Know Your City: History of Surat’s Gopi talav, a 16th-century lake which has undergone several transformations

Ramesh Joshi, a historian who lived in Surat in the 15th century, wrote a book titled ‘Malik Gopi’. He writes about how Gopi, who was a Nagar Brahmin, came down to Surat from Vadnagar, now in Mehsana, and started doing business. With hard work and good understanding Gopi grew into a well-known businessman of the city and later a philanthropist.

The base of the lake has been made with faras (mixture of yellow mud and limestone) so that the water does not penetrate deep inside the ground. Express Photo

In his book, Joshi writes, “People were facing problems of ration and water. Malik Gopi opened his ration godowns for them. Since there was no source of drinking water, he planned to develop a reservoir through which people of Surat could get water throughout the year.”\

The land for the lake was located at Navsari Bazaar, but the major problem was financing. Malik Gopi had planned to use his city earnings to fund the reservoir.

Joshi writes, “Before construction of the lake, Malik Gopi contacted the Hindu Sant Nirvan and shared his idea of developing the big lake to quench the thirst of Surat people and also showed scarcity of the funds. It was Sant Nirvan who was delighted by the project, and told him that there is hidden treasure under the ground in an open land at the beginning of Navsari Bazar which can be excavated and used for the construction of a lake.”

Lore goes that gold was found in the bed of the proposed lake and used to build it. Thousands of labourers were involved in excavating mud, and a huge lake was made. Gopi fed, watered, and paid the labourers, and the project was completed by 1510.

‘Surat nu Gauravvantu Gopiparu’ (Surat’s Pride-The Gopi Area) details the construction of a canal that connects the Tapi River to Gopi Talav, filling the lake. Additionally, smaller channels were built in various directions to direct excess rainwater into the lake.

Due to its strategic position as a port city, Surat attracted many travellers. Another book ‘Surat Sonani Murat’ by Iswharlal Desai describes the visit of French traveller Jean De Thevenot, who came in 1666. He mentioned the lake was built to combat drought conditions.

The land for the lake was located at Navsari Bazaar, but the major problem was financing. Malik Gopi had planned to use his city earnings to fund the reservoir. Express Photo

The base of the lake has been made with faras (mixture of yellow mud and limestone) so that the water does not penetrate deep inside the ground. Steps were built on all sides and at different locations, allowing people to fetch water easily. An island was built at the centre where a 25-foot temple was constructed and it was called Jal Mandir (water temple).

According to Desai’s book, when Gopi talav was constructed, it covered an area of 35,000 square metres. It had the capacity to store approximately 12 crore litres of water, with a depth of 12 meters. However, by 1674, the lake had dried up and was in ruins. By the 20th century, the steps surrounding the dry lake created the appearance of a large amphitheatre.

The stepwell built by Binkhan is 15 metres deep, deeper than the lake. Historians note this is the only stepwell in Gujarat where steps are constructed in all four directions to access water.

Surat Historian and photographer Sanjay Choksi told The Indian Express, “After Gopi talav dried up, again there was a water scarcity problem, Mir Alamsha then built the stepwell in the periphery of Gopi talav. Generally, vavs (step wells) have two stairways, but Gopi Talav Vav has four entry gates and steps leading directly to the well. People can enter the Vav from all four directions by around 25 steps. The diameter of Vav is 35 meters. The intention of making such four entrance steps structure may be that many people can enter and fetch water and even overcome any accidents.”

“There are four types of Vav: Nanda, Bhadra, Jaya and Vijaya. The Gopi talav Vav is of Vijaya Vav (Chaturmukhi Vav) , having four entry gates. This kind of Vav is not found elsewhere in Gujarat. The stones used to construct Vav were sourced from different areas of Gopi Talav, which were dried and in a non-use state. A plaque on one of the entry gates of Vav states that it was built in the year 1718.”

Later, as time passed, the water dried up in the Gopil lake, and the canals were damaged. As a result, people started disposing of garbage inside. Later, many people started staying in some parts of the lake.

Choksi said, “During older times, Gopi talav was filled with water, and many people would take a boat to Jal Mandir for prayers. In the evening, people can also enjoy the beauty of the lake. BJP leaders Nitin Bhajiyawala and Madanlal Kapadia (ex-MLA of Surat East Assembly seat) took responsibility for redevelopment of Gopi talav and successfully rebuilt it.”

Due to its strategic position as a port city, Surat attracted many travellers. Another book ‘Surat Sonani Murat’ by Iswharlal Desai describes the visit of French traveller Jean De Thevenot, who came in 1666. Express Photo

Redevelopment of Gopi talav

Former Surat city BJP president and ex-municipal Corporator Nitin Bhajiyawala said, “We want that the history of Surat should not be vanished, so we took up the challenge and first we talked to then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, in 2012, to redevelop Gopi Talav sharing the history of the lake and its connection with then Surat city wealthiest merchant and governor Malik Gopi. After getting a green light from Modi, Surat Municipal Corporation leaders and municipal commissioner also acted on it and work on the lake’s construction started.”

Sources said the lake was restored by Surat Municipal Corporation in 2012, and the surrounding area was redeveloped as a recreational facility for citizens at a cost of Rs 28.47 crore. Around 90,000 square metres of the land was redeveloped.

Then municipal commissioner M K Das and ruling party leaders gave Vishal Shah from Aangan Architects in Surat the contract as project consultant.

Vishal Shah said, “The project of redevelopment of Gopi Talav as the lake is an exemplary work for providing accessibility to a state-of-the-art public space which is salvaged from a derelict and neglected piece of land lying in the centre of the old city of Surat. The rejuvenation is a major leap in bringing back the glory of the historically and environmentally important public place. The project benefitted 5 million people in the old city as well as the new city. The project site is located in the heart of the old city (previously walled city) of Surat, measuring 10 hectares; the original water body, which was lost in the process of city growth and urbanisation, is rejuvenated as a lake and public park. The key components of the project are a public park, water body and preservation of the historical step well present in the site.”

Bhajiyawala said, “While evicting those who had made illegal encroachment in the lake area, we earlier feared that riots would break out. So we got help from the local people, then Surat police commissioner Sudhir Sinha, and with their help, the eviction process started. The people were asking for alternatives, so SMC made several houses under the JNNURM scheme, and the slum dwellers of Gopi Talav were allotted EWS quarters in Bhestan. Once the encroachment was cleared, the entire area was cordoned off and nobody was allowed to enter inside.”

After the clearing work, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) conducted a study. Bhajiyawala added, “Dr Mahesh Desai, an expert in soil technology and professor of SVNIT under the guidance of the Head of the department, Dr Darshak Rayjiwala, did the research work. The land soil testing work was done. The 10 feet base area of the lake was made with a mixture of yellow mud and limestone, which were hit repeatedly to make a compact waterproof structure. Due to such a structure, the water did not seep inside.”

Sources said that the redeveloped surroundings include an amphitheatre and a foundation plaza. The restored area has been divided into seven zones, the diamond zone, food zone, environment zone and history zone, communal Harmony zone, Textile Zone, and Surat nu jaman.

Project consultant Shah said, “We took photos of earlier Vav from the age-old books of different writers from Surat Municipal Corporation-run Narmad Library. We first of all cleaned the entire vav area and later similar size stones were brought and it was renovated, removing the broken stones from the spot.”