Dantali is a village in Petlad Taluka (Anand District) of the state of Gujarat in India. The roots of this village go back about 900 years. You can read more about the history of Dantali under the history section of this website. This small village has a population of about 2000 people. The main occupation here is agriculture and the major crops are wheat, rice, bajri (pearl millet) and tobacco. The majority of people in Dantali have their last name as Patel. There is also a small population of non Patels who form an integral part of this community. A considerable population of this village has migrated to different parts of the world over the years. During the early 1900s many families migrated to East Africa. In the early sixties some of them went to Europe and since the late sixties a sizable population has migrated to the U.S.A., Canada and other parts of the world.
Lately, the village has gained a considerable notoriety due to Padma Bhusan Swami Sachchidanand. More information about Swamiji can be obtained from Swami Sachchidananadji.
Petlad is the nearest major city located about 1.5-2.0 km west of Dantali. The city of Petlad with a population of about 50,000 offers all the conveniences like health care facilities, schools, colleges, banks, railway station, post office and other amenities.
Dantali is a small and a quiet village. You can see the village coming to life every morning at around 4 am. One can hear dogs barking, wolves howling, sounds of sirens from the Petlad cotton mills, freight (called goods colloquially) and passenger trains passing by, sounds of buffaloes, ladies sweeping the front porches of their homes, a bhajan mandri (religious congregation) going around different khadkis¹ and chanting devotional songs, some residents milking buffaloes, men and women delivering milk to the society² etc. A routine life for the locals, but to an outsider, it gives an insight to a different way of life – peaceful and away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. As the morning progresses, young students go to the local primary school and older students go to Petlad, Anand or Vehra. Some residents who work in nearby cities start their commute to work by bus, motorcycles or on foot. Evenings are unique in this village. One can see people going for an evening walk to Petlad Chokdi³ or to Swamiji’s Ashram. Late in the evening one can see a group of young men playing cards (game of rummy) near the village center which is locally known as chabutri.
There are a few small shops for the locals but the majority of shopping is done at nearby cities of Petlad, Borsad and Anand. Local shops though very small have their unique charm and appeal. These shops usually open from about 6 in the morning until 8 in the evening. Two popular shops that come to my mind are Late Purshottambhai’s (now run by Nitesh/Munnabhai) and Vithabhai’s shops. One can see their beautiful shops in the picture gallery. These may not look like shops in a western country but these small places have a charm of their own and I make it a point to spend a few minutes to a few hours in these shops and admire their hard work and increbily innovative minds whenever I am there.
My goal is to turn this page into a website where we can share our stories or pictures from the past and post events or anything of interest from the present. Please send your comments, suggestions or contributions to the webmaster. The webmaster's email address is dantali388450@gmail.com. The numbers 388450 in the email address refer to the PIN (Postal Index Number) of Dantali. Many of us have moved out of Dantali into different parts of the world but somehow the bond of our roots will never die. I have seen the www.dantali.com website come and go but my goal is to keep this site current and updated to the best of my abilities.
1. Villages are divided into several sections, usually four or five and each section is called a khadki identified by a unique name.
2. Society is a part of Amul Dairy.
3. This is an intersection of four roads near the entrance of the city of Petlad. There is a college located near this intersection.
Lately, the village has gained a considerable notoriety due to Padma Bhusan Swami Sachchidanand. More information about Swamiji can be obtained from Swami Sachchidananadji.
Petlad is the nearest major city located about 1.5-2.0 km west of Dantali. The city of Petlad with a population of about 50,000 offers all the conveniences like health care facilities, schools, colleges, banks, railway station, post office and other amenities.
Dantali is a small and a quiet village. You can see the village coming to life every morning at around 4 am. One can hear dogs barking, wolves howling, sounds of sirens from the Petlad cotton mills, freight (called goods colloquially) and passenger trains passing by, sounds of buffaloes, ladies sweeping the front porches of their homes, a bhajan mandri (religious congregation) going around different khadkis¹ and chanting devotional songs, some residents milking buffaloes, men and women delivering milk to the society² etc. A routine life for the locals, but to an outsider, it gives an insight to a different way of life – peaceful and away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. As the morning progresses, young students go to the local primary school and older students go to Petlad, Anand or Vehra. Some residents who work in nearby cities start their commute to work by bus, motorcycles or on foot. Evenings are unique in this village. One can see people going for an evening walk to Petlad Chokdi³ or to Swamiji’s Ashram. Late in the evening one can see a group of young men playing cards (game of rummy) near the village center which is locally known as chabutri.
There are a few small shops for the locals but the majority of shopping is done at nearby cities of Petlad, Borsad and Anand. Local shops though very small have their unique charm and appeal. These shops usually open from about 6 in the morning until 8 in the evening. Two popular shops that come to my mind are Late Purshottambhai’s (now run by Nitesh/Munnabhai) and Vithabhai’s shops. One can see their beautiful shops in the picture gallery. These may not look like shops in a western country but these small places have a charm of their own and I make it a point to spend a few minutes to a few hours in these shops and admire their hard work and increbily innovative minds whenever I am there.
My goal is to turn this page into a website where we can share our stories or pictures from the past and post events or anything of interest from the present. Please send your comments, suggestions or contributions to the webmaster. The webmaster's email address is dantali388450@gmail.com. The numbers 388450 in the email address refer to the PIN (Postal Index Number) of Dantali. Many of us have moved out of Dantali into different parts of the world but somehow the bond of our roots will never die. I have seen the www.dantali.com website come and go but my goal is to keep this site current and updated to the best of my abilities.