First Visit to Ahmedabad
In April, I was residing in Ahmedabad inside IIM A campus for a couple of days. Wonder why!! Trying my luck to get an admission in IIM? Yes and No, yes for applying in one of its program and no for not being serious about it. Nevertheless, I managed to get a leisure trip in and around Ahmedabad. One additional and crucial advantage was the stay in the hostel of IIM A and experience of the life@IIM A for a brief period.
First day, I landed in Ahmedabad and went to have a heritage walk around the city. I started with Sidi Saiyeed ki Jali which is a very famous mosque in Ahmedabad. I stayed there for a while and tried to appreciate the equisite carvings in the net. Then proceeded towards Swaminarayan temple. The temple is built by the Swaminarayan sect. It attracts large number of devotees from Gujarat. The ostentatious design of walls and gates gives this temple a very affluent look. Also, there is huge ornamentation of figures of deities especially Swaminarayan Bhagvan. Swaminarayan Bhagvan used to stay at this location. From there, I moved to Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad which is less than a km away from the main food square of Ahmedabad, Manek Chowk. Jama Masjid has a huge complex and a large sitting area outside the dome. One can sit inside the dome to meditate and feel the spiritual atmosphere. Next, I visited Kankaria lake in the evening. There is a toy train ride on offer around the lake. This lake is a famous hangout spot for the locals and also a must site for the tourist coming from outside. Although I must confess, living nearby marine drive for almost a year, one does become less excited about lakes and the beautification around. Though I enjoyed the toy train ride and the loud Bollywood music of 80's which was being played nearby by an old uncle's gang.
Second day, I straight away reached Sabarmati ashram. The ashram was the abode of Gandhiji after his return from South Africa. He built the ashram on the bank of Sabarmati river. The ashram complex has the huts of Vinoba Bhave, Meeraben and Gandhiji and Kasturba. There is a museum and a book library inside the complex. The museum chronicles the life of this great person from his journey as a child to his becoming a Mahatma. There are many pictures and letters on display along with numerous quotes by Gandhiji or on Gandhiji said by famous personalities around the globe. Replica of the famous charkha made famous by Gandhiji was on sale in the memorabilia section inside the museum. Around 7-8 km away from the ashram is the museum of another great Gujarati, freedom fighter and India's first home minister, Sardar Patel. Sardar Patel museum had numerous sections from his eventful life e.g. Borsad struggle, Bardoli Satyagraha, Ahmadabad Municipality stint as an administrator, India's first home minister and the role in unification of India by merging 542 princely states. Apart from that, museum hosts a 3-D section and film auditorium to showcase the life of Sardar Patel. Next stop after museum was Adalaj ki Vav: a beautiful stepwell which is 5 stories in depth. All and all, the whole day flew so quickly because of the various sight seeing options. By 5 o' clock I reached back in IIM A campus and afterwards most of the time was spent reading in the library.
Third day, I started early in the morning at around 9 o'clock, did breakfast in the campus and headed towards Gujarat science city. GSC opens at 10:30 and I reached half an hour early. I started from Hall of science. Different models were put there to showcase various scientific phenomenon e.g. Light, Sound, Motion, Energy, Space, etc. to visitors. I particularly enjoyed their space section where they provided a motion simulator ride christened as Mission to mars which landed the observers in to one of the gallery where information about planet Mars was in abundance. Second stop I made was in Imax theater where the Hubble documentary was shown. The Imax screen and the documentary on its own became the most mesmerizing experience in the GSC for me. Thoroughly satisfied and drained out after the movie , I went next to Planet earth section. Planet earth module hosts a number of sections from Agriculture to Energy to Biology to Geography to what not. It took me 2-3 hours to cover all the sections; some covering in full details and I must say some in bit haste without covering fully.
In conclusion, after 3 days of sight seeing I am impressed by Ahmedabad, its rich cultural heritage, modern institutes and public sights. It is a must visit in the itinerary of every travel enthusiast.
PS: I was not selected in the program for which I applied. (Not news though..!!)
