-Excerpts from Aarya Chavda’s book ‘INTANGIBLE AHMEDABAD’, patronaged and published by UNESCO, in UNESCO Digital Library, supported by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad World Heritage City Trust Foundation.

India boasts diverse and dynamic societies where people of various cultures and backgrounds coexist and interact harmoniously, that creates a rich tapestry of its intangible culture. As a result, India’s cultural heritage has become one of the most diverse, in the world.

“Inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as India’s first World Heritage City in 2017, the walled city of Ahmedabad has a rich history of cultural heritage. Beyond the architectural elements which represent the culture of Ahmedabad, the city also has various intangible cultural heritage traditions which are manifestations and expressions of its diverse ethnic communities.”                                                        

-mentioned by Mr Eric Falt, former Director and UNESCO Representative to India, as a part of the Foreword from Aarya Chavda’s 4^th book, ‘INTANGIBLE AHMEDABAD’.

Characterized by its many religions, languages, and customs, Ahmedabad possesses a flourishing and multifaceted society which thrives on in believing in ‘unity in diversity’ and cultural dynamism. Our city is a place that has stories to tell about its culture, architecture along with its famous legends. Ahmedabad was first found on the banks of Sabarmati River, six hundred years ago, by Sultan Ahmed Shah who shaped the city’s identity by encouraging the confluence of Hinduism, Jainism, and Islam in both, architecture and art. The monumental sites inflect heritage beyond its physical form, into intangible culture that has been rooted in our Ahmedabad’s layered history. In the early eleventh century, Ahmedabad was first known as Ashaval, an established trade centre ruled by the bhil chief. A few years later, The Solanki king Karnadev defeated the bhils and built a settlement known as Karnavati. More than three centuries later, Sultan Ahmed Shah, the son of Zafar khan who was the founder of Sultanate dynasty, came to hunt on the banks of Sabarmati River. Legends say that the Sultan, while cantering on his horse, saw a hare chasing a hound. This incident left a very astonishing impact

on him, which later convinced him to look at this place with a complete different angle. Later in 1411 AD he rebuilt the entire city and named it “Ahmedabad.”

The intangible influence of Teen Darwaza- The eternal diya at Teen Darwaza is of a great significance. It is believed that Sultan Ahmed Shah had performed a yagna near Teen Darwaza for the wellbeing of the citizens. The flame of the lamp which the Badshah lit in a small recess of the wall is still afire till date dedicated to Goddess Laxmi for the prosperity of our city. A muslim family since last six decades consider as their inherited family duty to keep the ‘Lamp of Hope’ lightened forever.

Historic pols of Ahmedabad- The old walled city is full of surprises and quirks like the pols. The 5.5 km wide walled city of Ahmedabad, with people living in centuries old wooden residences in around 600 Pols, is regarded as the city’s intangible, living heritage. It demonstrates Ahmadabad’s significant contribution to cultural traditions, to arts and crafts, to the design of and to its links with myths and symbolism. Pols comprise of many families of a particular group linked by caste, profession or religion. These famed pol houses of this city are recognized for their historical character, environmentally sustainable architecture, socially interactive places that exclusively make the city, a testimony to both intangible and tangible culture. Prominent pols also contain several elements of a typical Pol including a Mohalla Mata (patron goddess) a chowk or an open space, a community well along with a notice board. At present, there are about 60,000 houses in six hundred Pols of Ahmedabad.

Chabutra and Gokhla – A Chabutra is a stone or a wooden tower with artistic canopy over it, constructed to feed birds. Chabutra are unique in Hindu folk architecture, and people, especially the ladies of the Pol consider it to be auspicious to feed birds such as sparrows and parrots. Meanwhile gokhla were made for birds, like parrots, to sit peacefully for a long time while swallowing or pecking their seeds. Even chabutra and gokhla are a significant part of Ahmedabad’s living, intangible heritage, comprising of architectural elements that are specifically beneficial for the biodiversity in the Pols. Not just living in the Pol, but the intangible cultural environment itself of the Pol, signifies true spirit of co-existence and harmony, not just between communities, but also towards animals and birds.

Savouring Gujarati Farsan- Most Amdavadis, nurture deep desire for farsaans like gathia, fafda, jalebi and many more savouries. Other favourites are dhokla, gota and dabeli which we munch on, especially during festive season. Fafda is a crunchy, fried gram flour snack, while jalebi is a sweet deep fried pretzel made of wheat flour and dipped in sugar syrup. Gathia is a popular tea time snack primarily made of gram flour, while Handvo is a traditional savoury cake prepared in a batter of lentils and rice. Apart from these dishes are the dhoklas, which are the tasty and healthy steamed sponge snack made from freshly grounded lentils and chickpea flour.

