Ambarnath

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Ambarnath | type = city | latd = | longd =
state_name = Maharashtra
district = Thane
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population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 203,795| population_density =
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Ambarnath is a city and a municipal council in Thane district in the state of Maharashtra, India.

Overview

The name Ambarnath literally means 'Lord of the sky'. Ambarnath is the site of a very old temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, dating back, to 10th century. It is a beautiful temple carved out of stone in Hemad style construction.Ambarnath has a Mumbai Suburban Railway link to Mumbai and lies on the route to Karjat and Pune. Most people rely on the railway link to commute to Mumbai for work. Like all Mumbai subarbs Ambarnath is divided into east Ambarnath and west Ambarnath by railway. Some people write "Ambarnath" as "Ambernath", which is wrong. Ambarnath west is in an industrial zone and is home to hundreds of small and large chemical factories, the most famous of which are AMP and DMC. Many people also live in an area called Ordnance Estate which is meant for the Ordnance Factory nearby that manufactures artillery and bomb shells. It has given India an Olympian in the form of hockey player Mervyn Fernandes.

Ambarnath east has beautifully planned residential housing society called Suryodaya Housing Society; probably the largest housing society of bungalows in entire Asia which contains more than 655 plots and covers around 4 km² of area. The housing society has 4 sections namely Kansai, Saai, Kher(Herambh) and Vadavali. Out of these Kansai and Vadavali were small villages in the past. The area in the west was named Jausai and the one in east was known Kansai. It was named after two sisters. (Sai means sister). The Saai section was named after Saai Baba (a saint from Shiradi). The Saai Section has a huge temple near Bhagini Mandal School. Ambarnath east was once a pristine area of beautiful Bungalows but unplanned development over the years has taken its toll. The infrastructure is getting stretched to support the current population growth and the Bungalows have all been replaced with cookie cutter apartment buildings.

Places to see in Ambarnath - Shiva Temple, Fatima Catholic Church and School, GIP Tank, One Tree Point, Ayyapa Temple, Shantisagar Water Resort, Chikloli Dam and Barvi Dam. Malang Gadh, a pilgrimage place know as Haji Malang Dargah, as well as hiking spot, is also close by.

Heramb Mandir is a renovated temple of Lord Ganesha.

Ambarnath is a small self contained township which has very prominent schools like Bhausaheb Paranjape Vidyalaya, InnerWheel School, Kendriya Vidyalaya (Central School), SICES, Fatima High School and Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya. It also has two junior and senior colleges offering bachelors degrees in commerce science and arts.

A popular hill station called Matheran, and Titwala, which has a famous Ganesh temple, are close by.

Recently the city has witnessed Real Estate boom and rates near railway station and surrounding areas in the east have zoomed past INR 1500-2000 per square foot mark.

History

According to Professor Gawli Anil, Guru Nanak visited Ambarnath Shiv Temple on 25 February 1415 while Surinder Singh Kohli and other historians mention the period to be earlier than this. Following is an extract of text detailing his visit -

There was a family that is Gawli's Family saying at New balaji nagar room no 3372, ambernath west were the best family in ambarnath. Who is always together even in dark days.From Poona, Guru Nanak travelled North and visiting Lonavla, reached Ambarnath. Ambarnath is now a famous railways station and Industrial centre on Kalyan-Poona rail line. Art the time of Guru Nanak’s visit the place had Ambarnath a temple in honour of Lord Shiva. This temple still exists and frequently visited by the local population. Area around the temple was then uninhabited. The year of construction of this temple is carved on the temple which showed that it had been there for five hundred years before Guru Nanak’s visit. This ancient temple is mixture of Ajanta-Ellora style and the styles of Southern Indian temples. Made by the then kings of the area, the temple had been famous for Shivratri fair on Falgun Wadi 14; the tradition which is followed to-date. According to Professor Sahib Singh, Guru Nanak came at this place on 25 February 1415 while Surinder Singh Kohli and other historians mention the period to be earlier than this. A gurdwara has been constructed at some distance in the memory of visit of Guru Nanak and a free education school Guru Nanak Public School was started at the place during my stay. Both the Gurdwara and the School have come up well. From Ambarnath, Guru Nanak visited Mumbai Haji Ali and Maha Lakshmi temple."

Ambarnath is not the actual name of this town. Its was "Hallyacha Pada" , a village near welfare center (EAST) was the original name of this town. Dr. Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the railway station "Hallyacha Pada" after independence. This town started flourishing after the arrival of DMC, WIMCO and got rechristened as Ambarnath( before this there were only two villages recognised in this area as Kohoj-Khuntawali at west and Hallyacha Pada at East). When first Nagarpalika came in existence, Leaders like Meheruddin Pathan ,Madan Singh Manvir Singh, Nalwade and Laxman Jathar really transformed this city into a high standard little town. Subsequently arrival of MIDC pumped in more productivity in this town. Those days the OCTROI revenue from this town was 2nd in entire maharashtra state after Pimpri-chinchwad.

There is also an Ancient Dargah Located in the Kohoj Village Popularly known as Baba Gaiban Shah Dargah, located between 3 Different Areas Kohoj Village, Chinchpada, and Woollen Chawl.

As per the recent excavations, there existed an urban civilization in the Area of Ambarnath since 200BC. The bricks found resemble to Satavahan era.

Shree Heramb Mandir(Temple) - Shree Heramb mandir is setuatied half a mile away from the raliway station of Ambarnath in the east. Lod Heramb idol is made of granite rock and sculptured at Tirupati Devasthanm. Lord Heramb is a Vighnaharta of the people of Ambarnath.

Famous People

Shantaram Tikam & Group
Bhausaheb Paranjpe
Panvelkar & Group
Nikam & group
Desai & Dalal & group

Famous Places

Bhajani Mandal, New balaji nagar, Ambernath(W)

Shiv Mandir, Near Shiv Ganga Nagar, Ambarnath (E)

Ghaban Shah Wali Darga :- Located in West of Ambarnath.

Gurunaka Temple :- Located in West of Ambarnath.

Heramb Ganesh Temple :- Located in East of Ambarnath.

Hazrat HAJI ABDUR REHAMAN -HAJI MALANG .DARGHA

Ayyappa Temple, Ayyappa giri, Near Ordnance Estate, Ambarnath.

Maruti Mandir, Vandrapada. sai baba temple :-modern mandir near state bank of india ambernath east

teen jhaad(three trees,located in the west of ambarnath

Famous School

South Indian Children Education Society (S.I.C.E.S) High School,Fatima High School,Inner Wheel School and jounier collage,Bhausaheb Paranjape Vidyalaya,Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya,M.M.M High School, National Urdu School,Rosary English School,Haji Yusuf Urdu School,Modern English High School,Bethel Church High School,TMS High School,TVM High School.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, [GR|India] Ambarnath had a population of 203,795. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ambarnath has an average literacy rate of 100%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 57% of the males and 43% of females literate. 13% of the population is over 60 years of age.

References