We saw tight security put in place across the route to maintain communal harmony. The route was really crowded and we struggled to find a place to watch the yatra. Luckily we were able to reach a terrace where there were some other TV crew members covering the event (thanks to the bank manager of a bank located in the building, who suggested the spot and also allowed us). Though we could get only a downward angle for the camera, we were at least able to view it at ease.
So here it goes..

1. Langars everywhere, distributing free water

2. Langar.. distributing free eatables (prasad)

3. People flock to get prasad as a truck passes by

4. A vehicle belonging to some local association distributing sweets. People as well as the policeman on duty asking for it

5. Jubilant crowd posing for the camera

6. Children dressed as Krishna..

7. Oh boy !! becoming Krishna is so difficult. Seems the kid dressed as Krishna not enjoying it at all

8. A child covers himself under his mother’s dupatta to hide himself from the strong sun

9. Acrobats performing in the procession

10. Many akharas participated in the yatra. I don’t know the relation between Lord Jagannath and akharas, but the display of muscles went on for almost half an hour. A small boy aspiring to be muscular and strong posing for the crowd

Edit: The akharas are related to Lord Balrama (Thanks Manisha for clarifying it). Balarama trained both Bhima and Duryodhana in club-fighting.

11. A man watches the instrument being used by a kirtan mandali

12. Flags indicating that its time for arrival of the three raths

13. The first rath, of Lord Jagannath arrives.. (A small video here)

14. The rath is pulled by hand using a rope by devotees

People watch as the devotees pulling the rath pass by amidst heavy police security

15. The second rath belonging to Lord Balrama and the third belonging to Lord Subhadra passes by

16. Heavy security measures were taken by the administration. Over 14,000 policemen and 4500 home guard jawans havebeen deployed across the city. Four Bomb Disposal Squads (BDS), nine Quick Response Teams, and 27 mobile police control room vans have also been deployed. A bomb disposal squad and an ambulance in the procession.

17. Rapid action police force personnels watch a group of people passing by

18. This is our spot from where we saw the event. This place also had CCTV and policemen as a part of security measure. And because of them we got free tea as well

19. A media crew member watching the live feed on his laptop covering himself from the harsh sun under an umbrella

20. Jhatpat pan masala had a stall to distribute free pan masala satches. Observed that some children were also able to get it.

Now having seen how it is, next year I may try going inside and walk along the yatra route

1. Mata ni Pachedi – A rectangular piece of fabric offered to the goddess. Hand painted fabrics are now used for interior decoration and sold in the range of Rs 10 k to 30 k. The goddesses are satisfied with block printed ones as they are cheaper. (want to know more about it?)

A design at a very early stage of preparation. It takes almost a month for a design to be completed. Only 5 families are left with the know-how of this craft.

As this craft is preserved by the family system, it is necessary that each member of the family knows the craft well.

Including this small child of just 6 years. He is all focused on filling color to the design while his mother looks at his budding skill affectionately. It is generally expected that children will carry on the age old tradition of the craft as a livelihood.

Final product (hand made ones). Small sizes are also sold.

2. Applique Work - Its basically cloth wear design where a piece of cloth is stitched on the other making a design (know more).

An old lady old lady is making small quilt for babies.

A girl stitches cloth pieces making a design on a ladies dress

The place makhwana ni chali has a large number of women who know this work. Seen an old woman stitching a design on a hot afternoon outside her house.

3. Roghan Printing – This moghul art of printing papers/cloth with the help of a special paint called Roghan, prepared from castor oil and chalk powder (more here).

Seen here are different stencils used for printing kept on a printed paper


The workshop is situated on the top floor on a four storey building of a colony accessible through a very narrow and steep wooden staircase. Seen here a view of the colony outside the workshop.

The clips used to dry the cloth / paper after printing.

4. Chick making – Its a curtain / shade made from bamboo stripes. Its the simplest craft of India and very much in demand during the summer and rainy season (more).

