Kapadvanj

Kapadwanj Kapadwanj
City
Nickname(s): Taluka
Kapadwanj Location in Gujarat, India
Coordinates: 23°01′N 73°04′E / 23.02°N 73.07°E / 23.02; 73.07Coordinates: 23°01′N 73°04′E / 23.02°N 73.07°E / 23.02; 73.07
Country	India
State	Gujarat
District	Kheda
Elevation	69 m (226 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	90,921
Languages
• Official	Gujarati, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	387620

Kapadwanj (Karpat – Vanjiyam or "The Land of Textile") is a City as well as one of the Taluka of the Kheda district in the Gujarat India. It is located on bank of river Mohar. It is 71 km away from Ahmedabad^[1] and 93 km away from Vadodara^[2]

It is birthplace of famous Religious Personalities like AnandSagar Surishwarji Mahasaheb, PunayVijayji Maharasaheb, SuryodaySagar Suri Maharasaheb and famous Author Rajendra Shah.

Geography

Kapadvanj is located at 23°01′N 73°04′E / 23.02°N 73.07°E / 23.02; 73.07.^[3] It has an average elevation of 69 metres (226 feet).

History, Historical Places

First residence of Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton Kapadvanj in Gujarat in the 1890s

Siddharaj Jayasinh (1094 – 1143)was credited for gifting some of Gujarat’s finest architectural gems. He had built two exquisite Vavs (step wells) and a Torana at the centre of the old town. The main structure called kundvav is a rectangular structure, similar to plan of Modhera step well. However, it is smaller and simpler than Modhera’s.

Kapadvanj was a major trading centre on the route inland from the port of Cambay and trade brought it wealth and importance in the time Siddharaj Jayasinh. As it was located close to Mohar River, it was a perfect place for constructing step wells for water supply. According to local historians and elderly folks the town had five gates.The torana at Kapadvanj is one among the 13 kirtistambhas in Gujarat; however it is amongst the best preserved, only after the Vadnagar torana. It has two pillars and a transverse architrave. The entire torana is covered with elaborate sculptures.

Other historical place of Kapadwanj is Vohrawad(a Bohra neighbourhood marked by the special character of the elegantly hybrid architecture). There are few wooden havelis there. They wore even sculptures of musicians, a usual feature of pol wooden houses in Ahmedabad. ^[4]

There are nine Jain Temples in Kapadvanj. Chintamani Parshwanath Temple, Astapad Temple, Glass temple of Shantinath are famous of them.

Feroze Tuglaq Mosque in Kapadwanj has a unique calligraphy originated in Gujarat called Khat-e-Bahaar which blends local elements in Arabic script.^[5]

Demographics

wodden work use for decoration in front of home in kapadvanj

At the 2001 India census,^[6] Kapadwanj had a population of 90,921. Males constituted 52% of the population and females 48%. Kapadwanj had an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 79%, and female literacy 67%. In the city 12% of the population were under 6 years of age.

When Gujarat separated from Mumbai, the government created 10 dist and 40 taluka, Kapadwanj was one of them. Kapadvanj was a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency in Gujarat. Shankarsinh Vaghela was last MP from Kapadvanj.

^[7]

Education

Kapadvanj has many educational institutions like Maneklal Desai Kishor Mandir, C N Vidhyalay, Shree L M Sharda Mandir School, M P High School, Shree Ganesh English Medium School, School for success(jeevanshilp campus), SANKALP Education, knowledge high school,^[8] Parekh Brothers Science College , V.M Parekh and K.S. Shah Arts and commerce college, ^[9] M.P.Patel College of Pharmacy

References