Awe-inspiring Ahmedabad

Vibrant and spirited, Ahmedabad is one of the fastest growing cities of India. Recognised for the entrepreneurial acumen of its people, this large city in prosperous Gujarat is the eighth largest metropolitan area of India with a population of nearly 5.7 million. A centre of education and industry, it remains the cultural heart of western India. It is a great example of how a city with a rich history and heritage has adapted itself to the 21st century by taking initiatives in public spaces and infrastructure for all its citizens.

HISTORY, HERITAGE AND MONUMENTS

Sultan Ahmed Shah of Gujarat founded Ahmedabad in 1411 on the banks of river Sabarmati. It continued to be an important trading centre during the Mughal period and also later during the British dominance. The rich merchant class has always played an important role by controlling business and also by working with the community to create a great social life for the city.

The old fortified city is an excellent medieval example of city planning and architecture using both the Islamic and Hindu concepts and craftsmanship. The central area of the old city is planned on the principle of axis starting from the Bhadra Fort, the great Maidan-i-Shahi (now called Bhadra Square), the Jami Masjid, the King and Queen’s tombs with Manek Chowk and the Teen Darwaja. This historical centre still throbs with energy, festivals, shopping, markets and food despite the expansion of the city on the western banks across the river.

The Bhadra Fort with its majestic facade and with the famous Bhadrakali temple; the Bhadra Square, a formal space for parades and congregation, all proudly announce the great architectural heritage of the city. The Teen Darwaja with its beautiful carvings, Jami Masjid and the King and Queen’s tomb, the exquisite stone-carved jaali of the Siddi Sayyed Mosque all reveal the immense craftsmanship in stone. The great step wells of Adalaj and Asarwa, built as water harvesting structures, are further evidence of craftsmanship in stone. Finally, in 1917, the pre-Independence period saw Mahatma Gandhi raise the importance of this city by setting up his ashram on the banks of the river Sabarmati.

PUBLIC PLACES

Great cities are known for their great public spaces. Absolutely essential for making a city truly liveable, it is in the public realm and public spaces that the citizen assimilates himself/herself into the larger community. 

Ahmedabad has historically created great public places to support the aspirations of its citizens and continues to do so even today.

The two most important public spaces of the old city continue to remain Maidan-i-Shahi and Manek Chowk. These remain important destinations not only for the residents of the old city but also new urbanites from western Ahmedabad, across the Sabarmati. Bhadra Square, defi ned by the imposing facade of the Bhadra Fort, is lined with shops on either side and enclosed by the famous Teen Darwaja. Manek Chowk, which houses the King and Queen’s tombs, contains jewellery shops and the vegetable and fruit markets. Together this is the heart and pulse point of the city.

The new extended city to the west of the river Sabarmati has developed its own public places such as Ashram Road with the town hall and city library, C.G. Road which is a place for great shopping and the Municipal Market that is a destination for fast food. More and more roads like Gurukul Road, Satellite Road and S.G. Highway with concentrated activities for recreation have emerged as new public places for automobile users.

The lakes Kankaria, Vastrapur, Asarwa and gardens like the Law Garden and Parimal Garden are other popular public spaces in the city.

The newest and an important addition to public places has been the Sabarmati Riverfront project by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. The aim of this project is to revive the city by reconnecting it to the river, thus transforming the river Sabarmati from an environmental and social problem in the past, into an asset for the city. A redevelopment has been planned over a stretch of nearly 10 kms and in 2012 an imposing public boulevard for riverfront use was opened. 

Ahmedabad has thus reclaimed its historic linkage to the Sabarmati by creating a public space of great importance for all its citizens.

CULTURAL VIBRANCY

The cultural diversity and celebration of various festivals like Navaratri, Rath Yatra, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi and Uttarayan in Ahmedabad add a great dimension to the quality of life in this great city. The two important festivals, namely that of Uttarayan (engaging in kite flying) and Navaratri (engaging in dancing) and the procession of Lord Jagannath in the city during the Rath Yatra are odes to staying rooted with tradition while still enjoying modern urban living. These festive periods are a major tourist attraction. Non-Hindu festivities like Ramzan, Paryusan and Christmas are all celebrated with as much enthusiasm in the city as are the nondenominational festivals celebrating literature, heritage, music (Saptak Festival) and art (Darpana Academy International Art Festival).

