Maharashtra State: Maharashtra lies on the west of India. It faces the Arabian Sea. The plain along the coast is flat and narrow. From this plain rise the Western Ghats. This range is made up of fairly high mountains. To the east of the Ghats is the Deccan plateau. There are two kinds of rivers in Maharashtra. Many short streams flow swiftly from the Ghats into the Arabian Sea. The larger, slow moving rivers like the Godavari and Krishna are flow across the Deccan plateau towards the Bay of Bengal. In the north the rivers Narmada and Tapi flow westward to the Arabian Sea.
Maharashtra has a warm climate. The summers are Ghats the winters are mild. The coastal plain and the Ghats get heavy rainfall. By the time the clouds reach the plateau, they carry little rain. So this area is much drier. There are not as many canals as there are in Punjab and U.P. but some more are being built. Dams have been built and many farmers use the water from the lakes for irrigation. Tube wells are also used to water their fields.
In the water areas rice I an important crop. Wheat is grown in winter. Bajra and Jowar are sown in places where there is little rain. Maize and dals are also grown. The ground –nuts that are grown are crushed to make ground-nut oil. This oil is used for coking. Large areas are planted with sugar-cane. The canes are stronger and better than those of north India, from the leaves of the tobacco plant, cigarettes ad `bidis’ are made.
The soil in some parts of the Deccan plateau is rich and dark in color. Where this soil is found, cotton I the most important crop. The seeds are sown in rows of the beginning of the monsoon. When the plants are small the farmer and his family pull out the weeds that quickly grow. If they were not taken out, they would kill the small plants. Light rain and bright sunshine are good for the plants. After a few months, flowers come out on the bushes. These fall off, leaving behind the fruit or boll. The boll grows until it ripens. When it bursts, the white cotton and black seeds can be seen. The bolls are picked by hand, picking starts in January. First the bolls are taken to a factory where the seeds are taken out. Then the cotton is made into thread. Finally the thread is woven into cloth.
Many of India’s mills and factories are in Maharashtra, especially around the large port of Mumbai. When India becomes independent there were very few mills in the country. Many of the things we needed had to be bought from other countries. For example, the cotton mills had to buy machinery and dyes. It was important that the mills be built near a port. Today fewer things are bought from abroad. Instead our mills are making goods that can be sold in all the countries of the world. These goods are sent by ships. The mills and factories of Maharashtra make cloth, sugar, cars, cycles, aero planes, chemicals, glass, machinery and many other smaller goods. Most of the cloth mills are located in Mumbai. Fishing is also an important occupation in the state. Thousands of people catch fish in the sea.
Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra state. It is the largest city in India. It is also the biggest seaport in India. Ships from all parts o the world call here. They bring goods from other countries. They also carry Indian goods to sell in different parts f the world. Mumbai is also the largest film making centre in the country. Pune is another well-known city. It is up in the Western Ghats and so it is cooler than Mumbai. The Ajanta and ellora Caves near Aurnagabad are well-known for their paintings.
Gujarat State: Gujarat is located on the west coast of India. The Arabian Sea is in the south. Its neighboring states are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Sabaramati, Mahi, Narmada and Tapi are its main rivers. All these rivers do not have water throughout the year as they are rain fed.
Gujarat is a land at great physical contrasts. Kachchh is a barren region. In its northern parts there is a large saline marshy plain, known as the Rann of Kachchh. The southwestern part of Gujarat is called Kathiawar or Saurashtra Peninsula. Kathiawar lies between the Gulf of Kachchh, the Gulf of khanbat and the Arabian Sea. The Girnar Hills are in this part of Gujarat. These hills are covered with forests of teak, Shesham and kail. The famous Gir Lions are found in these forests. No one is allowed to cut trees or hunt animals in these forests. These are the reserved forests. Gujarat has hot summers and cold winters. Part of Gujarat has dry climate. The areas around Vadodra and further south around Broach and Surat are fertile plains of Gujarat. These are known as black cotton areas of Gujarat. The main crops other than cotton are bajra, Jowar, wheat, maize, groundnuts, tobacco, bananas and sugar-cane.
Fishing and making salt are the main occupation of the people living near the sea coast. Most of India’s salt comes from the salt marshes of western Gujarat.
Gujarat is rich in mineral wealth. Along with Assam it is the country’s major petroleum producer. It has oil wells at Anleshwar, Khambat and Kalol. It is also rich in gypsum, limestone, lignite and manganese.
Textile, petrochemicals, industrial machinery, vegetable oil, cement and electronics are important industries of Gujarat. The dairy industry has developed rapidly in the state. It has many milk processing plants with a production capacity of over three million liters of milk per day. Amul milk products like butter, cheese, chocolates manufactured by the Amul co-operative dairy at Anand are famous all over India.
The people of Gujarat are called Gujaratis and they speak Gujarati language. Their main food consists of rice and wheat. They are also very fond of pickles, curd and Papad. They add jaggery and sugar to most of their dishes.
Most Gujaratis war white dhoti, kurta and Gandhi cap. In some parts of the state they wear white Churidar pajamas with sort top jackets and colorful turbans. The women wear colorful lehangas, Cholis and odhanis. Many women wear sarees but in different style than those worn by women in north India.
Navrari in the month of October is the most popular festival of Gujarat. It is celebrated for nine days. During this period, there is lot of fun and dancing. The women do the Garbha dance. Many people also dance the dandya with small colorful sticks in their hands.
Gandhinagar is the capital of Gujarat. It is situated on the banks of Sabaramati River near Ahammadabad. It is a well planned town.
Ahammadabad is the largest city o the state. It is an industrial town important for cotton textiles, cement, chemicals, fertilizers, machine tools and drugs. Gandhi’s Sabaramati Ashram is also situated in Ahammadabad. Other important towns are Vadodra, Surat, Rajkot and Porbandar. Mahatma Gandhi was born in Porbandar. Kandla, Dwaraka and Okha are the seaports.
Dwaraka, 137 km west of Jammnagar is an important pilgrimage centre of the Hindus. Majestic Somanth temple stands on the coast of Gujarat.