GUJARAT 4

Those were the days when Surat was important, wealth;

and populous, and a western gateway to India.

Long before Surat tose to such power, Broach wa
the proud city of the western coast. When Camba;

was the island empire of the Arabian Sea, Broach was t
metropolis. "City of Cities" which saw the mariner
of Nearchus' fleet; the sons of Borne "when Eom<
was "; men of the ages of the Pharaohs; and the earih
Indian travellers from Arabia- Full of classic associa
fcions for the student and of proud memories for th(
merchant; over which has expired the strength o
Jaina, Muslim and Brahmanical power!" Such is
Briggs' apostrophe to Broach in his work u The Cities
of Grujarastra ".

Much more so than Surat, Broach is but a shadow
of its former self; it continues to be a well inhabited
town and an entrepot of a high grade cotton that
grows in the agricultural neighbourhood—the reputed
<( Broaches " of the Cotton Exchanges.

A distant view of the city from across the rivei
Nerbadda presents a beautiful picture that stands out
against the skies like a bas-relief, while the flowing
waters of the river balance the composition and enhance
the pictorial effect of the entire scene.

Surat, however, retains its importance as a centre
of trade and activity, and sends many of its raw and
finished products to Bombay, unenvious, it seems, of
Bombay's maritime greatness that, some centuries ago,
was its own monopoly. But like many a city, Broach
and Surafc seem to take with dignity and resignation, so
characteristic of age and wisdom^ the vagaries of
fortune. How strange a parallel to the lives of meny