Virpur, Gujarat; yet another Mini India

Ahmedabad: Cities like Mumbai and even Surat are known as ‘Mini India’ for their cosmopolitan nature. Now, however, a small village called Virpur, located near Himatnagar in north Gujarat, has also come to be known as Mini India - but for its unmatched uniqueness.  

The streets in Virpur are named after the various Indian states, with a beautifully painted signboard at the entrance to direct visitors to the different state parks like Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, etc. The colourful signboards and well-decorated walls in the village offer travellers an essence of all of India in one place!

Beyond the design aspect of it, even the lifestyle of its dwellers echoes the very fabric of India with people from almost all castes and religions coexisting in the same space in a state of harmony. In fact, even during the riots that took place in Gujarat in 2002, Virpur presented itself as an exemplar of social harmony. “We have never had to take our concerns to the police. We meet, discuss, and resolve issues amongst ourselves,” said Mr Navin Chauhan, who painted the walls in the village.  

With a population of only around 3000 people, Virpur is rich on basic amenities like water, electricity, toilets, underground drainage, roads, and CCTVs. Further, the streets in the village are almost perpetually clean as water is collected from every household for cleaning purposes on a daily basis. Virpur has so far won prizes worth Rs 29 lakhs for its exemplary management. In fact, the village sarpanch (Head) Mr Faruk Khanusia was once even invited to IIT-Delhi to give a talk on rural development.

So, here’s how the streets were assigned names of the various Indian states - the hilly area was named Kashmir park, while the green area was christened Haryana park. The area with the milk co-operative was named Maharashtra park, while the Delhi park happens to be where villagers and the Village Panchayat meet to discuss and resolve their issues. “We felt terrible about the attacks on the Bihari migrants in Mumbai. India is one nation, and we stand for unity in diversity. Therefore, to do our bit in spreading the message of peace, we considered renaming our streets after the various Indian states,”  Mr Faruk Khanusia explained.