Ahmedabad diaries
It had been quite a while since I travelled anywhere, and even longer since I wrote about it. Thanks to some divine intervention, a friend invited me for a holy Holi trip to Udaipur, with a few days' stay at Ahmedabad.
Day-0, Sunday, 13-Mar
Since he was to travel from Bangalore, I went there too for a weekend, catching up with relatives before boarding the flight to Ahmedabad on Sunday night. Bangalore was at its nicest because of the weekend - i.e. less traffic, despite the metro construction work dotting the outer ring road. While waiting for a friend at Indira Nagar, I stumbled upon this plaque which at first felt like a joke installation, but the "BBMP"
on it was surprising. It was interesting to discover such mapping solutions, the most recent one I knew being What3words.
Anyway, I reached the airport in earlier than I thought - the flight-fare was expensive, as it was all planned in a short notice, but I had taken the rest of the week off, and had decided not to fuss over such expenses, for I this was going to be a much-needed & much-more-wanted vacation. We alighted the flight, and Ahmedabad airport felt quite welcoming, with the very many posters & artefacts pleasing us, including one for the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the 75-week countdown to the 75th anniversary of independence, though the best among them was, and I'm not kidding, a poster of a "Wild Ass Sanctuary"!
But as soon as we exited the airport, the cab to our hotel was a bit of culture-shock, to say the least. Not only was it old & underwhelming, little did I know that I'd be seeing this a lot more in my next few days there. "Ikku", one called it, which I later learned was how everybody called the ubiquitous Maruti Suzuki Eeco!
Day-1, Monday, 14-Mar
Though I'm not an early riser, I've always been one when on vacations, so as to be be able to make the most of the day (If only I could every day! Sigh!) Despite that, I was up a bit late, by 7, and started the day with the sight of the Sun looking brighter than (my) usual, while trying to make sense of the huge hoarding welcoming the Prime Minister who had visited the city just 2 days earlier. Though the script looked similar to Devanagari, I didn't have much luck then, but I wasn't going to give up.
Anyway, the complimentary breakfast was quite good, thulping which I started my walk to the Sabarmati Ashram, my first stop. It was my first glimpse of the city, and I was genuinely impressed by the roads. Large lanes neatly laid with not a single pothole in sight, nor was there a manhole unevenly popping up to trip one by surprise. It was also the first time I had come across street signs of underlying gas pipes <insert customary nod to crony capitalism here, because Adani>. I was also eagerly looking forward to trying out the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS), but sadly, couldn't get a chance.
And despite being someone who can tolerate (and even likes) Chennai summers, I couldn't take the heat even for the 15 mins or so that I was out for. But the sense of tranquility at the open & airy Sabarmati Ashram took my mind away from the heat, into introspection & self-reflection, and not to forget, the polarised environment we have (or probably have always had). Though I haven't read any of Gandhi, looking at the exhibits detailing his entire life, I couldn't help but be made to introspect, making me question plenty of things from current affairs.
There was also the house where Gandhi lived for most of his days there, including a display of interesting kitchenware from the period! Nearby was another with plenty of charkas (spinning wheels), making me appreciate the skill & effort, and more importantly, the patience involved! It was also the first time I got a glimpse of the deservedly popular riverfront!
One of the most memorable things in there was the display of the winning entries from Dhai Akhar (meaning two and a half alphabets of love, from a doha of Kabir), a competition on writing letters to Gandhiji, and this one particular Tamil letter that said, "உப்பிற்கும் சொரணைக்கும் ஓர் உறவு இருக்கிறது" in reference to the Dandi March! Well played! Speaking of letters, I wrote one too, after a long time, as the postbox in front of the ashram said that letters dispatched from there would carry a special cancellation (seal) of a charka.
The joint-appeal from Gandhi & Jinnah was especially moving. I wasn't sure if it's a good thing that it was still relevant, but it's the dark reality that it is, all over the world. I'm sure he'd've probably made at least a video call to Mr. Putin, if not protest in front of his office by now!
The line "My life is my message" kept lingering in me long after I had left the place, and the day already felt fulfilling.
Heartfelt fulfillment aside, it was lunch time, and my friend suggested that I head to Navrangpura for Seva Cafe, a pay-what-you-want restaurant. It took me nearly an hour to get there, only to notice that it was closed for the day. A shopkeeper nearby suggested the nearby Hari Om, where the Rajasthani Thali was equally fulfilling! And the buttermilk was heavenly! But the heat was still getting to me, and I decided to try something at one of the ubiquitous paan (betel leaf) shops nearby. Feeling adventurous, I asked for one with tobacco, but within seconds of chewing it, my throat was getting itchy, and I walked to the drains to spit them out, by when it had already hit me, and I was feeling a bit dizzy, taking a seat near the shopkeeper. Only after 2 sweet paans and some water, I could feel alright. With the stuffed tutti-frutti, gulkhand & nuts packed in the betel leaf folded into a cone, the desiccated coconuts sprinkled all around, clipped over a cherry on a toothpick and served chilled straight from the refridgerator, the sweet-paan is absolutely a thing of art, by any measure!
