry, machine tools, share market and software development. The city is also home to some of the largest CNC machine and auto parts manufacturers in the country. Rajkot is well known throughout the world for its casting and forging industries. Cricket is the most famous sport in the city. Connaught Hall. Other notable points of interest near the garden include the historic Mohandas Gandhi High School, Kaba Gandhi No Delo (Mohandas Gandhi’s childhood residence), Rashtriya Shala, Watson Museum, Lang Library and Rotary Midtown Library. The Rotary Dolls Museum has a collection of more than 1,400 dolls from all over the world The Lang Library and the G.T. Sheth Library collect thousands of documents and books covering every period in Rajkot and Saurashtra (region) history. Other points of interest in Rajkot include Gebanshah Pir Dargah, Hashanshah Pir Dargah, Turkibapu’s Dargah, Swaminarayan Gurukul, Masonic Hall, Jam Tower,Race Course, Aji Dam, Ramakrishna Aashram, Shri Ranchhoddas Ashram,Swaminarayan Temple and Watson Museum And Library.