A family in the business of chick making since the last 60 years. Seen below the work in progress on a roadside in Paldi.

An old lady of the family cutting the bamboo to shape for chick making.

With NID/NIFT located in Ahmedabad, craftpersons get more coverage and opportunity as compared to any other city. A picture in their album, where a tourist is seen learning the craft of chick making

More in the series of crafts may not come very soon. It will take time to shoot. Till then happy traveling

More information about Mata Ni Pachedi can be obtained from House of MG documentation or the Kalamkari Blog. I am not going to repeat the finer details that are very well explained in these links.

1.  Sanjay Manubhai Chitara and his brother Vasant Manubhai Chitara are only a few families (5 to be precise of the same clan) that are carrying on this 300 year old tradition of painting clothes. Seen here Sanjay and Vasant Manubhai filling colors to the design.

2.  As this craft is preserved by the family system, it is necessary that each member of the family knows the craft well.  Wife of Sanjay Manubhai filling the colors to the same design.

3.  Don’t you expect the children of such families learning the craft at a very young age? Sumit, the six year son of Sanjay bhai is all focused on filling color to the design while his mother looks at his budding skill affectionately.

4.  He is the new face of the family (still unnamed). The parents are very hopeful that these two kids will carry on the family tradition of making mata ni pachedi.

5.  Traditionally, the pachedi was made in just three colours –  white, black and deep red.  Still the colors used for temples are the same but they are now made by block prints (and not hand printed). The price for these cloths starts from Rs 200. Seen here a block printed mata ni pachedi used for temple offerings.

6. The art is no longer limited to the temples, as most of the costly and finer hand made mata ni pachedi’s are purchased by art connoisseurs to be used as decoration for their drawing rooms / offices. For these creations, the colour range has gradually expanded to include orange, yellow, indigo, grey and pink. These hand printed designs sell from Rs 10,000 to Rs. 30, 000 (with marketing support from NID/NIFT/craftsmelas) depending on the cloth size and intricacies of the design. Seen here a large hand printed design along with a small one (Sells at Rs 400).

7.  As the big designs are costly people ask for hand printed smaller designs. Seen here a small design that sells at Rs 100.

8.  They have diversified to make hand printed silk stoles which sell at around Rs  1000. These stoles do not carry the image of goddess.

9.  They are felicitated with the National Award – Sanjay Manubhai Chitara in 2000, his brother Vasant in 2001 and their parents Manubhai Chunilal and Manjuben Manubhai jointly in 2004.  Sanjay Manubhai thinks that had there been support to provide the basic infrastructure required for mata ni pachedi (Table, blocks etc) along with marketing, other families would not have left this work.  He talks about a special government project aimed to revive mata ni pachedi as a art, but was never implemented.

This family has now build a new beautiful house. The market for these products is increasing and hope they continue to cash in on the rare art expertise they possess. Leaving you with a family picture. Hope every craft family can be so happy

Locate the Craftsmen here

2. A cart full of bangles passed by.

3. The narrow street of the market was fully packed.

4. What a way to wish the start of the new year. Isn’t it?

5. Kites on display. Whites and Colorful.

6. Big as well as small ones.

7.  Phirki’s.

8. Colorful threads.

9.  Accessories : Caps

10.  Accessories : Whistles

11. Accessories: Goggles

12. Accessories: Masks

13.  Long exposure shots of  a toy with lights on demonstration.

14.  We were asked by people kya aap TV9 se aaye ho ?, kaun se channel par aayega?, kal paper me chapega?. I generally replied – we are students doing a photowalk (eh.. too boring for them ).  But sometimes I changed my answers as well e.g. when asked once kaun se channel par aayega?‘, I replied ‘channel par nahin, internet par aayega’. Achha … he thought for a moment.. and asked me again kaun se time par aayega?.
This shopkeeper below told me  ‘main amreeka rehta hun’. Though I could not relate to why it was mentioned, Achha.. I asked “amreeka me kahan rehte ho?” . Bhuj.. came the reply.

