Experience behind the beautiful gates of Ahmedabad

Amidst the scorching sun, there are high walls to radiate and spread the sun rays over oneself. The diffused morning light gives freshness and warmth while the wind flowing through narrow lenses carries the pleasant vibes of welcoming everyone who comes here. Windows are half-broken, cracked and fragmented and most of the dusty doors are always closed and longing for their children who used to reside there to return. The hustle-bustle of children running around, uncles seating on otlas to discuss crucial issues of the world, aunties working in the courtyard but still conversating to their neighbors in loud voice and those lovebirds who talk in sign language from their balconies and all of those beautiful wooden carvings are mesmerizing everyone with their perfection. Yes, these are the pol houses in Ahmedabad and they have survived in the test of time as well as in keeping their rich culture alive.

Ahmedabad, also known as Amdavad, the city founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah in the 15th century was inscribed in the UNESCO heritage list in 2017. This is the story of when Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) decided to document all heritage listed structures in the pols and I was one of the privileged team members in doing so. Initially, everyone in the team was a little bit scared as well as doubtful about the family members, as we were new to Ahmedabad. There were lots of questions such as will these people welcome us? Will they allow us to document their houses? What will be their first reaction when we meet them? The first experience was quite of mixed emotions. Few of them got scared of us as we were representing AMC and they didn’t want to share their private spaces with any of the people who are associated with AMC. But unexpectedly there was the opposite type of people too who happened to welcome us as we were like their family members and treated us like one of them. They shared all their fascinating stories with us. I was mainly involved in the documentation project at multiple phases and each of the time I experienced a new sight, a new perspective and hospitality of the people who are living in the pol houses. In the beginning, it was new to the residents. They were unaware of this initiative and its benefits as some of them refused to cooperate with us at that time whereas many of them were excited to know about it and getting the documentation done. In such a situation, neighbors of the people who refused to cooperate tried to make them understand its importance and convince them for the documentation. Over time, residents of the pol getting aware of the documentation initiative and its benefits. 

During the next phase, people themselves called us and ask whether we would want to document their houses as well along with those which are on the heritage list. At that time we added some of the houses which were not on the heritage list to it. At this time the response was overwhelming. There was one lady name Pushpaben, who gave us homely vibes every time we visited her. We used to keep all our bags, stationery and cameras at her house and leave for our work from there. She involved us in every family event she celebrated during that time. In those beautiful moments, she told us that her house is our headquarter for this project. In the morning she would first make us come to her house for a nice cup of tea and then only let us start our daily documentation work. All of us considered this as our attendance programme. In the evening, she would again make us come there to confirm that we were present throughout the day and have tea before leaving, again. Such are some people one encounters once in a lifetime. Her humility and affection also endured an emotional layer in the documentation process. Even we use to have our lunch with her and it was overwhelming, all of us, sitting together sharing and eating food while doing the work we love the most. We saw the happiness on her face when she used to greet all of us. This is the hidden layer in heritage architecture. The emotional and nostalgic taste gets settled on the structure even after the people leave. 

In another house, an old lady was living by herself whose house would use to get all chirped up when we would come. Our presence not only did monitor the edifices but also used to bring some amount of happiness to the people who lived there. She treated us like her own grandchildren and told us stories of her childhood and the childhood of her children. It was an amazing and heartwarming experience to be with her for three days. 

Ahmedabad has rich cultural as well as architectural heritage. Pol houses, their lifestyle, culture, beliefs and their way of welcoming nature are the most unique and rare essence of an unembodied being. The pol houses indeed are those whose doors still welcome you. In all these days I learnt something vital. Something which my decades of reading books would not have taught me. I learnt what makes the structures so important to conserve them, it is the people who have and have had accommodated them. The people, their lives and their stories are carried forward by the structures they live in. This is why the pol houses were so special. Because they were the remnants of our strong cultural history.