16.12 Vrushali's Birthday

Needless to say, who is the proud owner of this new 'city'!

A [WORLD] HERITAGE CITY: AHMEDABAD.

WELCOME TO A [WORLD] HERITAGE CITY: AHMEDABAD

Paris, Rome, Moscow and now Ahmedabad…Yes Ahmedabad is all set to take its rightful place in world history. A city which is rich in customs, culture, cuisine and more than that in architectural civilization, is standing on the threshold to become India’s first World Heritage City. Indeed, the city is a living heritage, and the journey has begun for that coveted tag. We ‘Amdavadis’ celebrated World Heritage Week just recently by holding road shows and art exhibitions, cultural dances and experts’ talks, craft workshops and heritage walks. Rather, Ahmedabad was the first cityin India to have started a Heritage Walk way backs in 1997, now almost a daily event. So here we invite you to join the ‘talk’ that we attempt to ‘walk’.

Founded in the year AD 1411, Ahmedabad will be celebrating600 years of its existence just over one year from now. Naturally many stories and legends are associated with this city. Jab kutte pe sassa aya, tab Badshah ne Shaher basaya’. [When the hare chased the dog, the emperor built the city, impressed by this act of bravery]. Ahmedshah Badshah was camping on the banks of river Sabarmati then. It is said that the water of Sabarmati turns its people not just brave, but good businessmen and art lovers too. From a medieval trading hub the entrepreneurs like Kasturbhai Lalbhai converted this city into country’s textile capital. Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Vikram Sarabhai were other architects to give the shape to the city which rode the industrial revolution and provided a base for India’s freedom movement. From Badshahs to city’s textile barons-everyone was fascinated by good art and architecture and attempted to construct some of the most beautiful monuments and the best carvings in the world.

If the world today recognizes Mahatma Gandhi as the apostle of peace, Ahmedabad has a major role in making of the mahatma. It was here on the river banks that ‘Sabarmati ka Sant’ incubated his experiment with truth [Satyagraha]. When he left his this karmabhoomi to launch the freedom struggle, he also left behind two ashrams and a string of institutions. Kochrab Ashram at Paldi and Satyagraha Ashram at Sabarmati, built earlier in the last century, are the places of pilgrimage for the believer in Gandhianphilosophy and nonviolence.The ‘Gandhi Smarak’ was designed by a well known architect Charles Correa. Experts say that he adapted an open grid plan with minimalism and functionalism from another legendary architect- Le Corbusier, who designed landmark buildings like ‘Sanskar Kendra’ and ATMA building in Ahmedabad, which are on the world map now. One of the foremost architects of twentieth century, Louis Kahn, also left his foot prints in IIM building in sixties which is best described as a fusion of “brick masonry and concrete’. These all are now considered milestones in Ahmedabad’s architectural saga. But what gives Ahmedabad a unique character is the lovely heritage of the Walled City and the glorious master pieces of ‘stone- weaving’ at Sarkhej Roza and Adalaj Stepwell.

Bhadra fort, and then Jama Masjid, were the first buildings built in the city by Ahmadshah Badshah. The fort wall and 12 gorgeous gates were completed by 1486 AD by his descendant Mohmmad Begda, and the ‘walled city’ with semi circular form was born. Today, these 12 monumental sentinels of security act as a gateway to the city’s glorious past. There are almost hundred Jain temples in the old city, some of which are architectural ornaments from medieval Gujarat. Swaminarayan temple too has some of the best wooden carvings in the country. The other celebrated monuments of the walled city are the majestic mosques, which are supposed to be most elegant of the various forms of Sultanate and Saracenic architecture, evolved during middle ages in India. Most of these Islamic structures bear subtle undertones of the Hindu architectural principles. If the historian James Douglas is to be believed, Emperor Shahjahan was inspired by these edifices here during his stay as The Governor of Gujarat and conceived the designs of buildings to come up in Agra.'The bud was in Ahmedabad, it blossomed in Agra to bear the fruit of Taj Mahal, the greatest monument of love anywhere in the world'.

