This was my first ever group trip.

The trip to Ahmedabad

[03Nights-04days]

DAY 1 (5th January 2019)

We were to meet our travel agent from Lakshya Holidays Mumbai central railway station by
1:30pm to board the Mumbai central to Ahmedabad Double decker train. For most of us, it was a
first experience of double decker train. The train departed on time with all of us admiring the
clean interior and big windows of it. The seats were very
comfortable and far apart to give enough leg space. One
could find many railway-approved vendors selling a variety
of things. Every one of us had brought our lunch and we all
ate it together while playing different games. Almost the
whole compartment was filled with happy and cheerful
second year students jumping here and there. We got snacks
around 6 o'clock after we crossed Surat, arranged by our travel agent. Snacks included pav bhaji
with four pavs. The food was tasty and very filling. The travel agent provided us with tiny water
bottles throughout the trip. Our train arrived at Ahmedabad station around 10 o'clock. The
weather outside was cool and comfortable. We were
then dropped off to our stay for the whole trip, Hotel
Cambay Grand, by a bus. On our ride, we got the first
fews glimpses of Ahmedabad, the locals, and the very
beautiful and clean Sabarmati River. We had our dinner
as soon as we reached the hotel. Dinner was good with
many options to choose from. A nonveg dish was also
provided for dinner throughout the trip. We got our room keys after dinner. Each room had 4-5
students. Information about the reporting time and places to visit the next day were given and
then we all went to our rooms. The hotel rooms were okay but mostly had defects here and there.
The AC vents were not working, the TV wasn't working, the water heating kettle was very dirty
and wasn’t in a proper condition.
DAY 2 (6th January 2019)

We all had to assemble in the dining area at 8am with the side bags provided to us by Lakshya
Holidays. After having our breakfast, we left for our first location in our bus. 18kms from the
city, Adalaj stepwell, was our first location. There wasn't much traffic and it took 35-40mins
from our hotel. Adalaj Stepwell is also known by the name Adalaj ni vav. Vav in Gujarati
language means a stepwell i.e. a well in which the water level is reached by descending a set of
steps. At the stepwell, there was no entrance fee. I walked in; I saw plenty of tourists around. It

was approximately 10 o'clock and the sunrays falling on the architecture made it even more
beautiful. This was my first visit to a stepwell so I was amazed by the beautiful structure of this
ancient “water building”. It is not just a stepwell but also an amazing display of stone
architecture with decorative walls and ceilings and ornamental pillars.

Just outside the stepwell was a board with its history written on it. Ruda, wife of the Waghela
chief Veersinh, built the Adalaj ni Vav in 1498. It’s a five-storey structure with three entrance
stairs, which lead to a stepped corridor. There are openings in the
ceilings, which provide ventilation. Except for a short period at noon,
no direct sunlight enters the interiors. Entering inside, I got a cool
respite from the burning sun. The stepwell structure was built this way
precisely for this reason. The inner structures on each floor are so
intricately decorated with sculptures that the place closely resembles a
palace. This stepwell, like many others, was also a venue for colourful
festivals and sacred rituals. It is believed that villagers would come
every day in the morning to fill water, offer prayers to the deities
carved into the walls and interact with each other in the cool environment. As we went above,
the tombs of six masons who built the well were seen near the Vav. Begda asked the Masons if
they could build another similar well and when they agreed Begda sentenced them to death
instead. Begda was so impressed by the architectural excellence of the stepwell that he did not
want a replica to be built. Our travel agent guided us through the whole place.

Then, we went back to the hotel to have lunch. Our next

location was Dandi Kutir in Gandhinagar. What first
drew our attention to the Dandi Kutir was the attractive
outer dome. Conical shaped and 90 meters in diameter, it
was the largest sparkling white structure we had ever
seen. This structure was even more impactful after we
were told that it was made to resemble a pinch of salt –
symbolising the Dandi Salt Satyagraha.
Since the next interactive audio visual show had an hour or so to start we went to our next
location, The Dinosaur Park , just 15mins from there. When we first entered the park, we were
amazed to see the life-size models of fascinating species of dinosaurs. Large grey eggs about the
size of muskmelons rough and chipped sticking out of the slab of rock grabbed my attention. The
park is divided into three parts- Botanical garden with a large variety of medicinal herbs and
plants, a zoo to see crocodiles, deer and some beautiful birds with an area dedicated to sea
mammals that have a skeleton of an adult blue whale and the third one is dinosaur section, which

