Atleast that's what I thought until last year when I traveled to Ahmedabad only on day-long business trips, returning to the comfort of Mumbai's chaos by the evening. I didn't particularly like what I saw - Ahmedabad was every bit the stuck-in-the-middle Indian city that I thought it to be. This year when I got the opportunity to spend sometime getting to know Ahmedabad past my office hours is when I realised that, well, I was wrong.
Ahmedabad has it's share of gooodies and can be interesting if only we have the time and the inclination to scratch beneath the surface and look beyond. So here I put down a few things that are absolute must-do's in Ahmedabad if you have a few hours to spare.
1. Vishala - A rustic experience in the middle of the city, Vishala takes you by surprise. It is remarkably unpretentious,does not overtly peddle rural India and offers you some lipsmacking Gujarati fair on a brass plate! While you are there, they will entertain you with puppet shows, folk music and dances in addition to the fortune teller, swings and merry go around - usual fare that you might find in a village.There also some stalls with handicrafts you can purchase, and if you really wanna know what's been cooking in India all these years - do visit their small but charming utensil museum - which ends up making a Vishala an entire plateful :)
2. Law Garden- The Janpath of Ahmedabad so to say, Law Garden is a bright and colourful streetside stretch where you can buy homegrown Gujarati handicrafts and clothes. This is the place to go if you want to lay your hands on economical but fabulously pretty chaniya cholis, mirror work kurtis, hand embroided borders, Kutchi embroidery patches etc. You can even pick up hand embroided cushion covers, bedsheets, saris from this place. And yeah, while you are shopping here, be prepared to haggle your head off. No, really. I bought 2 handembroided, mirrorwork bedsheets for a brilliant price of 550. Can you beat that??
3. Swati Snacks - One of those legendary eating places that any Ahmedabadi worth his salt would swear by, Swati Snacks is located in Law Garden too. Finger licking good 'farsaan' is what you can get here - Pankhi is one of the popular dishes, so are the bhelpuris, sevpuri, khaman dhokla, khandvi etc being the other usual suspects. And oh yeah - there is also a Green Tea Icecream
4. Agashiye at MG House - Located in the old city of Ahmedabad, Agashiye is the inhouse restaurant @ Mangaldas Girdhardas House (MG House as popularly known), which claims to be the only heritage boutique resort in Ahmedabad. Agashiye, which means 'terrace' in Gujarati is an alfresco dining option in Ahmedabad that you have to sample. Here they serve you the most amazing Gujarati Thali in a style so traditional that it take you back to the good ole Gujju hospitality of yore. The spread is huge and they keep serving you till you threaten to burst at the seam. The service is polite and this is one of the premier places for fine Gujarati dining in the city.
5. Sabarmati Ashram - No trip to Ahmedabad will be complete without a visit to a site dedicated to it's Prodigal Son - Mahatma Gandhi, hence a trip to Sabarmati Ashram is a given. Located on the banks of the river Sabarmati, the Ashram is a tribute to the Father of the Nation. It is a green and peaceful haven which transports you back to the days when Gandhi might have walked its length and breadth. The museum located in the Ashram is an awe-inspiring experience - a similar feeling of hair raising pride in my counntry that I felt when I visited the infamous 'Kaala Pani' jail in Port Blair. Without their sacrifices, I probably wouldn't have had half the priveleged I have had so far!
So if you are in Ahmedabad, with a few hours to spare do try and include any of these awesome places in your itinerary - you will be pleasantly surprised with the simplicity that Ahmedabad still nurtures within a glitzy, shiny facade.
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