21 Jan 2018

The mosques of Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Ahmedabad ~ the fifth most populous city in India, brings a lot of images to mind hearing upon its name. The riverfront, Gandhi ashram, Cotton and One of the selected Smart City which is on a fast track to development and infrastructure. But apart from all the modernity Amdavad is 600 Year old, brimming with history and monuments to prove it. The one thing which no one can miss in the city, is the sheer number of mosques in and around, yet there is not much focus on them as they are seen as religious places instead of their true nature, the unparalleled Brilliance of their architecture and Beauty! And we wanted to bring that out and shift the focus to them as they stand as the true witnesses of the city’s abundance of history and culture.

We set off in the morning into the city and the first mosque we came across was the Sidi Saiyyid ni jali. The quaint little 16th century mosque looks very simple from the exterior. Inside ten beautiful stone lattice work windows sit atop of each wall including the infamous inspiration for the IIM A’s logo, a very intricately carved Tree. As we finish up we were quite surprised to realize that there was an engagement ceremony about to happen, and one of the family member who was watching us for a while lovingly invited us to stay back, and even gave us a gift bag after the ceremony.

After that we walked past Manek chowk and Teen Darwaza towards the Jami masjid, which means Friday Mosque. The Yellow sandstone mosque was built to be the centre of Geographical layout and social life of the newly built capital city of Ahmedabad in the 14th century. As we walked past the narrow but very busy market we felt as if we were transported to a different time, It was truly an Indian Bazaar! It took a while and the help of google for us to find the small entrance to the mosque, and as soon as we entered, the vast white-marbled courtyard with just a water tank in the middle made us realize that we are in front of a spectacular beauty.

The mosque stands in one end of the courtyard with two hundred and sixty pillars and fifteen domes and it was a stunning display of Indo- islamic architecture. It was built by using the rescued materials from demolished hindu and jain temples. It is considered one of the most beautiful mosques in the east and to be one the most imposing structures of its class in the world. The entire structure is planned in a way that the light reaches inside through the jalis(Windows) but not directly. It was an amazing example of the brilliance of old world architecture.

Visiting Ahmedabad and not experiencing the shaking Minarets would be unimaginable! So we set out to find the Sidi Bashir Mosque in the Kalupur region near the Railway station. Only the minarets survived and still standing. Due to the unique and clever construction, if you shake one minaret, you can feel the vibration in the other minaret too. Though it was pretty desolate with less people, the surviving Minarets were the proof of how beautiful the entire mosque would have been. It was filled with unique and very elaborately carved designs. This was said to be built by a slave of Sultan Ahmed Shah some six centuries ago.

We had no idea how time passed and before we realized the evening dawned on us. We got into an auto and reached another beauty built by the master of Sidi bashir, none other than the Sultan Ahmed Shah for his personal use in 1414. We reached in time for the last prayer of the day before the place closes. More than the grandeur what stood out was the architectural aspect of the mosque. It was truly unique as the external it looked minimum and bare but on the inside, it had the visible traces of Hindu architectural influence such as emblems and pillar sculptures, and even in the way it was built. Nonetheless it was a sight to withhold at Night lights as the yellow sandstone was glowing!

The whole day was fascinating as the city is littered with mosques which are not only ancient but architecturally and physically stunning pieces of art. In a way the mosques stands as a testament of what the Historic city of Amdavad would have been like in its glorious past. As an addition to the mosques, the people were equally amazing to the strangers that we were who did not even speak their language. RIght from auto drivers to the people who lived in and around the mosques everywhere we went, we were met with some very kind people who took their time to explain about the place and the practices. We started the day with no idea of what kind day we were going to have but ended up truly overwhelmed by the inner and outer Beauty of the city. The best part is that the day made us realize that there is still a lot more places to explore, within the city’s narrow streets with some amazing stories and a lot of kind people.