Stunning embroidery on typical hand dyed cotton cloth is also an integral part of

Ahmedabad’s cultural identity. Needlework such as beadwork and applique are important elements which women living in Pols, string their passion for. Elegant images of flowers, divine figures, animals and birds are included in traditional embroidery and beadwork for making ‘toran’ and ‘chakda’ which were suspended over main entrances for decorative purpose and to attract positive energies.

Mata ni Pachhedi- The making of these unique hand paintings with natural dye colours on cloth is known as ‘Mata ni Pacchedi’ which also means behind the goddess and is a cloth that makes up a temple of the goddess, with the mother goddess, dominating the central area of the design, in her mighty form, surrounded by deities and commoners worshipping her. This art is nearly 300 years old which is made by the nomadic community known as Devipujaks. Mata ni Pacchedi also known as Kalamkari of Gujarat is similar to Kalamkari of Southern India and also because it is painted with kalam made of bamboo sticks. Another form of art on fabric done here is block making and printing. Nearly two centuries ago, a block making trade thrived in the village of Pethapur. Master artisans living here used to transform teak wood into design blocks used for hand printing on textiles. These blocks ranged in different shapes and sizes took a span of one day to one week to complete them.

Celebrations of Navratri– Navratri is the festival of worshipping Goddess Durga. This festival is pompously celebrated by dancing for nine nights. It is considered as world’s longest dance festival. One can observe the youthful spirit with full bloom, dancing to the tune of the drum beats. Another beautiful aspect of celebrating this festival is the excitement of young women wearing different and colourful chaniya-choli, silk saris embroidered in different colours and designs every nine nights of Navratri. A traditional Gujarati three piece outfit comprising a choli or a blouse, a chaniya, which is a long flared skirt and an embellished stole or a dupatta, is worn by the women, during the festival nights. Sheri Garba is a dance form originated in Gujarat, performed during Navratri. It is usually performed in a circle around a big lamp or the statue of Goddess Durga. The tenth day of Navratri is celebrated as Dussehra, in the honour of the victory of Lord Ram over Ravana. As a part of the preparation for the festival, people, especially the children of the pol model statuettes of Goddess Durga made from clay mud and cow dung, called Mohalla Mata – meaning a street goddess. In Navratri the entrances of most Pols are guarded by the goddess to protect the Pol against an evil eye and keep the Pol people safe during the religious festival.

Apart from Navratri, other festivals like Moharrum, Holi, and Janmasthami are celebrated in the city with great fervour and pleasure. As a token of reverence to Hindu lord Krishna, Balram and their sister Subhadra, a chariot procession sweeps through the alleys of Ahmedabad on the auspicious day of Ashadi Beej.Every year during the day of Ashadi beej, Amadavadis welcome Lord Jagannath to bless us. Thousands of followers take part in a day long procession of Rath Yatra, where God’s chariots are led through the fixed route of the walled city and its outskirts. Many groups sing devotional songs and the musical bands accompany The Rath Yatra, for the eight to ten hours to cover the distance of twenty kilometres through the fixed route. The citizens of Ahmedabad consider this day to be very auspicious.

The kite festival- This festival actually has many names including Makar Sankranti in Gujarat. These couples of days are celebrated to rejoice the end of winter season and a start to the warm summer season. Every family, from dawn to dusk, can be seen on the roof tops with loud music and colorful kites competing with each other. This festival is celebrated for two days and the number of kites flying in the sky of Ahmedabad is more than anywhere in the world.

By capturing centuries of melding traditions, cultural truths and aspirations that reflect to its rich culture and transcend regional boundaries, embracing Ahmedabad’s diverse yet rich intangible culture develops a sense of being a part of a larger story and connects our past to the present to build a platform for a sustainable future.

Ahmedabad’s intangible identity not only reverberates a stronger sense of belonging which enables its people to situate themselves in the context of the place they co-inhabit, but also shapes our identity, and from where our feet stand first, in our local land and environment. Therefore, it is equally important to focus on the aspect of our intangible culture, along with our country’s symbolical monuments. The youth, who are the torch bearers for a better future, share the duty to preserve not only our monumental  heritage but also to restore and value our diverse intangible cultural heritage by preserving our rich historical past and passing it forward for a better future. Nowadays the youth has begun contributing by its innovative offerings and new sustainable solutions for public community spaces in the walled city, to pay tribute to our city’s prosperous heritage. This ensures the exposure of youth to traditional cultural values, and local way of life, in their own surroundings, so that all can come and connect with tangible and intangible culture of our city, to experience the true beauty of Ahmedabad.