LIVING EXPERIENCES: FOOD, RETAIL AND LEISURE

The richness of a city experience is also defined by its food, leisure and entertainment and the ease of access to all of these. In Ahmedabad, there is great variety of both traditional Indian and Continental food. The traditional soft khaman, dhokla, patra, ganthias, dalwada, methi gota, chavana and methi theplas among others are popular snacks that complement the traditional Gujarati, Kathiawadi and Saurashtra thali. But the ‘Amdavadi’ food has expanded today to include Punjabi and South Indian dishes and Continental cuisine. It is this rich experience of food that has established the importance of places like Manek Chowk for kulfi, Law Garden for fast food, Municipal Market for ice-cream floats and Bhatiar Gali for delicious non-vegetarian Muslim food.

Besides food, retail in Ahmedabad also offers many choices. From shopping for traditional sarees and garments in the narrow streets of Ratan Pol in the old city, to jewellery at Manek Chowk, household products on Gandhi Road and Bhadra Square, rich mirror work and handicrafts at Law Garden, old items at the Sunday market on the river bank and the latest fashions at the city malls, the choice is unlimited. Combining this shopping experience by travelling in the city in an auto-rickshaw is not only a good choice due to its easy access and economics, but it off ers flashy interiors and music as well.

The Hindi film ‘Amdavad No Rickshaw Walo’ with the talented actor Naseeruddin Shah in the lead role off ers a good insight into the experience of living and travelling in the city.

Citizens of Ahmedabad enjoy its great public places. Ahmed Shah constructed Kankaria Lake, one of the oldest and most popular public places in the city. Recent renovations including a public promenade have helped regain its popularity. Vastrapur Lake, along with some other lakes within the city, have been evacuated from encroachments and revived into truly public places. Additionally, Law Garden and Parimal Garden off er landscaped green public spaces for rest and recreation.

COMFORT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPPORTUNITIES

Historically, the enterpreneurial strength of merchants of the city gave birth to many institutions which have enriched the experience of life in Ahmedabad. The Shreyas Foundation, founded in 1947 by the Sarabhai family, is based on the tenets of Gandhian philosophy and has a goal to impart education.

Sir Chinubhai Madhavlal Ranchhodlal, an eminent philanthropist and industrialist developed the fi rst Gujarat College in 1897 on the western side of the river and the Ahmedabad Education Society (AES) was created in 1935 by eminent leaders to develop educational institutions.

Today, Ahmedabad is a major centre of learning with world-class institutions. It houses three internationally renowned institutions, namely the Indian Institute of Managment, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology and the National Institute of Design. Many other institutes of regional and national importance impart education to students from across the country.

Since Independence, Ahmedabad has claimed its place in India as a city that promotes design, architecture and planning. 

It is the only city in India where great international architects like Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, B.V. Doshi and Charles Correa have all designed buildings. Consequently, it remains an important pilgrimage for students of modern architecture and design in India.

As the city deals with its continued growth, Ahmedabad is modernising to meet the needs of its increasing population. The city is undergoing major transformation with the help of planning experts and architects to construct effi cient mass-transit networks, public spaces, institutional and public buildings, parks and stadiums. Guided by experts but also including community participation, work was started in 1999 on the City Development Strategy. In 2005 the Government of Gujarat initiated the Vibrant Gujarat Mission accelerating the Urban Development strategies by using the newlylaunched JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission).

A lot of attention has been paid to improve mobility for the masses. Ahmedabad has been in the forefront of responding to reduce environmental pollution and has successfully implemented the CNG conversion of all its autorickshaws and AMTS (Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services) buses, and improved landscape and plantation across the city. The city became the fi rst in the country to successfully implement the BRTS. 

Janmarg, Ahmedabad’s Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), has been a strategic intervention to develop accessible public transit, reduce enviromental pollution and help the city remain compact.

It has redefi ned expectations about bus-based public transport by demonstrating lower operational costs. About 40 percent of public transport users have switched to BRTS. The city has expanded the BRTS routes now to over 30 kms with an increase in traffic to nearly 60,000 passengers per day.

THE FUTURE, A CITY WITH INTERNATIONAL IMAGE AND QUALITY

Ahmedabad has grown rapidly like many Indian cities and now has a population of 63 lakhs (census 2011). As the commercial capital of the prospering Gujarat state, it is using the opportunities to build on its history and create a liveable future for its citizens. In particular, it is with eff orts such as the new riverfront development project and the Bus Rapid Transit project, that the city has managed to improve the quality of life for a large part of its population. As the city seizes its future, its ability to balance history with modernity, inclusiveness with progress, public domain with private enterprise, traditional business with new technology will have a bearing on its success towards becoming a great city in modern India.