15. People were filled with joy.  A few of them asking to take their photographs (mera photo phado )

16.  If you purchase Kites in this market, this is how you have to carry them in the crowd. Some pics of people carrying Kites.

17.  A kid reaching out to a Phirki.

18.  Happy with sooo many kites or shy? or both

19. Her name is Alvira.. I loved her smile. Her family sells kite related products. I noticed a large number of muslim shopkeepers’ and I wondered the role of business and festivals in religious integration.

20. aww…the only kid who feared the camera… her mother tried to help but …

21. Any market in Ahmedabad has to have many food stalls. Got a chance to click a few of them.

22.  The joy of photography

and the joy of sharing

23. On our way back we spotted people making manjha (not a part of that kite market)

24. It ended with a mid-night buffet at TGB…  had to be called the ‘katal ki raat’.

You may like to visit my earlier post on The International Kite Festival if this post has provoked your interest on kites even further. Explore.
Happy Uttarayan and best wishes for the coming year.

Time to visit :  The remains are open to visit anytime. However, the museum opens from 10 AM-5PM.

Imagine life in 2500 BC.  Trade, a  port, a dockyard, planned houses, bead factory, sewage and drainage systems and cemetry. A totally planned city.  You can just stand here at Lothal and imagine the glory of Indian Harappan Civilization.

1.  This was a early morning bike trip planned just a few hours earlier. On the way we stopped at a dhaba where a sleepy boy was interested in us but was too shy to talk.

2. It was relaxing to see the entrance after a 85 kilometers drive.

3. A local tempo just goes behind the shrub as I try to capture it. It is an interesting vehicle with the driver having a seat like a motorcycle but with a carrier on the back.

4. The remains become visible from a distance. I took a Wikipedia printout on Lothal to relate the ruins to the information.

5.  A local woman taking out grass near the remains for their cattle as the birds wait to eat the worms that will be exposed.

6. You will not find any info explaining the parts of the remains near it. For me Wikipedia also did not help much. It was this painting in the museum (the only object you can click inside museum) that made me understand most of the remains.

You will notice a dockyard, a warehouse, a bead factory and the city in the painting. The river shown in the painting has changed its course and no longer flows here. And if you are wondering which river, it was Sabarmati.

7. The dockyard

A statue immersed in the dockyard water probably did not dissolve

Just experimenting with cracks on the ground

8. Remains of the warehouse

9. Well and the drainage system along it

10. Some no-idea-kya-hai structures (Update: found them now)

This one may be a wall inside a house with a drain flowing below it (Update: This is a cooking block)

This one may be either a structure for hot water or to segregate solid waste (Update : This is a pot furnace of the kitchen)

11. Remains of houses at the lower town

12. Imagine these bricks made in 2500 BC. So well made and so strong.. unlike what we make now

13. Some picturesque terrains

14.  The museum. We waited for it to open. I suggest to plan your trip such that you can see the museum. It’s small but really good.

Happy Travelling.. btw did u notice the Wikipedia printout?
Want to read more on Lothal? Here…

Place: Starts from Mangaldas in Haveli, Lakha Patel ni Pol, Manek Chowk. (The owners of House of MG)

Fee: Rs 50 (Cards not accepted)

I had heard about this walk since a long time and wanted to go for  it. I was told that this walk introduces the night life of Ahmedabad. There is another walk that happens daily in the morning, which introduces the architectural heritage of Ahmedabad (More info in my earlier post).

Well, this walk also tried to attempt all that the morning heritage walk does during the day time. But the problem during night is, it is very difficult to appreciate architectural heritage due to low light conditions.

The routes of morning and night heritage walk are mostly separate and only merges towards the end.

