Old Ahmedabad

I went on the walking tour called the Ahmadabad Heritage Walk. We started in the old part of the city which I had yet to see at an incredible Mandir. The walk took us through old lanes, past people making kite string, beautiful old buildings with layers of history in their architecture. To me, the old parts of towns in Pakistan and India are the most fascinating. They may not have all the modern amenities, nor are they the best planned for modern traffic, but within that chaos is that unique identity of that city as a sort of living culture and history. Dead culture can be found in monuments, but to walk down a street and look up at hundreds of years of architecture in a single glance, with laundry hanging across jury rigged electrical and telephone wires with children playing and all kinds of people passing through is truly breathtaking, while dodging motorcycles, bicycles and cars. It's not all romantic. There's a lot of pain and misery too, but it is all fascinating and bursting with chaotic life.We went to a few Mandirs, including Jain Mandirs, walked past old city gates, and a street bard, old pigeon feeders, and all manner of activity before reaching the Jama Masjid there which is a beautiful combination of Jain Mandir architecture and mosque. On the way I saw two boys trying to set fire to a doll's head and a little girl sitting beside them. While there is a lot of poverty and misery, even within that there is a lot to learn and much to be curious about and enjoy. These naught kids were hilarious and got all shy when I asked them why they were burning the doll's head.Things were kind of tense in the city that day and we later learned that it was the anniversary of the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhia and the brutal massacre. Before knowing why things were so tense in town, we left the old city and went back to Manav Sadhana to join the wonderful people there.That night a bunch of us volunteers from outside Ahmadabad cooked food for the some of the volunteers from Ahmadabad who do this work every day. It was a beautiful evening. I was really exhausted from the many workshops, and yet I felt really satisfied as well. We cooked a few dishes and sat together and ate. After that I shared my short film "Gul (flower)" with the group and we all had a long and lively discussion afterward. I feel really grateful to all the insightful interpretations people have come away with. Each one is an insight into the viewer and their own life experiences. I could not ask for more.