Touching Roots of Karnavati...

Travelling, as I am fond of and of late devoting time to pursue this very passion of mine after giving up on a corporate job. It is a general trend that we mostly travel out of town to discover places and learn about it’s history, missing the fun and knowledge our own city would hold.. the endless untold stories which captivate your attention and you go back in time living in that era.

10^th Sept 2017, Sunday early morning, I opted for a Heritage walk, with the food element in it. Any heritage is incomplete without food, especially when in Amdavad. Haveli food walk, tagged as “Meet real foodist” as it is conceptualised is a walk designed that amalgamates food and visit to selected places of historical importance. Hence, Few connoisseurs gathered at the starting point Rani Sipri at Astodia in Ahmedabad.

Rani Sipri Mosque – resting place of the queen comprises of two main structures, A prayer hall where ‘namaz’ is read and the main tomb which has the grave of the queen. The mosque is considered to be one of the jewels in the league as it has lot of detailing and intricately carved pillars. The queen was wife of Mohammad Begra, Grandson of Ahmed Shah, after whom Karnavati was christened as Ahmedabad. This part lies within the walled city of Ahmedabad, walls which don’t exist anymore but 12 out of 21 doors still speak volumes  about Muzzaffarid dynasty.

Luckily, the group in which we were moving in was that of seekers, who wanted to delve into the history, learn more and capture lot of frames and memories along with..

While walking our way down we saw glimpses of the real Ahmedabad city, the old pol houses and the localities which still comprise as the main arteries of the city, pumping in enough oxygen to keep the #Heritage alive, alive as to, people reside in these “pol” houses which are still in the modern era considered as the best from architectural perspective as well.

We walked past “Ashabheel Pol” named after Ashabheel, a tribal head; “Dhal ni pol” dhal means slope, the pol is constructed at a height on an incline. Most of textile mill owners stayed here in yester years.. 

Then we landed into an eatery almost a century old where Sardar Vallabh Bhai used to have “khaman” from, Das Khaman, commenced by Pitamdas Kanjibhai Thakkar in 1922 with a very humble beginning...Kunal Thakkar today is fourth generation carrying the legacy of traditional food which is part of heritage of this city. The famous authentic khaman served with twist are “Dahi wala khaman”, “Tam Tam Khaman” and “Green Fry”.

 Red Tam Tam, Green Fry and Curd or Dahi Dhokla

 White Sandwich Dhokla, Yellow Dhokla and Patra

A few meters ahead was our next halt, Jumma Masjid..the largest mosque in Ahmedabad. The monument shows lot of influence of Jain and Hindu architecture where on the stone carvings one can get to see ‘Tree of life’, ‘kalpvruksh’, Lotus, ‘kalash’, ‘Torans’, ‘sheshnag’ etc. The pillared hall has 5 mehrabs facing kaba, 52 bigger domes and 15 small domes. The domes are very similar to ones in Jain temples, to support a heavy dome based ceiling there are 256 Pillars, at another end of the hall you get to see 76 small pillars which is the ‘janana hall’ a secluded part designed to accommodate women. Overall the mosque can accommodate upto 20000 worshippers on festive days whereas on regular days around 2000 people visit daily. The most important aspect of historically important structures is their upkeep and maintenance, Ahmed bhai and his ascendants for past 300 years have been taking care of Jumma Masjid.

 Kalp Vruksh

 Dome or the ceiling

 Mehrab

 Ahmed Bhai

 small pillars of area demarcated for women

Just opposite the mosque is Ahmed Shah Hajira, resting place of Ahmed Shah the ruler after whom Karnavati was rechristened as Ahmedabad. Hazira is a term used for the resting place chosen by the person himself place before death. Daily in the name of the Sultan “khichdi” (preparation of rice and lentils) is distributed. 

Manek Chowk, a shoppers paradise in the city, a jewel in the crown named after Ujjain Maneknath.. Sabarmati used to flow from this place. Manek means gems, truly synonymous with the name, the place is full of jewellers who have thrived constantly and continue to... Manekchowk is considered to be a very auspicious place, round the clock business flourishes as when the shops shut in the evening, the streets are taken over by hawkers selling food, clothes etc. the entire place transforms, it is believed Goddess Lakshmi resides at this place. In the centre we visited a small ashram of Baba Maneknath.

Back to food, Kandoi Bhogilal Mulchand; the brand continuing going from five generations, 1845 again they started with humble beginning and today have evolved to a chain of sweet shops. The sweets carry fame to an extent that they are flown to countries for Non resident Indian foodies.

The structures where these shops are constructed are known as “oles”, a symbiotic way of living and doing business as the upper stories are homes of these business men.

 Ole house with shop

 Old style jeweller 

Juna sherbazar chavana, another small outlet known for its ‘namkeen’ which even goes to Salman Khan’s  place. We tasted their fresh crisp fried puffed rice, corn and lentil mixture flavoured with spices, a favourite snack of Indians across..

Last but not the least we concluded the walk with visit to Havelis in one of the Poles, refurbished with modern amenities by a famous artchitect – Kamal Mangaldas. One of them has been transformed into a hotel whereas the other is just a place to hold events in the city.

 transformed haveli amidst old structural relics

 Pol kholi - a cafe

 courtyard

view of narrow streets from the haveli

A day, full of cherished memories, so much to carry back after touching the roots of Karnavati or Ahmedabad, India's first Heritage city... richness also lies in the memories of bygone era Alive today as Heritage.