NARANPAR

Naranpar Gaam was originally established by the Kshatriya (Darbar) in two sections during the period when the region was divided into various smaller kingdoms. The village was named 'Naranpar' because on the Western side of the village there is a famous river called 'Naran Nadi' (Naran River).

As Naranpar was established in two sections, the one on the North side (Upalovaas) is formally known as 'Naranpar Ravari' whereas the South (Nichalovaas) is known as 'Naranpar Pashayati', In the beginning, few families of Darbars were settled in the village. As time went on the Patel families arrived and settled in the village. The first amongst them were said to have been Pindorias and Vekarias, who were said to have come from the Bhuvad region in Saurashtra. The forefathers of both of these families slowly settled and started farming. Later on, as time went past, more and more Patel families such as Hirani, Bhudia, Senghani, Varsani, Kerai, Halai, Rabadia, Khetani and Gorasia started to settle down into the village. Naranpar is located on the crossroads from Bharapar to Meghpar and from Bhuj to Kera. Naranpar expanded on both the North and South sides of the roads between Bharapar and Meghpar. Naranpar Ravari was said to be owned and controlled by the landowners (Garaashdar) from the Poonadi and Naranpar Pashayati was owned and controlled by the landowners from Kera. The population increased gradually, the village of Naranpar was formally divided into two. In 1968 two separate 'Gaam Panchayats' (local governing authority) were formed which are run as Naranpar Ravari Panchayat and Naranpar Pashayati Panchayat. The elders believe that the village is approximately 365 years old,
It is believed that in the square (chok) of Naranpar Ravari's temple, there is a tamarind tree (khati ambli) since the village was originally established. This place was previously known as'Dhovar Otto',This tamarind tree is still there even today. Whenever you visit Naranpar please do not forget to see this historical tree.

BUSINESS
The main business of Naranpar villagers is that of farming which the majority of the population's livelihood depends on. Besides this, there are small-scale industries such as engineering workshops, saw-mills and metal fabrication workshops. The engineering workshops have skilled mechanics, which can modify tractors into shovels and bulldozers and also other machinery which can be adapted to be used for farming. Due to several years of drought in the Kutch region, the underground water level has dropped. To overcome the water shortage, boring machines are also manufactured in the village. These machines can easily bore down to a level of 500 to 600 feet underground, Recently there is a large scale construction of houses by the local villagers and Naranpar's overseas residents, For this construction industry, the machines such as mixers and 'hoist' are also produced in workshops in Naranpar. Naranpar is centrally located and surrounded by Bharapar, Surajpar, Baladia, Kera, Meghpar and Godpar. Due to such locality it is well placed to provide necessary equipments, machine repairing services and other essential day-to-day items to other surrounding villagers. Apart from this, a small number of villagers are now working overseas and have also settled in countries such as Middle East, UK, America and Africa. Principally, these emigrants have established themselves in the construction industry. In our village, the main agricultural products are, wheat, millet (bajri), sugar cane, mustard (ryedo), peanuts, cotton and vegetables like aubergine, cabbage and cauliflower etc. are grown.

POPULATION
The population of Naranpar Ravari is approximately 6,200. Of these approximately 5,350 are Leva Pate I caste and the remaining 850 are made up from Brahmins, Sonis, Muslims, Shahs and Harijans. Where as Naranpar Pashayati's population is around 11,500, including approximately 2,250 of other castes. Therefore the total population of Naranpur is in the region of 17,700.

DRINKING WATER FACILITIES
Naranpar Ravari and Naranpar Pashayati both have their own separate drinking water supply plants; both facilities are managed privately under leadership of respective communities. The water is supplied directly to houses in both villages, via pipelines. Besides this there are water standpipes for other local communities and visitors / travellers as well.

