2nd IFSAH 2003 & International Symposium on Asian Heritage 22 August to 10 September 2003

Organised by : Urban Design and Conservation Research Unit (UDCRU) : Faculty of Built Environment : UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
Paper No.10: The Indian Experience
areas of the city should be looked upon as assets rather than as liabilities because they represent the history of communities and culture through architecture and the urban form.

THE HERITAGE WALK EXPERIENCE OF THE OLD WALLED CITY OF AHMEDABAD Experience of Volunteer Guide
by

Historic City of Ahmedabad

History of Ahmedabad is around 5000 years old when the town was known as Ashaval and Karnawati. King Ahmed Shah developed the present city of Ahmedabad in 1411 on the Western bank of Sabarmati River. Since then many developments have taken place in the city. In 1582 A.D the fort wall was built. After independence there was residential growth in the city. With its ever-increasing population, many multi-storied apartments, big havelis, and many high-rise buildings have come up in Ahmedabad.

CHANDRASHEKHAR SOLANKI
Administrative Coordinator, Heritage Walk Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

Architectural & Cultural importance

The physical form of the walled city is organic, with narrow streets and neighbourhoods. There are twelve gates in city, with 6000 Pols approximately and around 65,000 properties, which include streets, pols, Jain temples, traditional shops, and any other things. Pol is a term derived from a Sanskrit word Pratoli which means a gate or entry. Just presently, the walled city faced heavy through traffic, congestion and high commercial ingress leading to lack of infrastructure and services etc. With these problems, the traditional environment started decaying, due to neglect and ignorance towards the traditional heritage.

Introduction
Most of Indian cities with a long history have at their historic core areas of strong architectural and urban character. There is life, wealth, tradition and culture, which have remained consistent over the years. However the inner city has its own growth, which is neither guided nor controlled. The personality and character of city is not found in a day or a year or even a decade. It is in fact, an evident of its own growth with its unique tradition and heritage culture. Old buildings and old

Paper No.10: Chandrashekhar Solanki: Ahmedabad Heritage Walk

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2nd IFSAH 2003 & International Symposium on Asian Heritage 22 August to 10 September 2003
Organised by : Urban Design and Conservation Research Unit (UDCRU) : Faculty of Built Environment : UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
The climate of the city is hot, dry and some times humid. Due to these temperature conditions, the houses were built with narrow winding streets, with two or three stores and central courtyards to assure good airflow. In many Pols houses, there are underground tanks to collect rainwater at the time of rainy seasons - based on the rainwater harvesting system. Also, having underground tanks lowered the temperature of the house and it remained cool during the hot summer days.

Ahmedabad Experience
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation & CRUTA Foundation had jointly started a project known as Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad. They aimed at bringing out the rich Historical, Cultural and Architectural heritage of the city, well entrenched in monuments reflecting its Hindu and Muslim culture, to the local citizens as well as the whole country. Being a part of Heritage Walk, as a Volunteer, has been great pleasure and a wonderful experience for me. I have really got the opportunity to show the city to people. I had joined Heritage Walk in 1999 and I am associated with it till this date. All this while people have appreciated the Heritage Walk & through it they can really understand and realize the value of the traditional heritage. In the Heritage Walk there are many wood carved houses, big havelis, Jain temples with marbles and sand stones of different styles that one can admire from the walk.

Present Stage of the Heritage of the City

Lack of awareness: People are not much aware of their own city. Most of them have no understanding of the rich heritage they have within their own city. Actually the city has become too familiar for them to notice anything extraordinary about it. They pass by beautiful heritage buildings everyday in a hurry to reach their offices or schools and hardly ever notice them. The ever-increasing commercialisation in the core areas of our cities is another reason for the decay of the rich traditional architecture of the cities. People are moving out of the old cities because of lack of services and heavy congestion. In Ahmedabad, the walled city experiences similar circumstances. People have shifted to the relatively modern developments. But still one thing remains good. There are many families who initially lived in traditional pol houses and who now have shifted to other areas are beginning to appreciate their former properties. These families still possess traditional houses in the walled city and may be willing to restore them for proper usage. Many families are also getting their buildings restored with the help of Ahmedabad Municipal Councils efforts.

Heritage Walk Promotes Tourism

Due to the Heritage Walk of the walled city, more tourists and citizens would be able to understand and appreciate the area. This can also promote heritage tourism for the city. In Ahmedabad there are many places to see, like Museum, Mosque, Temples and many other things, but the people has not seen the inner city. By this Heritage Walk people will know Ahmedabad by walking into pols, narrow lanes, looking at the carved wooden facades of the houses, and appreciate their traditional architecture. The walk is designed to accommodate the history of the city and the life of common people living in it and it has becomes a real opportunity for

Paper No.10: Chandrashekhar Solanki: Ahmedabad Heritage Walk

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2nd IFSAH 2003 & International Symposium on Asian Heritage 22 August to 10 September 2003
Organised by : Urban Design and Conservation Research Unit (UDCRU) : Faculty of Built Environment : UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
visitors to experience the place. Heritage walk has evidently emerged as a successful tool in promoting tourism for the city of Ahmedabad. It is used as the means to generate interests and involvements of the local community in the urban conservation activity. It plays an important role for the development of history and character of the city. It shares the concerns and builds up partnerships with people, communities and representatives of the city. It promotes celebration of many functions like the Pol Day, own traditional street theatre known as Bhavai, etc. The local people also take interest in talking to the visitors, about their own experiences. traditional built forms, elevating architecture and related features. New generation children had not seen the old city. With this Heritage Walk the children go through the old city lanes and streets and are exposed to the life styles in the traditional areas and houses. The walk actually plays an important role for the children. They asked many questions related to the city, which indicated their inquisitive nature and attitude. In the walk there is Kavi Dalpatram Memorial in Lambeshwar-in-Pol, Kalupur which was built with a collaboration of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Shri Swaminarayan Temple, Kalupur. Everybody who takes the walk appreciates the efforts at the Dalpatram memorial. The children took photographs with Kavi Dalpatram Statue and were thrilled to see such a place in the old city area. That space is now being used for performances of the traditional street theatre locally termed as 'Bhavai'. Citizens and visitor have also appreciated the walk very much. They also thank Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and CRUTA Foundation for the efforts to make them aware of their heritage by showing the city to the people. Many visitors have given different and wonderful suggestions for the further development of such a program. T.V. and Press media has also taken interest for publishing the Heritage Walk. They also made a walk as interesting subject as for heritage issues and to become a part of Citizens life. One of the most important facts is that it is a matter of real pride that the Heritage Walk in Ahmedabad, has been taken up as a daily venture. Even cities like Jaipur and Jaisalmer etc. do not hold the walks daily. This is a matter of real importance, and one should indicate that publicity has played an important role in the sustenance of the process.

My Experiences of the Heritage Walk

As a part of Heritage Walk Volunteer it was a great opportunity for me to show the city to the people. Before joining the Heritage Walk as a volunteer, I did not even know the city so well, but now my perspective and view of the city has totally changed. Through it I have really understood and realized the value of heritage. For the last so many years I have got many wonderful experiences, I have taken around hundreds of people for the walk through the winding lanes of the old city, witnessing culture and traditions. Many school children, tourists, artists, professionals have taken part in the Heritage Walk with me. Taking a walk with all these groups has been a very different experience each time. All these groups were interested in different issues while taking the walk and were asking questions related to it. This indicated the variety of people one had to cater to. The artists are more interested in the art forms and colour combinations. Similarly, architects are more interested in the

Paper No.10: Chandrashekhar Solanki: Ahmedabad Heritage Walk

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