has fossils from Raiyoli. The Park was set up by the Geological Survey of India and run by the
Gujarat Ecological and Research Foundation (GEER). The park gave us a vast wealth of
knowledge about dinosaurs and their life. The Indroda Nature Park is open to public from
Tuesday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 pm. Entry ticket for adults was Rs20. After visiting the park,
we sat in our bus to go back to Dandi Kutir for the Audio-Visual show. We were given some
light snacks in the bus. Dandi Kutir is essentially an interactive museum based of the life of
Mahatma Gandhi. It is a biographical narrative of Gandhi’s life following the theme of
Mohandas to Mahatma. This journey is showcased in an engaging 90-minute experience inside
the sprawling 10,700 sq m museum through modern technologies like 3D mapping, holography,
360-degree projections and transparent LED screen. The show was amazing! We learnt a lot
about Gandhiji and his journey of life.
It was almost 7pm when we left for the next location, The Akshardham Temple. We weren’t
allowed to take our phones inside. There were
strict rules and the place was well managed.
The very first glimpse of the temple left us
awestruck. Akshardham Gujarat is a large
Hindu temple complex and is a tribute to the
teachings and life of Hindu spiritual leader –
Swaminarayan. The temple in itself is
monumental and about 100 feet high. Built according to Vedic architectural principles, the
temple does not use any metal (steel or iron) for
construction. They also have a water and light
show everyday. However, we had to miss it due
to scarcity of time. We had a DJ night specially
organized for us by the hotel. We left
Akshardham Temple and it took us
approximately an hour to reach back to our hotel.
It was 9 o’clock already.

As soon as we reached, we were asked to go to the party area on first floor. The atmosphere was
good and the room was lit with many different lights. The music was loud and we enjoyed the
DJ night. Each and every one of us danced and enjoyed our time. The DJ played until 10:30pm
and then we were supposed to go down for dinner. I was very hungry and quickly ate my dinner.
It was a tiring yet a beautiful day. Then my roommates and I went to our room and slept like logs.
DAY 3 (7th January 2019)

6:30am – I woke up to a splendid sunrise view from our room window. Since it was our last day
at the hotel, we got ready and packed our bags. We had to report to the dining area by 8:00am.
As I went down I saw everyone all dressed up nicely for the second day of our trip. Everyone
had breakfast and started clicking pictures. We captured many pictures with each other. I don’t
know why but the previous day our travel agent had not followed the itinerary given by him.
Therefore, today we had to visit a place that should have been visited the other day.
Auto World Vintage Car Museum was the first place of the day. It is the largest and the biggest
automobiles collection of India and one of the best in the world. It houses an excellent collection
of vintage cars, antique vehicles, utility vehicle,
motorcycles, and buggies. Formed in the year
1927 by the General Motors India Ltd, the
museum is a heaven for vintage car lovers. From
the rare marques cars to ceremonial limousines
to romantic convertibles to sports cars, here one
can find cars from all over the world of different
ages and types. Clicking pictures was allowed
but we had to pay extra for it.
After visiting this place, we went back to our hotel for lunch, which, I didn’t like as we could
have used the time to visit another place rather than
having lunch at 12 noon. As we reached, the travel
agent asked us to bring our luggage down and to
keep them inside the bus. We had a little cake
cutting ceremony arranged by our travel agency.
After finishing our lunch, we checked out from the
hotel.
Our next destination was Sabarmati Ashram and Seva Café. As we reached standing before the
gates, we peered within, into the spacious lawns. A path cradled in a canopy of leaves greeted us.
We entered the campus, and the silence unsettled. There was a commentary of the Mahatma's life
in photographs, punctuated by his personal effects, his trademark glasses, watch and fountain pen.
The photos were mostly familiar, though some uncommon, and some with other luminaries of
his times. The museum building looked modern, with dark and intense rooms, joined by
corridors where light and wind played to their tunes. As
we strolled in the green park along the Sabarmati River,
we saw another section of the ashram, Hridaya Kunj.
This was where Bapu and Ba (Gandhiji and Kasturiba)
lived from 1918 to 1930. Within this place were rooms
of Gandhiji, Ba and a guest room. Just outside we saw a
woman using an actual charkha. Next, we went to the
Seva Café where we saw a few foreigners and natives teaching various things to young kids.