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
In the village, on the main road from Naranpar to Bhuj there is a great, modern school building together with a nursery (Balmandir) for children between the ages of 3 and 5. There is a similar nursery facility in Naranpar Pashayati as well. The primary school curriculum from levels I to 7 is run by a District Panchayat Primary School. Besides this, in 2002, the trustees of the educational committee together with other supporters planned to privatise the school in order to improve the declining education standards. A special conference (Sardothsav) was organised, which was attended by dignitaries from the Kutchi Leva Patel Community, the local villagers and people from the surrounding villages. The villagers and those who attended gave full support and financial backing. This conference was also attended by principal guest, 'Kutch District Educational Officer', who gave full approval to proposed privatisation process of the school. Naranpar Ravari's UK residents held a meeting and collected funds for the cause and made the dream come true. As a result approximately 550 students are currently benefiting from the privately run school. In additional to that, there are around 700 pupils in the primary school, which is run by the Gaam Panchayat. In total there are around 1,250 pupils who are studying in Naranpar Gaam. At present, the majority of pupils are females. There is also the Swaminarayan Girls High School, which provides education from levels 8 to 10. The girls' school is located on the first floor of the main school building and is run privately. There are currently approximately 220 girls studying in this school. In March 2003, the Girls High School result for the New SSC Exam was 97%, with majority of the girls achieving a 'First Class Grade'. In the Kutch region, there are approximately 150 girls' high schools, from which Naranpar Girls High School results placed them second in the whole district. This was truly a wonderful and outstanding achievement and certainly something to be proud of. There is also a library in our village, which is highly used by girls and women of all ages.

In our village there are around 40 graduates, which include girls as well. Besides this, residents in the UK, USA and Africa have graduates, Masters and some of these have also acquired professional qualification and specialised in certain categories.

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES & SOCIAL FACILITIES
When our ancestors and forefathers lived in Saurashtra they worshipped their family goddess (Kuldevi), Goddess Jagaadamba, which is the form of Goddess Paravati. Lord Swaminarayan has mentioned Goddess Paravati in his divine book 'The Vachnamrut', in which Lord Swaminarayan has explained the religious duty in very simple and understandable language and therefore as time passed by, the Swaminarayan Sect, has fully developed and flourished.

In both villages, there are historical temples of Lord Shiva. Lord Shree Swaminaryan, whilst he was on his pilgrimage, visited Naranpar, where he worshipped in the Temple of Lord Shiva. As a result of this, there is now a monument of his Lotus Feet (Ch hated i). This has been mentioned in Lord Swaminarayan's book titled 'Kutch Lila'. Apart from this, as the villages were owned by the Darba landowners, there is also the Temple of Radha Krishna (Thakkar Mandir). There are also separate Swaminarayan Temples for men and women.As time went on all the temples have been rebuilt.

During the disastrous earthquake at 8:45am on 26th January 200 I, many houses were damaged and apparently only two houses collapsed. In this earthquake, the women's temple in Naranpar Pashayati was also substantially damaged. This temple has now been rebuilt and during March 2004, the gods idols were inaugurated and set in place (Murti Pratistha) in the new temple and the Ceremony was celebrated with Holi and colours. With the help of local people and Naranpar's overseas residents, an eye clinic (Netra Yagna) and dental clinic (Dant Yagna) were also held a short while ago, which was of benefit to the whole village. In both the villages, there are also well built community centres (Samaj). The centre in Naranpar Ravari has a big community hall with modern facilities. The community hall has a stage with rooms on either side, which makes the hall very convenient and useful for ceremonies such as weddings, holy rituals (katha) and other social and cultural activities.

Facilities towards drainage are the latest progress the village has achieved.

Both of the sectors, (Pashayati and Ravari) have separate Hindu Crematoriums.

TRANSPORTATION
Another attribute to the village that enable community is the state transport centre which provides a bus service which runs every hour. There are also a good number of private taxis and rickshaws available for hire. Lorries are available for carrying commercial goods and due to such transport facilities, there are a large number of people passing through the village, which makes our village not only look like a City but importantly allows an increase in trade and further economic & financial activities.

