This one is still work in progress and phase one of the ambitious Sabarmati River front project was recently inaugurated by Chief Minister Narendra Modi recently. The riverfront project is essentially a paved embankment on either sides of the river meant for a lazy evening stroll by the riverside. It’s a novel idea and a local told me that phase two of the plan consists of building skyscrapers on either sides of the Sabarmati resembling the likes of Singapore!! The evenings are breezy and perfect for a quiet stroll…that’s worth it for sure.
How to get to know a city best? Take a walk! The daily heritage walk conducted by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is a delightful experience for all types of visitors. It’s literally a window to the city and its history. Over here, discoveries are made while walking around the narrow serpentine lanes of the old city. Like a 400-year-old Jain Temple that was actually built underground to save it from being demolished by Aurangzeb’s generals! The walk takes you through Ahmedabad’s famous ‘Pols’ – gated housing societies where all the houses belong to people of a particular family, caste, profession, religion etc. Many of the pols were built between 100 to 300 years ago. A must try!
The first time I crossed this historic landmark, I didn’t think much of this place. It appeared to be the usual mosque located right at the centre of a busy traffic junction. But the merit of Sidi Saiyyed Mosque’s architecture pronounces itself the moment you lay your sights on the exquisite jali windows that adorn the side and rear walls of the mosque. The latticework (jalis) of the rear slabs resembles interwoven trees
Agreed that it’s the smaller cousin of Delhi’s Jama Masjid but this Ahmedabad wonder appears as brilliantly as a mosque built by a sultan can. It was considered one of the most imposing and beautiful structures of the East when it was built in 1424.