Porbandar

Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama (friend of Lord Krishna). It is the administrative center of Porbandar District.

Porbandar is also an ancient port city at present having an all-weather port, with direct berthing facilities up to 50,000 DWT ships

Let us begin our journey where Gandhi began his. On October 2, 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in a 3-storey blue haveli in the city of Porbandar, where his father, uncle and grandfather had all been prime ministers to the Jethwa Rajput rulers of the princely state. The city had been a prosperous trading center for centuries, conducting much commerce with Arabian and Persian Gulf countries, as well as East Africa, under the Mughals, the Marathas and the British. Now it is a city of industry, with cement and chemical factories ringing the city, contributing to a general griminess around town.

The site of Gandhi’s birth, now called Kirti Mandir, has been converted into a small museum about him, with an exhibit of old photographs, some of his very few possessions and a nice library of books either by him or relating to Gandhian philosophy and practice. The room where his mother gave birth to him has, as expectable, nothing special about it. It was the family home.

Two km from the middle of town is Bharat Mandir, with exhibits of sculptures, pictures and other examples of Indian tradition. Next door is the Nehru Planetarium, with regular programs about astronomy. Both sites are open from 9am-12pm and 3pm-6pm and entry to each is Rs.3/-.

The following are notable sites:

• Kirti Mandir (birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi)
• Sudama Mandir
• Bharat Mandir
• Gita Mandir
• Gayatri Mandir
• Ram Dhoon Mandir
• Rokadia Hanuman temple
• Sandipani Vidyaniketan
• Bird Sanctuary
• Chowpati Beach
• Satyanarayan's Mandir
• Kamla Nehru park
• Shri Hari Mandir
• Nehru Planetarium
• Tara Mandir: Tara is Gujarati for stars. Tara Mandir houses a planetarium which is among the first two planetariums started in India by Shri Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Swaminarayan Mandir
• Bhutnath Mandir - is located opp. Bhavshiji Hospital (Civil Hospital)
• Chadeshwar Mahadev & Ajani Mataji's temple - is located at Somnath Highway 3 km (2 mi) from Porbandar may be from Pandava's Era
• Khimeshware mahadev -Kutchadi (kes goswami)
• Sani Dev tample - Hathla
• RangBai Tample Beach ( kes Goswami )

Transport

The local transportation of the city includes the city bus (operated by Kargil Parivahn company) connecting to major areas of the city and auto rickshaw. Sudama Chowk is the main hub of city buses and private taxis.

The city is well-connected by road, rail and air to the various cities across the country.

Road The city is connected through National Highway 8B, connecting to Rajkot and Ahmedabad. National Highway 8E Ext (also known as State Highway 6) connects to Jamnagar, Dwarka in the north and Veraval, Bhavnagar in the south. Major public transport is covered by the private and government buses. Many private coaches are available daily to Rajkot, Dwarka, Veraval, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Vadodra, Surat, and Mumbai. Large number of S.T. buses (State Transport Corporation operated by government) are available to multiple destinations including major cities of the state, small villages and towns.

Porbandar Railway station City is well connected with major cities of state and some of major cities in the country. There are daily trains to Rajkot (via Jamnagar), Bhanwad, Okha and Mumbai (via Ahmedabad, Vadodra and Surat). There are also trains to Delhi, Motihari and Howrah connecting to major cities of Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. A once-weekly train service to Trivandrum (Kerala) has been planned.

Airport Airport Authority of India (AAI) has built a new terminal building at Porbandar. The Porbandar Airport has daily flight to Mumbai operated by Jet Airways.