Stories of Salaat Community

Since Gujarat has been a centre of architectural influences from all around the world, there were local communities that thrive because of their skills and talents. One of the such community is Salaat community. It is safe to say that over the centuries, Salaats have been called upon for all kind of stone works, be it stone masonry work or stone carving work. Salaats are also responsible for the construction of Darbargarh Fort at Bhuj. According to Azhar Tayabji, Ramsing Malam also hired Salaats as his disciples and trained them the Dutch style of architecture for the construction of Toraniya Naka at Darbargarh Fort, Bhuj. Since, Salaats are mostly the construction workers, they are headed by Gajdhar also knows as the chief contractor. Similar to Salaat, there is another community called Suthars, they are known as the timber workers. Like Salaats, Suthars are also construction workers, headed by Gaidhar, also known as their chief contractor. As per the locals, Gajdhar and Gaidhar is a position given to the same community members. While Gajdhar of Salaats and Gaidhar of Suthars are the chief contractors, to some people’s assumption Gaidhar and Gaidhars are a separate community which is not the case. Even though the community is still prevalent in the regions of Kutch, the skill and legacy that they carried is not in practice due to the scarce construction in stone