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Date: 21st May, 2008 Time: 8:00 a.m. (thanks to a one hour delay!) Ahmedabad... the city that has kindly agreed to adopt me and shelter me for the next two years of my life. Rather ungrateful of me then, that despite being at MICA for over two weeks, the first time I really got to ‘explore’ the city was during the heritage walk. There was a sense of anticipation and excitement in the air, although I’ll have to admit that being woken up at 5:20 in the morning does act like a wet blanket. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we landed up Old Ahmedabad at around 9:00 am and our first stop was the majestic yet inviting Swaminarayan Temple (which sadly we were unable to enter.) Our next stop the Dalpatram Memorial, the home of one of the most renowned Gujarati poets, after which we paused briefly to look at the caved-in Calico Dome. And now comes my favourite part of the walk – the ‘pols’! A ‘pol’ (derived from the Sanskrit word ‘pratoli’, which means gate or entry) is a gated community which comprises row upon row of beautifully carved houses, a temple and a bird-feeder. What an anachronism it is – seeing culture and heritage preserved so beautifully in the midst of a bustling and crowded city! We even got the chance to enter a traditional ‘haveli’, and despite seeming austere, the sheer size and design of the house was astounding. After a walk through a crowded marketplace and a homage paid to the founder of Ahmedabad (Sultan Ahmed Shah,) our last stop of the day was the Jumma Masjid. The grimaces from walking over marble slabs baked in the heat was quickly turned to awe as we entered the prayer room and saw columns of pillars stretching up to the sky, each carved slightly differently from its brothers. Hidden gems scattered all over the city, was my initial reaction. Having said that though, I realised in hindsight that what I had seen were mere snapshots of the city – blurred visions and vague whispers of a rich and diverse history and culture that is as yet unknown to me. But despite telling me little about Ahmedabad, the heritage walk did make amends by giving me the chance to see my batchmates in a whole new light. I realised that you don’t have to be a child to experience a childhood and you don’t have to be an adult to make sense. I realised that sometimes a small laugh shared with people you barely know creates more lasting impressions than I could have thought possible. And most importantly, I learned that all learning need not take place in the portals of a classroom – sometimes opening your eyes to the people around you is all that it takes to be enlightened. Kanika Gupta
My Heritage Walk