1. Mangaldas ni Haveli (The Bunglow of Mangaldas) is around two hundred years old and has been renovated recently.

2. This place has been opened for tourists and has a cafe and a shop that sells ethnic Gujarati stuff.

3. The houses built during those periods used wood brought from Burma. It seems they are really long lasting.

4. The walk starts to show the kind of architecture which is unique of Ahmedabad, described in detail in my earlier post. This is an entrance of a Pol (like a small colony) during night. The structure above the entrance was used as a security cabin.

5. The guide used a torch to show the architectural details.

6. Another house that has used wood from Burma.

7. A Carving on a pillar on one of the houses.

8. The guide explaining “Ol” , A typical market where the owners live above the shop situated on the ground floor.

9. Khestrapal Temple statue. It is claimed that this statue is made from butter with an outer covering of silver foil. Since the last 200 years this statue has not melted.

10. The gate of Badshah-no-Hajiro , the tomb of Badshah Ahmed Shah, the founder of Ahmedabad. Earlier in the walled city drums were played during night to signal closing of the gates. A family whose forefathers guarded the walled city still lives here (The place above the board of Badshah-ka-Hajira in the pic) and plays the music at 11 PM everyday…. A tradition kept alive for 600 years.

You can listen to a short audio clip here of the drums.

11. The masoleum light at the Badshah-no-Hajiro.

12. The walk ends at Jumma Masjid, reflections of lights in the pool at night.

13. This is very close to Manek Chowk eateries. They remain open till 2 AM in the morning. I was so involved in eating that I forgot to take a pic of this location . So will update it next time.

Overall, this walk is not as good as the morning heritage walk which i will highly recommend as compared to this one. But if you think you can never be able to get up so early in the morning or  you are generally busy during mornings, this is a good option.

Happy Travelling

Sarkhej is known for its architectural creation which comprises of Islamic stylistic influences from Persia with indigenous Hindu and Jain features to form a composite “Indo-Saracenic” architectural style.

1. A Masoleum and a Mosque was constructed in the honour of Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh, a Sufi saint and a friend/advisor to Sultan Ahmed Shah (The founder of Ahmedabad). The sufi saint was believed to possess miraculous powers. Seen below is the tomb of the masoleum.

2. The pillars of the mosque.

3. Below is the mosque as seen from inside. Few mosques allow women to participate in offering prayers with men, but few like this allow women by giving them a separate section. (Notice the elevated portion on the left)

4. Islamic architecture is famous for the stone jalis. Just before the sunset, light entering through the jali at another maseleom in the Sarkhej Roja compound. This masoleum was built for the family of Sultan Mahmud Begada.

5. Another wall with  stone jali.

6. Children playing in the Mosque compound. Numerous families come to visit Sarkhej Roja. The complex is generally poorly  maintained in terms of cleanliness.

7. Sunlight falls on the walls of the Sarkhej Roja Masoleum and Mosque compound and reflected in the dirty water of the pond. People living around Sarkhej Roja use this water and the vicinity for their daily morning chores.Hence, this side of the complex remains dirty.

8. A little zoom of the reflection on water.

9. Sunset over the ruins of queens place and the entrance to the pond.

10. Another masoleum which is a part of Sarkhej complex (HDR image)

11. Beautiful sunset over this masoleum.

I advise visiting this place during sunset.. the hues on the walls are amazing.

Happy travelling

The step well is called vav in local language. It was built in 16th century and still standing strong.

It was built during the reign of Queen Rudabai, a muslim ruler. Though now dry, the well once provided water to weary travellers and pilgrims along the roads outside of Ahmedabad. The four-level well is dug directly into the water table, exposing fresh water that rose and fell according the seasons and the amount of rainfall. Its deep interior provided cool relief from the harsh Indian sun. (Source : www.orientalarchitecture.com)

If you want to visit for photography, avoid visiting tthe place in strong sunlight. I think lateral light is better for photography. So, let me take you to the stepwell now.

1. As we enter, we found many parrots enjoying playing with one another.

2. The stepwell was inaugrated for general public in 1555 AD as mentioned in hindi on this stone. I have purposely enlarged only that specific portion.