When I talked complained to him about the heat, he laughed saying that it was barely getting started, and that people wouldn't even step out between 12 to 5 PM in the peak summer months of June-July! For then, he suggested that I walk to the Law Garden, where I could mostly find plenty of couples busy with kasamusa (closest translation being: couple-things?), but what was more surprising was them being oblivious to the heat! Ignoring the maybe-shady ones around, I took some shade on the lawn under the large trees, which was some much-needed respite, and also the friendly the gardener who was later kind enough to splash some water on my feet! I took an auto to Teen Darwaza, which I thought would be a protected monument in an enclosure, but it was far from it, amidst the busiest of the market streets one could ever see! The sad thing was the noticeable disregard to the structure, with vendors littering all around, and its walls smudged and nailed for hangers. Despite all this, the structure had been looking as majestic with its intricate embellishments ever since 1415 AD!
I waded my way through the street, trying to evade as many shoulders and vehicles, and suddenly noticed a set of stairs leading to a heritage structure, and it was Jama Masjid! While I was excited to step in, a gentleman stopped me to say that I wouldn't be let in as I was in shorts. Visibly disappointed as I was, he pointed me to an old man near the first step, who said that I could rent a lungi for ₹30! I joyously reached for my wallet, but the old stopped me to say that I could pay it on my way out and handed me a folded blue-checked cloth, even offering to help drape it around me! I left my slippers there, walked in to find a colonnade on either side, and a huge open space with a mat leading to a tank in the centre. It was my first time at a mosque, and mimicking fellow worshippers, I washed my forearms & feet, trying to blend in. The huge prayer hall on the side was inviting me already.
The prayer hall was huge with many domes of different sizes and hundreds of pillars! The domes, especially were on multiple levels, each of concentric rings decorated with multiple patterns. For a while, I felt completely lost gaping in astonishment at the engineering, art & craftsmanship involved. Stepping out after a silent minute in prayer, I was lost once again in all the trees carved onto the wall, examining the tiny gaps & hollow spaces in wonder. Incredible that these were done in the early 1400s!
While discussing my awe at the monument while returning the lungi, the old man remarked something like, "Look at this building across the street, it's less than 30 years old, and it's already deteriorated!" Bidding him a good bye, I started walking towards my next stop, Delhi Darwaza. The streets felt a bit chaotic once again, but the people couldn't sound any friendlier. I didn't have much charge left in my phone, and while enquiring about an old gate that had a plaque of a listed heritage structure, a couple of guys who were in the middle of work explained me all about it, while also insisting that I charge my phone there! But thanking them, I kept walking to find the old city buzzing with many businesses, of which the numerous "scissor works" caught my eye. Yes, I could read the signboards by now!
Just a few metres ahead, there was another mosque calling me in - the Muhafiz Khan's mosque! The picturesque structure was lovely to look from a distance, despite a little boy's sincere attempts to get me in with my shorts, which were only in vain. The Gujarati signboard above a few earthen pots of drinking water piqued my curiosity, and someone explained to me that it carried the prescribed method to drink water, including saying "alhamdulillah" at the end, followed by a verse that glorifies that importance of water. (I'd love to know more!)
I felt sorry for having had to walk past quite a few old heritage mosques because of a lack of lungi-rentals (disrupt the market!), but what we should all be truly sorry about is the sad state of these heritage structures! From disregard to encroachments, we're truly committing a crime by not giving them the respect they duly deserve! There was also this Tadkeshwar Mahadev temple in a by-lane, of which an old lady living nearby said that it was over 300 years old. Despite being a small one, it had a certain charm to it, and also was clearly deteriorating. Too many things seemed to be neglected, and I just learned that word Muhafiz means preserver! Sigh, the ironies seem to write themselves too.
I found what was Delhi Darwaza to be at a busy intersection with two & four-wheelers in, waiting at a traffic signal. Though it was still being used, it seemed to be relatively better off, and it was nice to see a monument being a throughfare for nearly six centuries and still standing tall. Walking further, there was the Hutheesing Jain Temple, which also had a no-shorts rule, but the security guard, upon seeing me walk out, asked me to wait and brought a ready-made panchakacham-like dhoti in red made of silk-looking polyester, which also came with a concealed elastic strap that was super comfortable while also looking great! The temple was such a marvel, right from the pillar in the frontyard to the intricate colonnades to the sculptures decorating the shrine! It looked even more decorative for its 175th year celebrations, and I could only feel lucky to have been there. Not to forget, as soon as I entered, there was music with a bagpipe (Mashak?), shenai & dholak. I left the temple feeling oddly content.
But the guy at the Swaminarayan temple nearby didn't show me any concession, and I hence walked some 3 km to our hotel, trying to read every signboard and plaque on the way, while also being conscious of the draining battery. I soon reached our place, charging myself too with a good shower. My friend hyped up this dish called Ragda Patties, and we later left to have one for dinner. With a potato-based patty submerged by a gravy full of chickpeas, tasting somewhat like the masala-poori served down South, I should say it lived up to the hype, while also being quite filling! The shop was run by 2 young girls who didn't feel bothered with my barrage of questions on the Gujrati written, while also smiling all along. It was the first time I also noticed homemade paneer being sold on a cart,
and though I wanted to try it, I skipped, not wanting to risk. We did try the 6-flavour pani-puri though, which wasn't all great, but quite nice.
Dinner well done, I went back to crash in preparation for facing the next day's heat!
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