My Ahmedabad walkathon adventures!!
I m writing almost after six months or so after visiting d place.I wanted to write as soon as I came back,but had to leave for an unofficial tour of 15 days.after which it was back to work session and I m the most laziest to pick up after such a long gap!!Honestly I wont lyk to pick up my notes during xams,cause again big gap of 12 months!!
It was a college trip,so no doubt ‘101 rules’,to break!!
A city which was familiar to me just for its soaring temperature until I watched a slide show presented by Ar.Yatin Pandya,few months before I left for trip made me excited to witness a ‘shifting culture’(its my term for a changing canvas in a city square which houses the livelihood of the ordinary city people)that makes it colourful,lively and a statement every second,that says ‘live on man!’.
Well I state it again!I gues minus temperature(ahem!it ws normal @ 38celcius!),it’s a place which any given day would say me,’live on’..
It was for a project work,on the top of it 10 days away from home,which definitely made my mind inevitably click d ‘Y’ key!Since quoting d exact date takes away d excitement(I ve forgotten and again I need to leave this in half to search!!)some night trip started with me standing near the door of our compartment till my parents vanished into the crowd.It was day1,since it was the perfect weather when I woke up after a sleep-in-train,I sum how managed to read chaduranga’s collection to end dat day!I read in sum story,its indeed irksome wen the writer describes every stone and street while describing a place.Lemme cut it short,n say dat I reached ahmedabad!
The true day1,revealed its real colors once I stepped out of my a.c.room,it ws beginning to rise by 27-35 by afternoon.but mornings are the best,cause except for the tweets,here I mean birds!The world sleeps in the bosom of silence,yes,indeed life starts on streets a li’l past 7.30a.m!Cause ahmedabad ppl know that stayin in India its our birth right to follow IST(indian standard timings!).I m an early riser(accidentally!).Staying in a 3 star hotel is really good uptil rooms,but when it cums to fud,its d typical English breakfast,which had I dared to eat would have been a sin,to b more precise,my mom says it wud b lyk,’bakasurana hottege are kaasina majjige!!”,for which I cumpltly agree wid my mom.Inevitably it made me step out of the room,at 6.45a.m and gave me a chance to explore a small part of d city.I started randomly and reached a square.It was a scene which was pretty familiar to me,a scene repeated as many times in our bollywood,hoard of pigeon,but its was a beautiful sight.
I was able to sight a small ‘kaka chai angdi’ and ordered for a chai,and enjoyed it sipping it in a cumpltly filmy style.But it was d stares dat wer made me gulp down chai soon n march!after all d main course was still remaining,On further enquiry I was led to a place cald,lucky;s restaurant,ate’ maska bun’,for what it is famous for, a restaurant that is built around graves,at least 22 bright green coloured tombs of various shapes and sizes exist in this restaurant perhaps the reaturant exists amidst these tombs!! Trunks of trees shoot right out of the ceiling.
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| gravy amidst graves!! |
Most singular experiences started happeningJ
Was yearning to hav a look at the new 5 n 10rs coins,perhaps,the owner gave me change almost evriday during my stay a new 10 n 5 rs coins!!
Wel,as an architecture student,and also as an interst as part of my other disastrous faculties viz,p.graphy and writing..if dey might b cald so provided me with immense pleasure.the teen darwaza area,r d main market area,was realy enchanting.buzzing with life,d love garden to be honest night-in-gal(z)e,the ppl of course..
Travelling in a 2nd class train to jumping into an autorikshaw at 11.30p.m,to bumping into a DGP whose face had a big question mark(I didn’t know whether it was an exclamation!!due to less light from the street light besides which he was standing with his fellowmen in search of his ‘celebrity guest’!! to stares and glares that accompanied me every morning on my walkathon to explore another canvas,the crazy encounters are endless that did add a dash of colour and spirit to my lifeJ
The early morning walkathon sessions(as early as 6.30a.m)did make my fellow claaasmates sharing my room think a li’l weird about me!!I guess it was unusual for them to go out in an unknown place alone and as early as that hour of a day!
I was determined however that a trip to a new place would definitely be incomplete without tasting exclusive local cuisine..n gujju food,I wud hav been a fool if I had not tasted it,besides I hav a sweet tooth..so indeed all conditions favoured me;)
So after bumping into the dgp,who of course was courteous to send his aide in finding me a gud restaurant near by,which of course turned out to be an all exclusive non vegetarian one!!at dat tym I dint hav much experience if I may daresay to sit with food explorers!!so made my way to a nearby store to ask for guidance,about a place where I can find exclusive gujju meals.n viola I found one amiable old man,who told me the names of 2 famous restaurants,but was some 2kms away from the place where I was put up,but it dint deter me the least.he also specifically tol me to ask for a particular sweet,pardon me of course I hav forgotten d name.@ 9.30pm, I did catch an auto,well if I wer to go I wud hav gone in a bus,but my roommates had gone out for shopping who told me dey l b back anytym!!n I had d key!!
So did catch an auto,did go to dose restaurants,to my utter shock dere except for unlimited meals u get nthng,but as I said earlier I was fixed on tasting gujrathi meal!!n yum wer d sweets,was worth cumin so far!!wen I was back to my hotel after a sumptuous meal I was for a shock to c my rum mates earlier dan me tasting ‘d roti’….
But still excitement was remaining for I was to attend the night city visit..a peculiar one..organised by some city group,2 times a day..since d morning one was over..d 11’o clock walk was remaining…a design walk..rather that would take us through the city streets,bazaar area,havelis,etc.,the best way to a exlore a city would hav been mine..had I got a few others(it was in the requirements list!!) to accompany me at 11pm which was a gud 4-5 kms away from my place.thats how I missed out on the real fun of exploration but never the less the walkathon sessions where really filled with enriching experiences, hearing about the city from my hotel watchmen to autodrivers,meeting young ladies with their faces covered to escape form tan(it was strange for ‘me’),to eating exclusive gujrathi meal and picking up a few lines of gujrathi.. J”khem che”
p.s:-phtography credits-my classmates!!;-)
