At the center of the city of Surat is Gopi Talav, which was built by Malik Gopi, a famous merchant and Governor of Surat, in 1510 to address the city’s drought. In 1718, the lake was enlarged by adding a four-sided waw with four entrances built by merchant Mir Alamsha Binkhan, a friend of the then governor of Surat, Hyder Kun Khan.
However, during the 17th and 18th centuries, the lake dried up and became a waste dump, with encroachment significantly reducing its size. In the 1990s, local children used the area as a cricket ground. In 2015, the lake was cleaned, redeveloped and inaugurated by then Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
Ramesh Joshi, a historian living in Surat in the 15th century, wrote a book called ‘Malik Gopi’. He has written how Gopi, who was a Nagar Brahmin, came to Surat from Vadnagar in Mehsana and started doing business. With hard work and good sense, Gopi became a famous businessman in the city and later a philanthropist.
The base of the lake is made of Faras (a mixture of yellow soil and limestone) so that the water does not enter deep into the ground. Express Photo
Joshi has written in his book, ‘People were facing problems of ration and water. Malik Gopi opened his ration godown for them. As there was no source of drinking water, he planned to build a reservoir so that the people of Surat could get water throughout the year.
Although the land for the pond was available in the Navsari market, the main problem was financial. Malik Gopi planned to spend the income of his city on the reservoir.
Joshi writes, “Before the construction of the lake, Malik Gopi approached the Hindu saint Nirvana and shared his idea of building a big lake to quench the thirst of the people of Surat and also showed the lack of money. On hearing this project, Saint Nirvana was happy and told that there is a treasure hidden underground in the open ground at the beginning of Navsari Bazar which can be excavated and used in the construction of the lake.
Gold was found in the bed of the proposed lake and used to construct it, Lore said. Thousands of laborers were involved in excavating the soil and a large lake was created. Gopi fed, watered and paid the laborers and the project was completed by 1510.
‘Surat Nu Gauravantu Gopiparu’ (Pride-Gopi Region of Surat) details the construction of a canal to fill the lake, connecting the Tapi River with the Gopitalau. In addition, small channels were constructed in different directions to carry more rainwater to the lake.
Due to its strategic position as a port city, Surat attracted many travelers. Another book ‘Surat Sonani Murat’ by Ishwarlal Desai describes the visit of the French traveler Jean de Thévenot, who came in 1666. He mentioned that the lake was built to combat drought conditions.
Although the land for the pond was available in the Navsari market, the main problem was financial. Malik Gopi planned to spend the earnings of his city on the reservoir. Express Photo
The base of the lake is made of Faras (a mixture of yellow soil and limestone) so that the water does not enter deep into the ground. Stairs were built all around and at various places, allowing people to fetch water easily. An island was built in the center where a 25 feet temple was built and called Jal Mandir (water temple).
According to Desai’s book, when Gopi Talav was built, it covered an area of 35,000 square meters. It had the capacity to store about 12 million liters of water at a depth of 12 meters. However, by 1674, the lake had dried up and was in ruins. In the 20th century, the steps around the dry lake created the appearance of a large amphitheater.
The stepwell built by Binkhan is 15 meters deeper than the lake. Historians say this is the only step in Gujarat where steps are built in all four directions to access water.
Surat-based historian and photographer Sanjay Choksi told The Indian Express, “When the Gopi lake dried up, there was a water problem again, Mir Alamsha built a stepwell on the perimeter of the Gopi lake. Generally, a vava has two staircases, but the Gopi Talava vava has four entrances and stairs leading directly to the well. You can enter the Vav from all four directions by taking about 25 steps. Vav has a diameter of 35 m. The purpose of constructing such four entrance structures is that more people can enter and bring water and avoid any accidents.”
“Vavas are of four types – Nanda, Bhadra, Jaya and Vijaya. The gopi talava vava belongs to the Vijaya vava (four-faced vava), which has four entrances. This type of Vav is not found elsewhere in Gujarat. The stones used to build the Vav were extracted from different areas of Gopitalau, which were dried and kept in a condition that could not be used. A plaque at one of the entrances to the wav states that it was built in 1718.
Later, with the passage of time, the water of Gopil Lake dried up and the canal was damaged. As a result, people started throwing garbage inside. Later, many people settled in some parts of the lake.
Choksi said, “In ancient times, Gopi Lake used to be filled with water and many people used to take boats to worship at the water temple. During the evening, people can enjoy the beauty of the lake. BJP leaders Nitin Bhajiwala and Madanlal Kapadia (former MLA from Surat East assembly seat) took charge of the redevelopment of Gopi Talav and reconstructed it successfully.
Due to its strategic position as a port city, Surat attracted many travelers. Another book ‘Surat Sonani Murat’ by Ishwarlal Desai describes the visit of the French traveler Jean de Thévenot, who came in 1666. Express Photo
Redevelopment of Gopi Lake
Former Surat City BJP President and former Municipal Corporation Nitin Bhajiwala said, “We want the history of Surat not to be lost, so we took up the challenge and first we spoke to the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi in 2012, about the history of the lake and the then rich businessman and governor of Surat City, Malik Gopi. Sharing the relationship to redevelop the Gopi lake.After getting the green light from Modi, Surat Municipal Corporation leaders and municipal commissioners also worked on it and construction of the lake started.
Sources said the Surat Municipal Corporation restored the lake in 2012 and the surrounding area was redeveloped as a recreational facility for citizens at a cost of Rs 28.47 crore. About 90,000 square meters of land was redeveloped.
After that, the municipal commissioner MK Das and the ruling party leaders awarded the project consultant contract to Vishal Shah of Angan Architects in Surat.
Vishal Shah said, “The project to redevelop Gopitalau as a pond is an exemplary act of providing access to state-of-the-art public space by saving the neglected and neglected piece of land in the center of the lake. Old City Surat. The rejuvenation is a giant leap to bring back the glory of a historically and ecologically important public space. The project has benefited 5 million people in old and new cities. The project site is located in the heart of Surat’s old city (formerly the walled city), measuring 10 hectares; The original water resources lost during the development and urbanization of the city have been revived as lakes and public parks. The main components of this project are the preservation of public parks, water bodies and the historic stage located on the site.
Bhajiwala said, ‘There was a fear that riots would break out when the illegal encroachers were evicted in the lake area. So we took the help of the local people, the then Surat Police Commissioner Sudhir Sinha and with their help the eviction process started. People were looking for an alternative, so the SMC built several houses under the JNNURM scheme, and the slum dwellers of Gopi Talav were allotted EWS quarters in Vestan. After the encroachment was removed, the entire area was cordoned off and no one was allowed to enter.”
After the clearing work, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) conducted the study. Bhajiwala added, “Dr Mahesh Desai, an expert in soil technology and a professor of SVNIT, conducted the research under the guidance of the head of the department, Dr Daksar Raijiwala. Soil testing of the land was done. The 10-foot base area of the lake was made of a mixture of yellow clay and limestone, which was rammed repeatedly to form a compact waterproof structure. Due to such a structure, water does not enter.”
Sources said the redeveloped grounds include an amphitheater and a foundation plaza. The restored area has been divided into seven zones namely diamond zone, food zone, environment zone and history zone, communal harmony zone, textile zone and Surat Nu Zaman.
Shah, the project consultant, said, “We took the photographs of the previous Vav from the old books of various authors from the Surat Municipality-run Narmad Library. We first cleaned the entire wav area and later brought stones of the same size and removed the broken stones from the spot and repaired them.”