Gujrat Rajasthan

Kochuveli Bikaner Express was on time that day at Ahmedabad .
Ought to catch up with the Heritage Walk Team which is to start off from Sri Swami Narayan Temple , Kalupur.
Of course , Kalupur is the place name where the main railway station Ahmedabad Junction is also located ; but the auto was taking more time than what was thought.
The time is 8 am .
Called up the phone number given in the site and the person responded that the team already set off and that I could join them in the adjacent haveli.
Yes : the team comprising some fifteen or so members were to be seen from a distance and there is no time to empty one's bladder. Well , that could be done on the way .. perhaps.

The First Haveli

Every 'Pol' has a gate and the name of haveli written on it.
A first haveli from the Swaminarayan Temple end has the idol of a commoner with traditional turban with a book in his lap .. he is in fact engaged in making a book using coarse paper.
A visitor could sit in his lap for being photographed as well.

Traditional merchant idol in Haveli No.1




He used to sit at the entrance doing his duty - be it book binding or some other craft and the visitor could move to anyone engaged in such work and purchase wares directly - no middlemen !
The other sights in the havelis we walked through had more surprises in store.

Haveli not exclusively for humans !

It is said that , for making these havelis , plenty of trees had to be uprooted resulting in the animals and birds losing their food and shelter - especially squirrels and birds.

Therefore, every household has some place for them too !
Be it some holes on the walls complete with an entrance and a small decorated parapet or a rough finish on the wall , meant for good grip to squirrels.
There could be seen arrangements for drinking water and wires for perching on most terraces.
Well .. some sight it was.
How considerate these people were!
                                                              Living space for birds

Everyone in the haveli we went through were engaged in some chores or the other but were unmindful of our intrusion ; perhaps they are quite used to it.

                                                   A couple from France getting a feel

Though each haveli was meant to accommodate a group of people of a particular faith - be it Islam, Hinduism or Jainism (the absence of a Buddhist haveli perhaps is an indication that the faith which once held sway across the length and breadth of India perished by then , with no trace !)

                                            An artificial tree for birds with places for perching and food

Each haveli sticks to its culture , tradition and faith but at the same time is in harmony with the other havelis and the secret passage every haveli possessed to the neighboring havelis is an indication enough that , when the time comes for them to stand united in front of an external attack, they were not alone.
                                                               Wood work

The wood work of some of the walls and entrances stands testimony to Gujrati style of craftsmanship on wood.
                                                       Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad

The Heritage Walk progressed through the secret passage and entered a market area where the main wares were books and from there to the famous Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad,

The mosque can accommodate about 10,000 people in its courtyard for prayers.
The architecture is a mix of traditional Hindu, Mughal and Christian styles.

Its time for a bite and where else but the favourite of The Mahatma. Indeed Gandhi had his favourite restaurant in Ahmedabad .
Had heard of 'Chandravilas Restaurant' but never got an opportunity to visit.
A stone throw away from the Masjid.

Chandravilas Restaurant


                                           
The owner keeps it a point to stick to the tradition and not much change is allowed in the interiors.
Photographs of important customers adorn the walls and the list is a who is who in India.

  Sidi Syed Mosque at Lal Darwaja

The marble window panel which inspired embroidery enthusiasts in the past few centuries is something special for this old mosque.

                  

Sardar Patel Park     

Close to the Sidi Mosque is the park dedicated to the Iron Man of India where one could rest for a while

Sabarmati Ashram

A visit to Ahmedabad would be incomplete without a visit to the Gandhi Ashram.





             Sat at the spinning wheel to get a feel  

                   

The Dutch Cemetery at Kankaria Lake


                             

Jhulta Minara or Shaking Towers




Situated close to Ahmedabad Junction railway station , these minarets still keep intact the secrecy of
"why would one minaret shake if a visitor to the other jumped up and down in the other ?".

The British wanted to know the secret and in fact opened up some minarets in Ahmedabad but failed to unravel the mystery.

Mout Abu , Rajasthan

The summer resort station Mount Abu hosts the most beautiful temple of all The Dilwara Temples
A poetry in marble.
Nowhere else in the world can one find a structure similar.

Words fail to measure the wonder









One would have to pinch onself in to believing whether what one sees in front  are real because these are not done on wood or clay , but on solid marble that too some 1000 years back !!



Visitors are taken in and moved out in a jiffy because of rush.
Hope they allowed one to spend some hours inside !

A Grecian Urn caused such an awe and wonder in John Keats to pen down his masterpiece.
And if he ever had a chance to visit Dilwara what would have happened ?

How could they do this in the absence of good instruments in those days ? If you have not seen Dilwara temples in your life , well you have seen nothing !