It is in this old city that 10,000 ancient houses stand, arrayed in the celebrated ‘pols’. These 600 pols of Ahmedabad are the exuberant riots of beautiful wooden facades, lovely wooden brackets, lovingly carved fenestrated windows, magical balconies, talkative ‘otlas’, whirring ‘chabutaras’, community wells, action packed chowks and the maze like interconnecting narrow streets, with secret passages too. Thousands of years of Indian traditions of making buildings, streets and towns continue to exist in these densely packed clusters of pols. The resulting urban architectural heritage of the walled city, spread over the area of 550 hectares with a population of more than four lac inhabitants, is unparalleled in the world and it still wows one and all across the globe. No wonder that many historians and travelers in 17th and 18th centuries found Ahmedabad as big as London and as beautiful as Venice; having more grandeur than Acropolis of Athens, even.

Over the last 600 years rulers changed-Sultans, Mughals, British,Dutch and Marathas- but what remained intact was the spirit of the common man which proved a core pillar of strength in the city’s growth. Anarchy during maratha rule or downfall of the textile industry or the earhquake and riots in this decade…,’Amdavadi’ has fought every crisis with courage and emerged as a winner. He has kept his past alive and looks forward to a promising future.

The ‘pol’ houses, which capture the essence of community living, are unique to Ahmedabad. Here every house has a story to tell and every carved panel on the door propagates rich values and reflects the lofty ideals of religious yet progressive society.

Say, in this panel a girl and a boy are depicted as reading books. This just does not speak about the value of education, but also emphasizes the gender equality in those days in Ahmedabad. But to me, it is something beyond that- the intellectuality of these chubby children confirms safe birth, healthy neonatal stage and cared early childhood in that era. Were the health care providers of the bygone times aware about the significance of our ‘Neocon-2009’ slogan? May be or not. What ever-it can be perceived that these children are reading and conveying loudly the same message of we Neonatologists- ‘Committed to Survival- Intact’ to one and all in the community. They may be Health Activists, Human Sociologists, Hardcore Ecologists or even Heritage Conservationists!

Graphics and Inputs: Times Of India ,Cruta Foundation.

Photos: Hiren Shah.

drhiren@hotmail.com

The Land of Tombs, Temples, Tutenkhamun..

Long Lull...Sunset at Midday!!...

We remember you, Birenbhai,everyday since you left for the heavenly abode on 10th August,2009.But we missed you most today, on your Birthday.

On 14th September, this year you would have completed 60 years-six long decades of service to the humanity.Being in the medical profession, I can vouch that there will be hardly few selfless and noble doctors like you. Your patients and the society is going to miss you even more!

This picture was on the day of inauguration of my Shaishav Children Hospital- on 13th April, 1986. Needless to say that it would not have happened with out you and Nita.Probably I would not have settled in Ahmedabad, even.

The sunset at Dwarka is supposed to be one of the most spectacular in the world.We rushed and sped in our '3738' to catch that at those dying minutes of the evening,some where in the winter of 1994.We could do that.But failed this time.We could not bring you out of coma, which you were battling for almost 3 months. Your death came as a bolt out of blue.Your passing away at this early stage of life was like a 'Sunset at Midday' for all of us.

May your soul rest in peace and may you shower love and blessings on all of us from the heaven!

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V2,2,R [in] G2 !!?

BTW-V2,2,R [in] G2~ means "WE TWO,TOO,ARE [in] G2- THE GlOBAL GUJARATI "!!

BTW=By The Way !

JAI HIND !!!

Today, on 26th January, India celebrated its 60th Republic Day.

Though India got free by breaking the chains of Imperial rule of British Empire, and attained its independence on August 15 1947, it did not yet have a permanent constitution.26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. The country finally realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country.Ever since 26th of January has been celebrated as the Republic Day of India, .

Saluting the National Flag, singing the National Anthem and greeting each other with Jai Hind are the three imperatives on August 15 and January 26 -two most important days in our history. However very few may be aware about the history of our national greeting -‘Jai Hind’.

Till 1942, 'Vande Mataram' was the slogan that inspired patriots. Then came the interim period when ‘Do or Die’ (Karenge ya marenge), coined by Mahatma Gandhi, emerged as a clarion call for all freedom fighters. Meanwhile, the Indian revolutionary Dr.Champakraman Pillai introduced the new mantra-‘Jai Hind’ which became the popular battle cry of Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose. It captured the imagination of Indians and Netaji's these two words got immortalized in Indian history ever since.