We got on our bus for next destination, Hutheesingh Jain Temple. It was built in 1848 by
Shethani Harkunwar, in memory of her husband Hutheesingh who used to be a wealthy merchant.
Originally constructed using the yellow sandstone, some parts have now been renovated using
marble. Here too, the talent of the artists who made this temple stands out. The architecture was
unique and mesmerizing. The temple was going through renovation work.
Near this Jain temple was a Mosque, The Siddi Sayyed Mosque . Cars, buses, autorickshaws,
two wheelers all moved around the building that looked quite ancient and was dotted with trees.
It is famously referred to in common parlance as Sidi Saiyyed Ni Jaali or Sidi Saiyyid ki Jaali.
The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque architecture is executed in an Indo-Saracenic style that combines
elements of Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture. Being a girl, we were not allowed inside the
mosque. We asked to go to the back garden were we saw the 3 intricately designed jaalis .

After visiting the places our travel agent guided us to a market. We all went to the market to buy
local delicacies and products. The market was huge with so many people buying various things.
There were numerous stalls all over the place. Being
a market area near a mosque there were many nonveg
shops. We tried many dishes and even packed some
for the train journey. On one side of the market on
could see the Teen Darwaza. After shopping, we
were supposed to go to Kankaria Lake around
6:00pm and enjoy the sunset. But due to a little
carelessness of our travel agent we reached the place
late when the entry was closed. Our return train from
Ahmedabad station was to depart at 10:00pm. Since, we had time we all decided to go for a food
walk in the market near the station. I tried many dishes and got a chance to talk to my teacher
while having many delicious egg dishes. By 9:00pm, we all assembled on the platform and
waited for our train. Next day we arrived at Dadar station around 6:00am.
Personally, this trip taught me a lot of things. I got to learn many facts about Mahatma Gandhi.
Saw very new and different things. I’m deeply thankfully to my teacher who guided us by giving
knowledge wherever necessary and I really had fun talking to her.
The city of Ahmedabad gave me a lot of memories and friends.

-Gayatri H Kashyap
 Adalaj Ni Vav
Located in Adalaj village in the district of Gandhinagar, the Adalaj stepwell or Adalaj ni vav is
known for its architectural brilliance. Built in 1499, the stepwell is still a major attraction in
Gujarat. It is a stunning example of Indo-Islamic fusion architecture work. It was built by the
Hindu queen Rani Roopba with help from neighbouring Muslim ruler King Mehmud Begad.

Stepwells are common in the arid and semi-arid regions of India, especially in Gujarat and
Rajasthan. The term used for stepwells in Gujarat is Vav while in Rajasthan they are called
Baoli. They are similar in form and function, but have unique architectural characteristics, which
can help differentiate the two. It is believed that about 200 such stepwells survive in the Gujarat
region itself, so it’s easy to imagine their numbers in the bygone era.

The legend associated with Adalaj ni

Vav is a story of war, love and
betrayal, almost like a Bollywood
drama. King Mehmud Begada was a
neighbouring king to Adalaj and he
entered into a war with King Rana
Veer Singh. Before the war started,
King Rana Veer Singh has already
commissioned the stepwell and work
was in full swing. However, King Rana Veer Singh died in the war and the kingdom fell. When
Mahmud Begada first met with Rana Veer Singh widow wife, Queen Rudabai, he fell in love
with her and ordered her to marry him. Queen Rudabai didn’t refuse this offer, but she put a
condition that Mahmud Begada will first complete the unfinished work of Vav, started by her
late husband, Rana Veer Singh. Mahmud Begada accepted this condition and made significant
efforts to construct a beautiful Vav, which is a fusion of Hindu, Jain, and Islamic traditions. By
1599 AD, Adalaj Vav was built, but Mahmud Begada couldn’t marry Rudabai as she committed
suicide by Jumping in Adalaj Vav’s well. Even today, Adalaj Vav is described as Rudabai Vav,
named after the queen who sacrificed her life instead of marrying a Sultan.
The structure is built in Solanki style of architecture, with Islamic influence, and consists of five
storeys, each of which is uniquely designed with beautiful carvings all over the walls and
columns. Traditionally, stepwells served two key purposes - as a place to store water in an arid
region, and a place for travellers to stop by during their long journeys. Due to the design of the
Stepwell, very little sunlight actually enters the lower levels, which keeps them cool during the
daytime. This allowed travellers to take shelter from the sweltering sun. Each of the level at the
vav is also quite big and can easily accommodate many people. Back in the days, these storeys
were used for hosting travellers (no hotels at that time). This was also a part of a traditional trade
route and hence their usefulness was quite high.

The best time for a visit is early morning. The light is great and crowd is less. The visiting hours
are 8am to 7pm.