Nakki Lake and Sunset Point

These spots at Mount Abu are locations meant for people out on picnic .
An enthusiast after getting out of Dilwara Temples move around in an intoxicated mindset and these sights just pass. That's all.

Nakki Lake , Mount Abu









The odyssey ended thus .

 Ellora , Ajanta , Elephanta  and Daulatabad 


Ajanta and Ellora have been haunting from childhood on wards ; especially the cave paintings of Ajanta and the story that the whole Kailasa Temple including the courtyard was carved out of a single rock.

Ellora

Not just this, some narratives were skeptical that ordinary mortals could not have accomplished such a mammoth feat and that the involvement of extra-terrestrial beings was considered a possibility !!
There were descriptions of the presence of ducts carved out of solid rock some 1000 years back through which an ordinary human being can not pass through !
Well, then .. who could have made this ?
A visit became a must.
Nothing of the sort was detected anywhere in the temple and this writer and his Canadian friend used torches to investigate every nook and corner.
As for the structure and its immensity.. well, mind blowing indeed!
Thousands of tons of solid rock have been removed from the premises to make way for a courtyard of such a proportion and a lot of elephant idols in a row are shouldering the entire temple.
At least that is how it appears !
Amusing is the fact that if it took them close to some 150 years or so to complete the task started by  previous generations , converting a huge hillock of solid granite into a temple complete with a towering pole and a compound.
Its to be seen to be believed !

               Another view




Ajanta
Had there been no accidental finding of the caves by an English hunter in the early 19th century,
these caves would still have been hidden from our view for another good length of time, perhaps !
But what a treasure the gentleman found out in the ravines replete with forest cover.

                                                      View from the other side of river

Another possibility would have been a rampant mutilation of such a monumental work like what happened at Badami Caves in Karnataka.


                       A bird's eye view

The paintings and their finesse are to be viewed from close to be believed.

Some 1200 years back (and some few tells me its more than 2000 years) these craftsmen had perfected a methodology to make any granite surface into a canvas.
white plaster is seen to have been added everywhere to make the granite surface suitable for painting using natural colour made out from what all herbs, rocks and charcoal , God only knows , and is still standing tall , testimony to the craftsmanship of yore.
The men on duty at different caves caution people not to use flash lights lest the old paintings lost its clarity any further.
The small river gives the ravine a pristine look and there are plenty of people selling fruits along side the river from whence one can have a distant view of the entire caves.
Cleaning of the area is done well by those on duty and the whole area is home to a large number of monkeys.
Good past time.


                        Living Quarters

Inside the Living Chamber of a monk

The Eiffel Tower would eventually fall , so would the Petronas in Malaysia and Burj Khalifa .. but the Ajanta Caves and its paintings would still be there to entertain the coming generations for a long long time .

The living quarters of monks are small miniature chambers where one could barely stand up.

A raised platform for one person to sleep was all the luxury inside.

Elephanta Caves
The very journey by boat for about an hour from Gateway of India in itself is a welcome relief from the city of Mumbai.
The escorting sea gulls which circle around the boat for corn flakes or other food items by the passengers is another interesting sight.
Once at the island , one could either walk on the sea bridge some 200 mtrs or take the waiting toy train.

Next is a climb amidst stalls on either side exhibiting wares which include a lot of hand-crafted items.
The narrow passage intermixed with stairs takes one to a level area where one is welcomed by the one and only important structure - that of Trimurti , which is a Shiva statue with three faces depicting that of creator, preserver and destroyer.
On one side we find the idol of Ardhanarishwara (half male - half female) and on the left it is Shiva Parvati.
Of course there are few other caves either half done on abandoned .. but the first one catches all attention.
The island was extensively used for a long time for defensive purposes by the Portuguese and the abandoned canons stand testimony to this.
The beautifully crafted elephant at the Historical Museum compound , Mumbai was once part of the treasures in the island.
A futile attempt to ship the statue to England had to be abandoned once it broke , because of its mammoth size and weight and the re-assembled elephant stays put at the zoo and garden compound Mumbai.







Daulatabad Fort

Daulatabad Fort has got nothing much to do with art and craft , but still the legend says its fame as an unconquerable fort for long attracted the invaders.

                                                     Imposing fortification at the bottom

The Mughals conquered it allegedly by deceit and even shifted India's capital to this place, which is some 1000 kms away, for about 17 years !

                                                                  At the apex

It is a difficult climb with some 700 odd steps - some very disproportionate in the dark corridors to deceive the invading attackers.

                                                 Visitors at the canon spot

Lot of false doorways which open in to nowhere and some steps to the terrace which is a ploy..
in fact the path which leads up is a climb down sometimes !

View from the top

Canons , narrow bridges ,trap doors and what not.
Buzzing school children were seen enjoying all the fun