Jawaharlal Nehru also used Jai Hind to conclude his speech [The Light Has Gone Out....] after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Since then Jai Hind is a salutation most commonly used in India in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards motherland- India. Jai Hind literally means "Victory to India" or "Long live India”.

The purpose of this 'salutation' of Jai Hind today, on this Republic Day is more than a mere patriotism. It is about the section of my locks collection [Doc’sLocks] which I fondly refer as political locks. After these many long years of my hobby of collection of locks, I‘ve realized that these are unique and one-of-a-kind in the whole world.

Everybody invariably asks me-‘why do I collect locks?’ To answer it I'll need to write another full article! Let me put in it in just one line-I collect them for their interesting combination of fun & function, art & craft, age & antiquity, story & history, rarity &complexity, form & figure, size & shape, and many other similar cmbinations. One such ‘rhomboid' lock of unusual shape drew my attention; and eventually aroused my curiosity to a great deal when I started acquiring few more of similar shapes but of different makes and sizes. Interestingly, all were embossed with ‘Jai Hind’ on the box like projections in the middle. Most of them were manufactured in Aligarh in U.P.- home to the biggest lock industry in our country, established by the British in early 20th century. I could not accept this ‘Jai Hind’ as just another brand or simple 'memorial-lock', and started exploring and making inquiries about it. We have travelled '1000s' of miles to the remotest places in our car '1000' for the hunting of locks and other collectibles . On such excursions I must have discussed about 'Jai Hind-lock' to many antique dealers, art connoisseurs, historians, freedom fighters, even scrap merchants and 'key' makers. Nobody could give satisfactoriy explanation about it . However, one old locksmith, in his 80s, in a small village- Akala [ 6 kms from Lathi, in Amreli district of Saurashtra] postulated a theory to decipher this puzzling title on these locks. I personally saw quite verity in it. Of course there be views which may vary from that!

But to interpret Maganbhai's theory, we need to go back to the final decade of Indian independence struggle, and understand the contrasting ways and means of two of the great heroes-Netaji Bose and Mahatma Gandhi- who were leading the freedom movement. Bose was elected president of the Indian National Congress for two consecutive terms but resigned prematurely from the post following the ideological conflicts with Mahatma Gandhi. Bose believed that Mahatma Gandhi's tactics of non-violence would never be sufficient to secure India's independence. He advocated violent resistance and established a separate political party-'All India Forward Bloc'- and continued to call for the full and immediate independence of India from the British rule. Of course he had lot of respect for Mahatma Gandhi, and used to cherish him as ‘patriot of patriots’. Netaji was the first to hail Gandhiji as the ‘Father of the Nation’; however his ideology was totally opposite of Gandhian philosophy of ‘non- violence’. During World War II, he founded Indian National Army and valiantly fought for the liberation of India from the British yoke. He is believed to have died on 18th August 1945, in a plane crash over Taiwan, which brought the fall and disintegration of this ‘Azad Hind Sena’. Netaji literally means ‘Respected Leader’ and is still remembered as one of the most revered politicians of modern India. His birth anniversary was celebrated just 3 days back on 23rd January.

One of my friends, Dr. Arvind Kothia, who runs hospital in Lathi , had organized my meeting with that veteran lock smith- Maganbhai Davda [Luhar]. When we reached Akala by a narrow dirt road, his whole family was there to welcome us.He was a bit astonished to see a doctor like me having come all the way from Ahmedabad, and taking such a keen interest in the ancient art of lock-smithing . He generously gifted me one of the last pieces of ‘Chokidar’ locks he must have treasured for many years. He even presented me the rare copy of ‘British-Gazetter’ of 1930, in which there was a reference of 'Akala' as a trade centre famous for high quality ‘black-smithing’ in the then ‘Sorath’ of Western India. But for me -the most unexpected part was his pausible interpretation of ‘Jai Hind locks’, about which I did a casual mention. According to him-the families which believed in the ideology of Netaji Bose would use [or hang] these locks on their door frames. It was like the secret symbol or the cryptic code, to indicate to the other members of this ‘faith’, remaining oblivious to the eyes of the commoner. These revolutionaries or 'radical' ideologists wanted to hide from not only the Britishers but also from the 'satyagrahis' and the followers of non-violent movement. The explanation sounded quite dramatic. I could not confirm the exact period of manufacturing of these locks and whether they matched with early 50s- the active years of Azad Hind Sena. Unfortunately, we lack in documentation, and there are not many scholars who can endorse such speculations. However, I don't see any reason- not to accept this theory and the unusual function of these locks.