3. Several pillars making a corridoor like appearance. Adalaj is mainly based on these pillars.

4. A worker collecting coins with the help of a magnet. People throw coins in the well for good luck.

5. The wall facing the well as visible from the stairs as we walk down to the well. I like this pic for the contrast in lighting.

6. Pointed iron sheets kept on some side walks to prevent people from walking on those planks.

7. What I can say . P.S. I also took this route . The staff taught us how to put steps laterally and walk over those pointed rods

8. A view from the top. This is the same wall alongside the well.

9. Everyday prayers are offered by the staff in front of the god’s image craved on one of the wall.

10. Notice the rich carvings here… all around the walls.

11. A little zoomed…

12. Another carving on the wall.

13. Carvings on pillars.. It is present on all the pillars.

14. Adalaj is a place of attraction for tourists. Many tourists are seen arriving in the backdrop of incense sticks offered to the god as a prayer ritual.

15. The narrow stairs that takes to each of the floors of the well.

16. Five Graves… it is said that these are graves of those masons who built this structure. They were killed so that they can not create another piece like it. Weird… but may be true for that time.

Happy travelling…

Yes,  we were ready.  We had safety viewing glasses, tripod, x-ray films. We thought this rare even should not be missed by our camera…

IIM Ahmedabad Stargazers Club arranged for public viewing from 6 in the morning. However, we reached half an hour earlier to fix our equipments. The weather was pleasant and it looked absolutely refreshing.. we had no idea of the clouds as it was dark. The sunrise time was yet to be reached but as soon as we fixed our equipments, it started drizzling. We found there was a huge layer of clouds as soon as there was some light.  We wished that it will fade away, giving us just a glimpse of the eclipse, but it did not..

But these clouds did not seem to go away..

But still we hoped… everyone..

And tried to look beyond clouds

But finally went away….
Very good day indeed. Once in a lifetime

———-

Update:

Well… if you have also missed this total solar eclipse due to rains or any other reason… here is some good news. If you want to travel you can witness many solar eclipses in near future… Here are those few in near future..

• July 11, 2010: Cruise to Tahiti or watch from Easter Island, Chile, or Argentina
• November 13, 2012: Visible from north central Australia to the Great Barrier Reef
• March 9, 2016: Crosses Indonesia—Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Halmahera
• August 21, 2017: Sweeps a 70-mile-wide path across the United States, moving across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina

So.. mark your calendars.. and book a trip..  Good Luck next time

Here is a map taken from exploratorium.edu… for your visual satisfaction

A cutout, signifying the heritage of kite flying that happens on the terraces..

This boy seems deeply involved sitting on the shoulders for a view..

One very looong kite..

Some others..

Look at that one…

This particular one was truly awesone, I liked the color and shape too much. The beauty was that, when it turned into different angles  the shapes changed so dramatically..

See a collage of its shapes..

She is all game..

Preparation to fly this one..

This was another kite which also had intersting shape and was smaller than the one shown earlier..

The festivals are a great hit with children.. She also saw something which interested her. But suddenly something else attracted her attention.. notice the direction of finger and her eyes..

Quite colorful, isn’t it?

These kites requires the necessary momentum to be lifted in the air. A person pushes it into the air and at the same time it is pulled by another person who is in control of the thread. It lifts the kite up. See this person just released the kite in air..

I liked in particular the dress this person is wearing.

These kites are attention of all the mediapersons as well, see the next pic being covered by the media person on the video camera.

I guess this one resembles lord Rama..

And, this one Lord Ganesha.. Gods must be watching..

Some other kites..

A foreign participant preparing the kite..

And at last, a group of people came with a suitcase. I saw them taking out a series of kites, each tied on a single thread and releasing them to form a long series of kites. I wonder the physics around them.

If you are reading this before 14th January, 2009 and you are in Ahmedabad, don’t miss it.