Welcome to the official site of the Gujarati Samaj of Minnesota, a cultural, charitable, and educational non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Samaj is one of the largest cultural organizations in the Midwest, with thousands of Gujarati-speaking members and supporters. The framework of the Samaj was set in 1967; it has since grown to one of the most active Indian organizations in the United States, holding many exciting cultural and recreational events that bring uncountable Gujaratis together.

Purpose

The purpose of the Gujarati Samaj is to:

• maintain, enhance, understand, and appreciate Gujarati culture and language,
• preserve Gujarati heritage by celebrating various Gujarati holidays,
• encourage friendship among members with entertainment and sporting events,
• and educate youth about Gujarati customs.

To promote these goals, the Samaj holds many events, including Diwali, Navratri, and Spring Festival celebrations, picnics, and other parties.

Gujarati People

Gujarati people or Gujaratis are an Indian ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati speaking. Famous Gujaratis include Mohandas Gandhi (The Father of India), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (The Iron Man of India), Dhirubhai Ambani (Billionaire Business Tycoon), Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Vedic Scholar), Virchand Gandhi (Jain Scholar), Vikram Sarabhai (Physicist and Father of the Indian Space Program)

Languages

Gujarat is inhabited by people belonging to varied castes, religions and communities. Due to this reason, a number of varied languages are spoken in the state. The official language of the state is Gujarati. It is an Indo-Aryan language derived from Sanskrit. Gujarati is the 26th most widely spoken language in the world. In addition to this, it has eleven dialects, spoken in different parts of the state.

Gujarat shares its borders with other neighboring states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Therefore, there is a small population which speaks the respective languages of the different states also, namely Marwari, Hindi, and Marathi. Apart from this, Urdu and Sindhi are also spoken in Gujarat. Kachch is one of the important areas in the state. It has an independent identity and is growing popular amongst tourists. The mother tongue of the people of Kutch is Kachchi. It is an important language of the region.

Literature

Gujarati literature's history may be traced to 1000 AD.Since then literature has flourished till date. Well known laureates of Gujarati literature are Hemchandracharya, Narsinh Mehta, Mirabai, Akho, Premanand Bhatt, Shamal Bhatt, Dayaram, Dalpatram, Narmad, Govardhanram Tripathi, Gandhiji, K. M. Munshi, Umashankar Joshi, Suresh Joshi, Pannalal Patel and Rajendra Keshavlal Shah .

Kavi Kant and Kalapi are famous Gujarati poets.

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