26th January-2008 [last year!]

Last year on the Republic Day, Manan, son of our friends- Relias- got married to Ishani. During this time , we had guests-Penny Melling [a puzzlist from London] and Nel Roberts [a journalist from Rhodes Island, USA]- and it was coordinated that they will attend and have the unique experience of the colourful and pompous Indian Wedding. Literally it turned out to be the highlight of their maiden trip to India. All those three days of the marriage functions,they wore Indian saris and decked themselves with traditional jewellary.They danced to the tunes of Bollywood music, ate Indian food with their fingers, squatted down for applying 'Mehandi' on their hands...and exchanged GREEEETINGS with me .... like this!

10.01~'A Date with Destiny'.

“Now, next time we must meet halfway between yours (sic) and my place”. I did not take these parting words very seriously when he left my home. Peter stays in Freiberg, Germany, where we had visited him once ,few years back.

But then, as things would have gone...

We met in Istanbul -- though not exactly halfway -- but then there could not have been a better location for our rendezvous. In the real sense East meets West here. It is called ‘Gateway to Europe’ since early ages, for the Silk Road starting from China, and passing through Northern India, ends there. The Grand Express, one of the oldest trains that connect major European cities, starts from Istanbul. Interestingly, one part of Istanbul [Constantinople of Byzantine times] is in Europe, and the rest falls in Asia.

For Peter that trip was quite nostalgic, as he was revisiting Istanbul after many years. He had booked a room for us in a 200 years old heritage hotel in Sultan Ahmet in one of the oldest parts of Istanbul, along the Marmara Sea. Actually it was a fisherman’s house that had been converted into this hotel. He took us around like a veteran local guide, showed us markets and houses in lanes and bylanes, made us try local food and drinks -- like Kebabs & Raki [aniseed flavored brew]. He introduced us to many small curio traders in Grand Bazaar, and also arranged a dinner with a top-notch art dealer at a roof café opposite Blue Mosque. He also took us to a few secret hide-outs, generally unknown to the first time traveler.

Sitting in Lale Puddings Shop, he ordered Baclava and Apple tea for us and started narrating an incident as if it had happened only the day before. He had kept it close to his heart for all these years. Istanbul, being so strategically positioned on the world map, has been one of the leading trade centers. However, it was notoriously famous for its smuggling and ‘drug’ market in the seventies and eighties. He said, “that was autumn of 1984. Turkey was not a rich country like other Middle East Muslim countries, where the ‘petro- dollars’ had started to show their shine”. He was just past his teens, and had driven down in some old German car from Stuttgart to deliver it in the ‘second hand’ market. He was left with just a few coins in his pocket. The Hippodrome locality used to be a big parking lot for trucks leaving for the Middle East and South Asia. In those days, Lale’s place used to be a small hotel, and also a meeting place for the truck drivers. In this same place, (where we were now sitting), he got acquainted with one such driver, who offered him free food in return for help in driving and maintenance of his vehicle. For him, it was an opportunity to visit many countries en route to Nepal, where they had to deliver the consignment. ['Was it any contraband?', – ‘That does not make any sense or difference at this stage’ was his brief reply.]

They reached Nepal, via Iran and Afghanistan, after 10 days. He decided not to return in that truck, but from there, he came to India and reached Goa. The ‘Hippy’ movement was all the rage at that time. He immediately fell for it and Goa became his home away from home. He lived the life of a ‘hippy’ for some years and visited many places in India. This opened up a large number of other avenues, created contacts and exposed him to Indian Art. Today, he is one of the most respected connoisseurs of oriental-metal-art in the world. Thus his very first hitch-hiking experience of 1984 changed his life forever. Though he now flies all around the world - by business class on ‘Lufthansa’ - these days, India is like his ‘Karmabhoomi’, he claims!

