Surat Ma Aapanu Swagat Chhe*

There’s no good reason for anyone to visit a place like Surat,  unless it’s for work, or if you’re a diamond smuggler (also work, in that case). But if, by a cruel stroke of luck, you do end up there, you can absolutely, without a doubt, count on the locals to not be able to give you any tips whatsoever on how to while away your time in the city. Honestly, this is a city where the idea of weekend entertainment is thronging the corridors of the city’s only mall because of its air-conditioning and having picnics on the pavement of Dumas Road (one of Surat’s arterial highways), eating farsaan (Gujarati for snacks or munchies). Some Suratis have also been known to stand outside the airport, waiting for the day’s only incoming flight from Delhi to see an aircraft land, and then again take off a couple of hours later. I can feel adrenaline rushing through my body just writing about it.

But as one discovers over not one, not two, but three week-long visits, there might be more to Surat than meets the eye. It’s no honeymoon destination, that’s for sure, but if you do find yourself stranded there for a day or two, you could possibly make it a somewhat interesting trip.

Our first glimpse of the cemetery

It is sad that given its importance as a commercial centre and a port for the British and the Dutch settlers, there is little in Surat today that is reminiscent of its colonial past. It is even worse that the average Suratis you encounter on the streets are either completely oblivious to or utterly ignorant of their city’s beautiful heritage. As second-time visitors to Surat, my colleague and I were well aware of the Dutch cemetery in the old part of the city, unlike every single Surati we asked for directions. As far as they were concerned, no such place had ever existed in the city. After being misdirected towards a fairly regular, though, interestingly designed mosque that everyone thought was the Dutch cemetery, we decided to ask a sweet old couple in a park about it, in the hope that they would remember things about their city from a time when there was more to it than a measly little mall and roadside picnics. Thankfully for us, they did.

Fifteen minutes later, we stood outside a derelict, but hauntingly beautiful cemetery (pun totally intended) overlooking a very chaotic part of the city as people went about their business routinely, rushing past this colonial relic with sheer indifference. Now obviously, locals can’t be expected to stop and stare in awe every time they cross a heritage site in their city, but as tourists, we felt differently. Our cameras were instantly in action and we were itching to get inside. It didn’t help that every entrance to the cemetery seemed to have been sealed off. One of the autowallahs parked nearby directed us through a very creepy lane to a side entrance that seemed totally illegitimate. But luckily, the caretaker agreed to give us a tour of the place. The Dutch cemetery shares its wall with a smaller Armenian cemetery. Both, while beautiful, are in dire need of repair and maintenance. Some of the bigger and more majestic tombs are literally falling apart, while some others are just covered with dirt or in certain instances, dog shit. I sincerely hope and wish, the PWD would be more proactive towards preserving their city’s heritage.

As is clear from the pictures, by the time we were inside the cemetery, it was almost dusk and within 15 minutes, my colleague freaked out about being in a graveyard after sundown and so ended our tour. If you’re at all an interesting person or, perhaps, a necromancer, I can bet you would appreciate a visit to the cemetery.

The Siddis of Sasan Gir
(Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

So, as this post is not yet over, you can guess that there’s still more to Surat than you would have imagined. Perhaps, my greatest regret about my three visits to Surat is that I never got the opportunity to visit the Siddi village. In a small town/village called Sachin, just an hour or so outside Surat, lives a small community of Afro-Arab settlers called the Siddis or Siddhis, who were gifted by the Portuguese to the king of Junagadh (and I’m quoting that most trustworthy of sources here - Wikipedia) as slaves. Over centuries, the Siddis have apparently developed an Afro-Gujarati hybrid sub-culture of their own. They speak both Gujarati as well as their native African dialect and have also developed their own form of Sufism. Siddis live in other parts of Gujarat and Karnataka as well. This little known and little documented part of India’s history and culture may well be a very good reason to visit Surat after all.

Gastronomically speaking, I love Surat. It certainly helps that I’m vegetarian. Be sure to visit Sasuma (Hindi for mother in-law, and don‘t go by the name) or Kunsaar at the RTO Circle for some of the best Gujarati thalis you’ll ever find. I, for one, love the generous hospitality of the staff at these places. The food is an added bonus. Obviously, meat lovers wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about it, but as it turns out, the old part of the city is well-known for its non-vegetarian foodstalls, primarily serving Mughlai cuisine. Also, try out The Chocolate Room for breakfast with their fairly droolworthy options of pancakes and waffles and chocolate soups, chocolate shakes and everything else from chocolate heaven.

Two other interesting restaurants in the aforementioned mall are worth visiting as well. Iscon Mall is home to The Village, a (no points for guessing) village-themed restaurant and Kashir Lounge, a fine-dining restaurant specialising in Kashmiri cuisine, which also serves some seemingly delectable non-vegetarian dishes. The Village, on the other hand, serves pure vegetarian and onion/garlic-free food. Though, what really makes it worth visiting is its authentic rustic ambience. There’s a life-size fake banyan tree bang in the middle of the place with an artisan sitting under it making and selling pretty lac bangles on the spot. There’s also a guy hovering nearby selling paan on his bicycle. And there’s a plastic cow standing in a corner. The best part, however, is when the entire staff randomly bursts into an awesome Garba routine. The guests are free to join them. It’s like a mini-Choki Dhani enclosed in a 7000-sq.ft space.

So, that's about Surat. It's a typical Indian city with all the quirks of a small town. And as much as I joked about the people of Surat earlier, I must add that Gujaratis are one of the most hospitable and sweetest people I have ever met and the hospitality that you see in traditional Gujarati restaurants is simply a derivative of their inherent nature. Since Surat is relatively less cosmopolitan than, say, Baroda or Ahmedabad, there is inevitably more human contact, which, in a way, makes the whole experience all the more pleasant.

I’m sure I still haven't discovered all there is to about Surat, so if someone knows about something I failed to mention here, feel free to tell us about it in the comments.
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*Literally translates to 'Welcome to Surat'