Kuch din toh guzaro Gujarat mein....

We left Mumbai at 05:00 hrs on 23rd Oct'2014 not knowing where to go. As we were nearing the WEH, we decided to head North towards Ahmedabad.

 

We stopped for a quick break fast at one of the many road side joints on the high way after Surat and moved on towards Ahmedabad. 

The Vadodara - Ahmedabad Expressway (Mahatma Gandhi Expressway or National Expressway 1) was a brilliant drive.

A 6 lane expressway, driving was a sheer pleasure. Resisting temptation to drive beyond 100 / 120 kmph, we reached Ahmedabad around 12:30 pm.

Have you ever been surrounded by white cars ranging from Ambassadors to Jaguars with BMW's and Merc's zipping past you at break neck speeds on either sides of the road?

This is how we were greeted - a stark contrast in our jet black Duster, in the Prime Minister's home land - Gujarat.

We were hungry and wanted to eat authentic Gujarati food. We called up a friend who guided us to a place called "Ame Gujarati" on Judges Bungalow Road. We had a sickly (!) sweet, sumptuous Gujarati thali (they were thoughtful enough to not serve me any dairy related stuff) and then we decided to check in to the 1st good hotel we could find.

On Judges Bungalow road, we enquired at Hotel Suba Star and fortunately the rates were discounted due to Diwali, so we stayed the night at Ahmedabad.

That evening we explored the Sabarmati river front at Ahmedabad. Well designed, neatly planned for families to spend their evenings - the best part being no food stalls so almost no littering.

Sabarmati Ashram across the other side

Differently lit

Bridge over the Sabarmati

Lights in the dark

The next morning (24th Oct'2014) we decided to head out towards Patan to see "Rani ki Vav".

Did you know that the "Tropic of Cancer" passes through the route from Ahmedabad to Mehsana near Kadi. I could not stop to click a picture at the exact point due to high speed, highway driving:(

I had heard about "Rani ki Vav" earlier and of course Mr.Bachchan is quite popular on the radio. His promotion of the state of Gujarat piqued our interest and we headed out towards this ancient heritage site.

It was an extremely hot morning for late Oct. Despite the heat, we were in for a complete stupefied surprise when we reached the place. Nothing had prepared us for the grand scale of the "Vav".

"Vav" means "well" in Gujarati and we were well (ahem!) Wowed!!

The step well of Patan built by Rani Udayamati (wife of Solanki dynasty king - Raja Bhimdeva - I) was an architectural magnificence. What is seen above looks diminutive but the enormity of the well is to be experienced.

The actual well is towards the far side of the image (with the longer wall).

Few images below

The intricate carvings on the walls of the well, the sheer depth of the entire well, the columned structure as we descend into the well.....I can't talk enough about the beauty of this place.

Reminds me of an Aztec monument

Can you imagine a well to be so beautiful, so magnifique!!

View from the other side (the well side)

The walls leading down the steps had (as per my understanding) images of the Dashavatara. A few shown below -

Varaha Avatar

Vaamana Avatar

Balarama Avatar

Parashurama Avatar

Matsya Avatar

Kalki Avatar

We lazed around a bit in the well laid lawns surrounding the heritage structure before heading out for lunch and towards another destination - The Sun Temple at Modhera.

After a simple meal of dal-roti, we moved on to one of the lesser known Sun Temples' in India - at Modhera.

I had not heard of this place until Mr.Bachchan extolled its beauty. All of us had heard about Konark, Somnath etc but did you know that there are close to 12 Sun temples (the one at Multan does not exist any longer)?

India being a land of Pagan worshippers it is but logical to have temples dedicated to the Sun God or Surya Bhagwan. On the lines of the architectural magnificence that the Solanki dynasty wanted to create, Modhera was the place chosen by the Solanki King to dedicate a temple to the Sun God.

This temple was created around the time that Mahmud of Ghazni was plundering the temples of Somnath. Much later Allauddin Khilji did try to destroy this temple but was successfully defeated by the Solanki kings. That's a little bit of historical trivia.

Another magnificent structure beautifully created. The temple is divided into the "Surya kund" - the body of water at the front of the temple (to cleanse oneself before entering the temple); the "Sabha Mandap" at the front. The main Sanctum Sanctorum (Guda Mandap) is behind the Sabha Mandap.

The Surya Kund has steps in a geometric pattern and has 4 small temples dedicated to Lord Ganesh, Lord Natraj, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Sitlamatha

The Sabha Mandap

Inside the Sabha Mandap, the ornately carved ceiling and visually enchanting miniature work make the place quite beautiful.

The Guda Mandap (shot from behind) is built differently from the Sabha Mandap but has carvings similar to that of the earlier one.

Delicate work like these elephants (perfect in shape and size) adorn the walls of the temple.

There are 2 such stand alone pillars - not sure representing what or why they are here.

Could be part of some building either destroyed or maybe not completed.

A complete view of the temple (had to shoot it from behind due to the sun's position at that point of time)

After another expedition in the hot sun, we decided to head back....this time undecided to go to Ahmedabad or Vadodara. Next morning is another trip.

25th Oct'2014 - 08:00 am - TJ suggested we go to Lothal and move on to Mumbai from there.

So off we drove in the direction of Lothal. 

For the uninitiated, Lothal is one of the excavated sites of the ancient Indus valley civilisation. All of us have heard about Mohenjadaro and Harappa, but it is unfortunate that Lothal is not mentioned in the same breath.

At that point of time, it was one of the port cities connecting Harappa through the Sabarmati river (no longer an active course of the river). Interestingly, Lothal's dock is supposed to be the world's earliest docks! Wow! Can it get more ancient than this?

The first sight of the ancient city

 Considered to be the ware house

The bathroom - toilet structure

An ancient well

The Lower Town

The ancient city of Lothal used fire baked bricks; it was abundant in semi precious stone and was also popular for bead making (there was bead factory). They had a well laid out drainage system with nullahs.

Having finished this historical visit, it was time for us to make our way back to Mumbai. Relying on google maps, we decided to take the shortest possible route (which did not include a lot of the NE-1) but meandering through state highways, we left Lothal at 11:00 hrs and reached Mumbai at 21:00 hrs.

Interesting observations - 

1) Too many white cars on the road - Is it because they're less expensive?

2) No rules followed during the 3 days we were travelling - esp in Ahmedabad

3) Speed crazy public - driving at break neck speeds

4) Accessibility for the disabled at these sites (impressive)

5) Roads are wonderful even to the smallest place like Lothal

6) Signages indicating the different directions; the places we were visiting - made life quite easy. We did not once stop to ask directions except on the way back from Lothal to Mumbai (closer to Vadodara). Of course google maps did help!

7) People have not seen a woman with short hair driving a 4 wheeler. They have to double check to make sure Voila! It's a woman!!

To sum up on our 3 day adventure - while we knew we were going to do a road trip, we did not know where and I am glad we decided to do this - get away from the madding crowd;  see and experience the beauty that India has to offer and tick off a few more places / states on my travel itinerary.

Thank you TJ for being as crazed as I am - probably even more!