[Actually, this story was started as 'Interesting Istanbul'. However, I'm cutting it short here, and clubbing the above incident with another one- probably more 'interesting'.One can view few more pictures of 'Istanbul'- by clicking the following link.] http://picasaweb.google.com/drhirenshah/INTERESTINGISTANBUL?feat=directlink

On this day-25 years back!

Around the same time, another young man was on the threshold of transition from his student life. He had just earned his post graduate degree and was to join one of the institutes in Mumbai.

However fate had other things in store for him. His parents were in Karad (south of Pune), in Maharashtra, and were keen to see their son settle down in their home town of Ahmedabad. So his father took premature retirement and decided to move lock, stock and barrel to Ahmedabad. The huge load of household goods – accumulated over 17 years of stay in Karad -was planned to be transferred by road in a truck belonging to one of the family friends. After lots of debate, the young man was persuaded not to go to Mumbai but travel to Ahmedabad first in the truck. He was told that this would save the bother of packing and unpacking of the goods and at the same time help unloading of the vehicle at the destination. So, he and his friend (the owner of the transport company) clambered on that ‘lorry’ to set out for altogether a different journey. The route chosen was ‘Karad-Poladpur-Mahad-Thane-Bhiwandi-Ahmedabad’. which completely bypassed Mumbai. (It also meant avoiding the heavy traffic on the Pune-Mumbai highway and the dangerous steep curves on the Khandala Ghats). Little did he know that this would result in Mumbai being bypassed in the course of his future career also!!

Along with loads of house-hold goods, medical books and a stethoscope in the baggage, that young doctor reached Ahmedabad on the early morning of January 10 ,1984. 25 years back – exactly! 'The original plan was for the young man to leave for Mumbai immediately afterwards. But here too, Destiny had other ideas - he could not join the designated hospital in Mumbai within the stipulated time. So it turned out that his future was not to be framed in Mumbai. On the other hand, in yet another quirk of Fate, he found his future wife in the same year in Mumbai only.

For his parents, it was ‘homecoming’ in a real sense, as their home in ‘Thakor Park’ was built by themselves some 30 years ago. But for the young man, Ahmedabad was absolutely an alien world, and he was cursing that ‘truck travel’ and its destination for the first couple of years. The harder he tried to explore other places and possibilities for settling down for his career, the more he was stuck to this place. Probably, it was destined - that he reached his ‘karmabhumi’, riding on a truck.

Do I need to tell who was that doctor?

While talking to Peter, I recalled the above incident and realized that we not only share many similarities with common interests and hobbies, our ‘carrier’ to our ‘career’ is also common- the truck.

On this day-17 years back!

And while working on the exact dates of my reaching Ahmedabad, I got the most pleasant surprise of recent times. I realized that this particular date has a special rendezvous with Namita also, and of course me too again. We were blessed with twin sons-Shamol and Shanil, on the same date, 17 years ago- January 10, 1992.This date became the special milestone in our lives. For Namita, now a mother of ‘three’, it was the time to redefine her priorities, restructure her professional agenda, and reshape her career!.

Destiny is the dream that lies within all of us, for our desired and preferred future .It’s been said that our actions, our words, our attitudes, and our relationships- all lead to our destiny. But then is that all? There must be many more ‘uncontrolled’ factors, which also play an equally vital role to plan and fix that ‘date’ with the future. Otherwise how can one explain these strings of events where- luck ‘stuck’ via a truck, on the date which repeated to cast ‘twin shadows’, leaving even an atheist and nonbeliever- awestruck!

As all these thoughts came rushing to my mind, I decided to put them down in writing --- lest I forget these interesting parallels in our lives. Twenty five years may be a long time to escape from one’s memory, but then we remember and celebrate this ‘date with destiny’ every year, at least for last seventeen years! And, then this number 10.01 looks symmetrical and sounds auspicious too!!