In April, I was residing in Ahmedabad inside IIM A campus for a couple of days. Wonder why!! Trying my luck to get an admission in IIM? Yes and No, yes for applying in one of its program and no for not being serious about it. Nevertheless, I managed to get a leisure trip in and around Ahmedabad. One additional and crucial advantage was the stay in the hostel of IIM A and experience of the life@IIM A for a brief period.
First day, I landed in Ahmedabad and went to have a heritage walk around the city. I started with Sidi Saiyeed ki Jali which is a very famous mosque in Ahmedabad. I stayed there for a while and tried to appreciate the equisite carvings in the net. Then proceeded towards Swaminarayan temple. The temple is built by the Swaminarayan sect. It attracts large number of devotees from Gujarat. The ostentatious design of walls and gates gives this temple a very affluent look. Also, there is huge ornamentation of figures of deities especially Swaminarayan Bhagvan. Swaminarayan Bhagvan used to stay at this location. From there, I moved to Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad which is less than a km away from the main food square of Ahmedabad, Manek Chowk. Jama Masjid has a huge complex and a large sitting area outside the dome. One can sit inside the dome to meditate and feel the spiritual atmosphere. Next, I visited Kankaria lake in the evening. There is a toy train ride on offer around the lake. This lake is a famous hangout spot for the locals and also a must site for the tourist coming from outside. Although I must confess, living nearby marine drive for almost a year, one does become less excited about lakes and the beautification around. Though I enjoyed the toy train ride and the loud Bollywood music of 80's which was being played nearby by an old uncle's gang.
Second day, I straight away reached Sabarmati ashram. The ashram was the abode of Gandhiji after his return from South Africa. He built the ashram on the bank of Sabarmati river. The ashram complex has the huts of Vinoba Bhave, Meeraben and Gandhiji and Kasturba. There is a museum and a book library inside the complex. The museum chronicles the life of this great person from his journey as a child to his becoming a Mahatma. There are many pictures and letters on display along with numerous quotes by Gandhiji or on Gandhiji said by famous personalities around the globe. Replica of the famous charkha made famous by Gandhiji was on sale in the memorabilia section inside the museum. Around 7-8 km away from the ashram is the museum of another great Gujarati, freedom fighter and India's first home minister, Sardar Patel. Sardar Patel museum had numerous sections from his eventful life e.g. Borsad struggle, Bardoli Satyagraha, Ahmadabad Municipality stint as an administrator, India's first home minister and the role in unification of India by merging 542 princely states. Apart from that, museum hosts a 3-D section and film auditorium to showcase the life of Sardar Patel. Next stop after museum was Adalaj ki Vav: a beautiful stepwell which is 5 stories in depth. All and all, the whole day flew so quickly because of the various sight seeing options. By 5 o' clock I reached back in IIM A campus and afterwards most of the time was spent reading in the library.
Third day, I started early in the morning at around 9 o'clock, did breakfast in the campus and headed towards Gujarat science city. GSC opens at 10:30 and I reached half an hour early. I started from Hall of science. Different models were put there to showcase various scientific phenomenon e.g. Light, Sound, Motion, Energy, Space, etc. to visitors. I particularly enjoyed their space section where they provided a motion simulator ride christened as Mission to mars which landed the observers in to one of the gallery where information about planet Mars was in abundance. Second stop I made was in Imax theater where the Hubble documentary was shown. The Imax screen and the documentary on its own became the most mesmerizing experience in the GSC for me. Thoroughly satisfied and drained out after the movie , I went next to Planet earth section. Planet earth module hosts a number of sections from Agriculture to Energy to Biology to Geography to what not. It took me 2-3 hours to cover all the sections; some covering in full details and I must say some in bit haste without covering fully.
In conclusion, after 3 days of sight seeing I am impressed by Ahmedabad, its rich cultural heritage, modern institutes and public sights. It is a must visit in the itinerary of every travel enthusiast.
PS: I was not selected in the program for which I applied. (Not news though..!!)
