When the auto-driver charged us Rs.100 to go from Ahmedabad
railway station to our guest-house, barely 2 kms. away, we realized that we were
firmly perceived as tourists (read outsiders) there! But just in a short span
of 4 days, we had made ourselves at home there!
The city captivated us with its cleanliness, lack of
over-crowding, vast open spaces and heritage monuments and landmarks. Public
transport, especially for local sightseeing was limited to autos, the drivers
of which made a killing, taking us around on our sight-seeing jaunts in and out
of the city.
 |
| The Tranquil Sabarmati Ashram |
The city bus tour which showed us all the major local sights of
interest was an interesting but exhausting one. As the official guide, a young
and perky lady named Ayesha Patel, deftly and firmlymaneuvered the motley
group of tourists through Sabarmati Ashram, the Maharaja Hutheesing Palacetemple, Dargah Hazrat Sidi Syed Shah’s Jali, Mosque and tomb of Rani Sipri
(Sabrai), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial, Adalaj step-well, and lastly Akshardham, we
couldn’t help noticing how very efficient and agile she was!
|
|
The incredible Adalaj step-well
|
We visited the Sabarmati ashram on our own before the
sightseeing started at 1.30 pm. So we spent considerable time in getting the
vibe of the place. Peaceful, enchanting and serene; the ashram made us sentimental,
as we remembered how that place had played such an important role in our
freedom struggle.
 |
| Sabarmati Waterfront |
The specter of Mahatma Gandhi and his supportive wife
Kasturba Gandhi undoubtedly guided us through their abode, as we silently
glimpsed their residential quarters, sparse belongings, the famed charkha,
tableau of the Salt Satyagraha, writings, et al with the backdrop of the
tranquil Sabarmati river, glistening in the afternoon sun, with unabashed
pride.
We bowed down before the statue of the Mahatma in a sitting
pose and were filled with immense respect and love for the great leader and
apostle of non-violence.
As the first place on the sight-seeing itinerary was the
ashram that we had already experienced, we chose to relax for half an hour in
the bus after a round of delicious cookies purchased from the kiosk selling
ice-cream and baked snacks.
A great deal of time - 2.5 hours are reserved for Akshardham
at Gandhinagar. We enjoyed visiting the pristine temple complex, temple,
cafeteria and were later mesmerized by the musical fountain show. The tour
ended at 9.30 pm.
What struck us about Ahmedabad was that though it was awash
with plastic carry-bags freely given away by vendors and shop-keepers, not a
single plastic bag was visible as trash on the roads.
There were several clean washrooms with adequate water
supply at regular intervals, everywhere.
The trains of Ahmedabad were a pleasure to travel in, with
bio-toilets, mugs and waste-paper baskets in the clean washrooms; and freshly
scrubbed and cleaned compartments. The trains and railway stations in Gujarat
were very well-maintained and visually appealing.
There were some beggars around, but no vagabonds!
The announcements were made in 3 languages and all the electronic
sign-boards were functioning properly.
As the people there are friendly, we had no problem
whatsoever. But there weren’t any Udipi restaurants around! We had to consume
delicious tea sold by roadside vendors and snacks sold by sweetmeat shops for
breakfast. The crisp, spicy khakras mostly
served us well for our breakfast at the city.
A dining hall named Radhe, served us unlimited thali (Rs. 140/- per head) with typical
Gujarati fare, mercifully devoid of sugar and excessive oil. We skipped the thali option that came with a sweet dish
(Rs. 170/- per head).
We shopped for the traditionally hand-woven patola saris and costume jewelry at
Ratanpole market and for casual kurtas
at Law Garden market, which actually specializes in selling costumes and
jewelry for Garba and Dandiya, played during the Navaratri celebrations.
I
really regretted not being able to dance either of the two dance-forms, as I
couldn’t purchase any of those vibrant, colorful and ethnic costumes! I could
only admire the mind-boggling variety of the colorful and enticing stuff there.
However I did buy an ethnic jacket which can be worn over any plain top to
enhance the outfit; and some ethnic oxidized jewelry.
 |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial |
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial had a small private cafeteria nearby
which had lots of items on its menu but could serve us only some vegetable
sandwiches after a lot of time! The chutney was very hot so I could barely
manage one of those sandwiches and gobbled some biscuits to curb my hunger
pangs.
The next day, we had to hire an auto to visit the quaint
Vaishnodevi temple and the Sun temple at Modhera in Mehsana, at a whopping
cost. More CNG filling stations and vehicle repair shops are also needed en
route to the outskirts of the city, as we had to skip visiting the famed
Patan’s Rani-ki-vav step-well just on account of this drawback! What a pity!
 |
| The Exquisite Sun Temple at Modhera |
The state Government must have day-long trips for other
nearby places as well, as it could save the tourists from spending on the
expensive autos or cabs. Besides, due to the language problem, as all the buses
have destination boards in Gujarati, and the boards in the Central Bus-stand
also are in Gujarati, tourists are unable to comprehend what is written there!
The boards must be bilingual, or even trilingual. Gujarati, Hindi and English
would serve the purpose well.
We visited some smaller temples and shrines on the third
day. The Kalimata temple, the Tripuri Sundari Laxmi temple, the Annapurna
temple, the Gayatri temple and the Mahadev temple which proudly displayed a
board that read, “Only those who are very blessed will have the rare
opportunity of visiting this temple in their lifetime.” Needless to say, we
were elated.
The majestic Trimandir, with shrines devoted to Teerthankar Mahavir,
Lord Balaji, Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva, Goddess Laxmi, Goddess
Padmavati, etc. was serene. The view from the top was panoramic. The tidy
temple complex has a cafeteria, clean washrooms and drinking water facility as
well as a shop selling packaged snacks and beverages.
We also visited the Sanskar Kendra housing the Government museum and Kite Museum, that
fascinated us with tableaus of various religious faiths followed in India and
the history of kite-flying. The complex also has Pandit Rabindranath Tagore Hall that hosts cultural programs.
 |
| Swaminarayan Temple at Kalupur |
We strolled down to the breathtakingly beautiful and
magnificent Swaminarayan temple complex at Kalupur, one morning and had darshan
of Lord Swaminarayan and other deities. The sculptures engraved on the temple’s
walls are intricate and the complex is very well preserved.
 |
| Dada Hari ki Vav - Step-well |
Recently, Ahmedabad was bestowed with the privileged status of a UNESCO
world heritage city. With so many beautiful specimens of breath-taking architecture
and the overall upkeep, we could clearly see why!
The copyright of this travelogue is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