FINANCIAL FACILITIES
In the village, there are several branches of well known nationalised banks. These includes Bank of India, The Kutch Gramin Bank, a subsidiary of The Dena Bank, and The State Bank of Saurastra. These banking facilities enables the farmers to obtain loans at competitive interest rates, in order to enable themselves to purchase, hybrid seeds, fertilizers as well as modern agricultural equipments such as tractors and machinery. The banks also provide financial loans for purchasing small transport vehicles and other various capital equipments.

POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
There is a single post office, which serves both the villages. There are a number of private STDs phone booths, which are used by local and overseas people. Most local people now have telephones in their homes. There is a private internet cafe in the village, which enables people living in other countries to communicate face to face via the internet at a very Iow cost.

MEDICAL FACILITIES AND DISPENSARIES
There are four private doctors' surgeries in the village in which the local people and people from the neighbouring villages visit for medical treatment. There is an eye clinic in the village run by a local private charitable trust, which treats patients every Sunday free of charge and many people from surrounding villages also come to use this facility. As the main business of the villagers is agriculture and animal herding, there is a veterinary doctor available in the village.

COW PROTECTION AND WELFARE
In Naranpar Ravari on the road to Bhuj there is an animal welfare centre for, stray and disowned cows. There are currently around 175 handicapped/disabled cows being looked after at the centre. Besides this, there is also a similar cow protection centre in Naranpar Pashayati having similar number of cattles.

SPORTS FACILITIES
As the village youngsters and youth are sports enthusiasts; six years ago a sports day was held in which around 50 sporting and enthusiastic athletes participated. The elders also encourage and support the athletes in their sports. The Kutch District Panchayat has also provided a sports ground, which is situated on the left side, near the bridge on the river bank, along the road from Naranpur to Bhuj. The most popular sports are volleyball, cricket, kabadi, badminton and Ceram. The athletes regularly participate in the sports events and competitions organised by'Shree Kutchi Leva Patel Samaj'. In the Kabadi competition, the Naranpar sporting athletes always take a leading role.

GARDENS AND LEISURE FACILITIES
There is a small but beautiful garden near the water supply plant, where there are roses, neem trees (Iimbdo), eucalyptus trees (nilgari) and Asopalav trees. There is also a drinking water facility provided for visitors. This garden is conveniently situated on the right hand side of the village entrance on the road from Bhuj to Naranpar. At this garden the youngsters have worked hard to level out a small hill and planted the above mentioned trees not only for pleasure but also to enhance and beautify the environment.

As Naranpar is dominant in agriculture, there are many lush and green farms in the village which makes the village look like a garden with blooming flowers. Three kilometers away from Naranpar on the road to Bhuj, there is a lake called 'Khatri Tadav', where our villagers have extended the lake and planted neem trees and various flowers on the banks of the lake and made the place suitable for sitting and relaxing in the cool pleasant breeze. There is also a historical Temple of Lord Shiva on the bank of the lake. As mentioned earlier this temple was badly damaged by the earthquake on 26 January 200 I, hence it has now been renovated with the help of local people. surrounding villagers as well as the overseas residents of Naranpar. After the renovations were completed in July 2002, Gods idols were set in place (Murti Pratishtha) in the new temple and the Opening Ceremony was celebrated. Along with the renovation of the temple the surrounding land was leveled out by the hardworking villagers and various trees have been planted inside the boundary of the land as well as various flowers on the outside of the boundary. With divine temple of Nilkanth Mahadev-Shiva, this place has become spiritual and eternally blissfull thus attracting large number of visitors every evening and weekends. People come to enjoy the divinity, serenity and tranquillity of this, our historical place with it's natural surrounding.

Should you ever happen to visit Naranpar, please bear all the above cultural and historical facts, in mind to insure, it remains of such quality and value for generations to come.

The village has a variety of colours, culture, art craft and history. This information gathered, came from direct sources of memory which much was passed down from generations and thus additions were
made as the village grew up.

I take this opportunity to apologise, if I may have overlooked any important information. in the event of researching and producing this article.

Thank you and Jay Shree Swaminarayan By Kalyan Premji Pindoria

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