Surat has been a famous port city of western India for centuries. The East India Company from Britain started trading here before it actually took over the country in the 16th century. This city finds mention in the Mahabharata. This has been an important transit route to Mecca. Several wars were fought by the British, Portuguese and Marathas for control of Surat. It falls in the South of Present Western Indian state of Gujarat.
The modern City of Surat has a population of approximately 5 million. About 90% of rough diamonds of the world are cut and polished here. Not surprisingly most of the population is attached to this business in some or the other way. This city has a flourishing textile business also. Surat Saris are famous all over the world as is the Surat Zari works. This city has made forays into modern industries like the IT Industry. Many leading IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft and IBM opened their offices here as part of the Smart City initiative.
Like rest of Gujarat Surati Cuisine is Vegetarian, however, it is a lot spicier than the rest of the State.
The links to the city are quite good including by Air and by Road. It is also a port city.