Ahmedabad - The Destination
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| Ahmedabad,
the city of Ahmed Shah (Medieval ruler of Gujarat), is a city of rich past and its connection with the
Mahatma (Great Soul), also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Ahmedabad city offers you a unique style of
architecture, which is a blend of Hindu and Islamic styles (Indo-Saracenic style of architecture). Today
Ahmedabad is well-known for its textile mills and is often referred to as the Manchester of
the East.
Ahmedabad
is a colorful city where you can enjoy the better side of life, be it food or amusement. The Walled
City in Ahmedabad will take you down the memory lane to the city's glorious past. Ahmedabad
has got numerous places of interest for tourists, ranging from ancient monuments to amusement
parks. The charm of the various museums, mosques and forts harmonizes the simplicity of the Ahmedabad
city.
There are many places of tourist interests near Ahmedabad that are worth visiting. Sarkhej,Adlaj
Vav,Lothal,Modhera, Patan, Gandhinagar, |
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Mahudi, Nalsarovar Wildlife Sanctuary et al.
The lively people of Ahmedabad celebrate their numerous traditional festivals
with great excitement and gaiety. The tourists in Ahmedabad during any event or festival enjoy
the celebrations in the special Gujarati style. Besides the traditional Navratri
and Rath Yatra, Ahmedabad is also the host of the contemporary International
Kite Festival too. |
| One of the most exciting part of Ahmedabad is the
old dwellings of the city, where little seems to have changed. This part of the city is divided
into unique self-contained pols (living quarters), where huge wooden doors lead off
from narrow winding lanes. Within each doorway entire communities of jewellers, weavers, woodcarvers
and printers live and work, each in their own separate pol. Skillfully carved 16th
century wooden havelis (mansions) teeter dangerously over narrow passageways. In many
streets, there are Jain bird-feeding enclosures called parabdis, filled with pigeons.
On the dry sandy bed of the Sabarmati, streaming flags of block-printed fabric are laid out to
dry in the sun. |
Manek Chowk, the Old City’s chief marketplace has rows of Gujarati merchants reclining
upon spotless white bolsters and mattresses doing brisk business in silver jewellery, reams of printed
fabric, embroidery and expensive patola silk saris. In these parts it is common to see men sporting the
traditional Gujarati dress - a short white-skirted cotton tunic worn over loose white cotton jodhpur-like
trousers and the compulsory gold earrings- certainly an exotic and mesmerizing destination, not to be missed.
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Ahmedabad - Facts at a Glance
| State : |
Gujarat |
| Area : |
235.71 sq. km |
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Temperature : |
23 C – 41 C (Summer)
15 C - 35 C (Winter) |
| Rainfall
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70 cms |
| Altitude : |
53 mts |
| Language : |
Gujarati, Hindi, English |
| Best Season : |
November - February |
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History of Ahmedabad
The vibrant history of Ahmedabad commences with King Karandev I, the Solanki ruler who waged
a war against the Bhil King Ashapall or Ashaval. Karandev Inamed this city Karnavati. In 1411
century Gujarat fell in the hands of Sultan Ahmed Shah, and he renamed the city to Ahmedabad.
Ahmedabad remained the royal capital for a period of 162 years (1411-1573 A.D.)
This city was originally built on the banks of the river Sabarmati, but it has expanded
since. Enclosed by a fort by Mohammed Begdo, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, to protect it from
outside invaders, conditions in the city were chaotic at the time of Sultan Muzaffar III.
Akbar, the great Moghul emperor, conquered Gujarat in 1573. During the Moghul reign, Ahmedabad
became one of the thriving centres of trade in the country with textiles being exported
as far as Europe. By 1753, the armies of Raghunath Rao and Damaji Gaekwad captured the city, which
resulted in the end of the Mughal Rule in Ahmedabad. A famine in 1630 and the rule of the Peshwa
and the Gaekwad almost destroyed the city. By 1818, the British East India Company took over
the city.
The main Ahmedabad city (downtown) is currently a thriving business centre. On any given day
the city is almost crowded. The city has developed rather irregularly and hence most of the roads
are narrow. A wide variety of shops and businesses exist in the city.
In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi came from South Africa and established Ashram on the banks of Sabarmati.
The famous salt satyagraha was started here in 1930. The rich cultural legacy of this city
has continued even after India’s independence with a perfect fusion of the austere Islamic
principles of design with the Hindu art of sculpted ornamentation.
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