Seldom in one's life one gets to witness the centenary of a city. We are on the threshold of this rare honour and privilege, as on 26th February, Ahmedabad celebrates its sixth centenary, since its founding in 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah.
Ahmedabad has been a city of living paradoxes. A city lived in heritage, where history is still alive as tradition. The architectural landscape of Ahmedabad stretches across the millennium.
Buildings from different eras coexist testifying the Indian phenomenon of adaptive assimilation. Nurtured by reveries as well as realities, the architecture has always remained an amalgamation of the deep rooted traditional values with the aspirations of changing times.
Sultanate architecture creatively fused the Hindu craftsmanship, trabeated construction techniques and local motifs with the Islamic plan geometry, pointed arches, domes and jalis.
The Jami Mosque (1424 AD) illustrates the fact with juxtapositions of Toran Kamaans and Kalash motifs. The roja complex at Sarkhej (1458 AD) is one of the finest demonstrations of campus planning where the religious, royal and social worlds co-existed. Carved stone grills of Islamic structures not only mitigate light and temperature but also help maintain privacy. The craftsmanship excels in the intricate filigree of Sidi Saiyad mosque (1573 AD).
The Shaking Minarets (1452 AD) remain an engineering feat unparalleled ever!
Another unique architectural typology with visual and engineering artistry is the step-wells. Pols are characterised by labyrinthine streets, flanked by densely packed four-storeyed row houses with internal courtyards and richly carved wooden facades. Imbibing the ethos of the place, the traditional houses create socially interactive, environmentally efficient and aesthetically enriching living neighbourhoods.
The overwhelming richness of wooden elements has left its imprints even in stone monuments. The tradition of combining local with the foreign blossomed during the colonial rule.
The pragmatism and progressive outlook of Ahmedabad's enterprising community brought home the best of international architecture in the post-independence era. Ahmedabad has proven to be a fertile ground for creative ideas to germinate. This architectural saga of constant upgradation and experimentation lives on in the works of contemporary Indian masters.
Ahmedabad has been a thriving urban centre enriched with arts and crafts along with the spirit of enterprise and experimentation.
An Urdu poet Siraz Hulvi in his poem describes that when Ahmedabad was founded the earth which had seven continents, found one whole continent added to it...Most historians have attributed Ahmedabad's architecture as the source of inspiration and the benchmark for higher standards for Shahjahan's architecture in Agra.
Truly, a city for the people, by the people and of the people. Ahmedabad had one of the first explorations of local self governance in 1833 when committee of citizens ran parallel developmental initiatives and continued to do so successfully for five decades thereafter.
Ahmedabad has had the sustained chain of individuals setting up an industry patronising the institutions. It is with this utter sense of gratitude and pride we salute the city and share the values and vitality it has imprinted in the sands of time.
