Living Heritage of Ahmedabad by anjnishah

Living Heritage of Ahmedabad

Anjni Shah

Preface The purpose of this book is to document the work done in the course of a six week internship at Ahmedabad Trunk, The House of MG after the completion of the fourth semester at Department of Design, Nirma University (May-June 2019). This is a compilation of the learning, experiences and research done at The House of MG, Ahmedabad.

Acknowledgment Faculty Mentor, HoD, Department of Design: Head of The House of MG: Abhay Mangaldas Curator of Ahmedabad Trunk: Priyanka Baliyan Design Team: Bansari Ladiya, Bhoomi Gondalia, Drupal Vaghela, Ruhaani Thakore, Moumita Ghosh Purchase Manager at The House of MG: Manish Vaidya Custodian at Ahmedabad Trunk: Manoj Pandey Fellow Intern: Fahila Mansuri

Content - Communities Introduction Research Communities

1 3 5

Jamalpur Flower Market 49 Rajnagar Vegetable Market 67 Mojadi Bazaar 73 Kansara ni Pol 83 Kadva Sheri 93 Ratan Pol 103 Luhar ni Pol 109

Guidelines for Research Presentation at MICA Learning

75 78 82

Introduction The House of MG is a 95 year old haveli in the old walled city of Ahmedabad which was restored hotel experience, with authentic Gujarati cuisine. It is situated in the vicinity of the city’s main heritage Juma Masjid and Manek Chowk leading to the traditional experience to its guests. Ahmedabad Trunk is a part of this hotel. It enhances the heritage feel of the hotel through its collection of textiles, artefacts and books. Ahmedabad Trunk is a high-end legacy brand at The House of MG. It has a Textile Gallery, Heirloom shop, Bookstore and a Gift Shop. It focuses on the exhibits, artefacts and other external exhibitions. The design team looks at the documentation of the articles in the museum, promotional videos and other campaigns for the hotel and its restaurants, Agashiye and The Green House. I interned at Ahmedabad Trunk, The House of MG working as part of the design team under the mentorship of the curator, Priyanka Baliyan. My fellow intern, Fahila Mansuri and I had been given the task of researching and documenting the vendors of The Home of MG as well as the communities in this vicinity.

Credits: The House of MG

Research Over the course of six weeks, we interviewed and documented six vendors of The House of MG and seven communities in the old city of Ahmedabad. The aim of this was to showcase the true heritage and traditional nature of The House of MG. It shows that it acknowledges the local communities and supports them by buying crafts and products from them rather than importing it from elsewhere. In essence, it exhibits that the hotel is heritage inside and out. Along with that, the stories also add a layer to the experience. As the end product, the research was to be used on social media as stories and posts. The research will also be stored in the archives of Ahmedabad Trunk and will be presented to anyone seeking the information.

Jamalpur Flower Market 8

Flowers are displayed everyday at The House of MG. The arrangement is done by Anilbhai everyday. Each guest is welcomed with a Chari of

market in Jamalpur.

Chari

the only market in Asia which exclusively sells

porches of their houses. There were only a few

and formed an association to raise money. The a designated space for the market. The committee of the association consists of 7 members. The Municipality allotted the space in Jamalpur for a 99 year lease.

Vendor arranging his shop

Though this is a 24 hour market, the maximum business takes place between 3:30 am to 8:30 am. There are 32 shops in the market and they Ahmedabad - Naroda to Biaad Gaam, Kheda to Bharuch, Sarkhej to Dholka. They either get several vendors is brought together in a truck from

Vendor setting up shop

established, the vendors have long term relations with the farmers. The vendors live within 15 km of the market.

morning according to their demand and supply, from shop to shop according to the number of customers in a day. At the end of the day, if the sells it to the customer. As the day passes, the prices

go up as the demand is more. The variety of the

Negociations with customers

The customers come to the market and buy the their regular customers. The market also provides of the market. The people assigned either carry throughout the day, few of the shops use air-

market.

garbage truck collects it the next morning.

Pedal rickshaw at the market

Outside the market

market and make garlands out of them. They sell these garlands by increasing 10% of the rates. These garlands are sold from 4am to 10 am, this is enough to sustain the family so they do not do that they use to make the garlands are sold in the vicinity of the market itself.

Outside the market

Vendors making garlands

Outside the market

Before the market shifted to Jamalpur, about 1520 families sold garlands in Fulgali Vistar. As the number of 500 families and it is still growing. In some of the families, the children are getting education and moving to other businesses. One of the vendors stated that “bhanela kaam ave” (education is important), but in some, education is not given much importance and the children join

Children joining the business

In the present day, there are still 4 shops in the Fulgali Vistar. They did not shift to the Jamalpur market because they did not want the old Fulgali to die out. The shops are 80-100 years old and were owned by the fore fathers of the present vendors. The vendors used to live above their shops but they moved out after the riots in 1969. The Modi community used to live near the shops but majority of the shops were owned by the Muslim community.

Vendor setting up shop

Fulgali

Remaining shops at the Fulgali

The existing shops open at 7:00 in the morning and close at 8:00 at night. The shops bring the rickshaw at 6:00 in the morning. The rates are same in all the shops but vary a little according

rest, they keep in ice-boxes. One of the shops also sells clothes as a side business. They expect the newer generations to join in the business as well.

Vendor setting up shop

The vendors in the Jamalpur market are from owned by people from the Muslim community. from the Thakore community. One of the vendors said that “ekta ka udharan hai” (example of unity). The market that started with just a few shops

Vendor setting up shop

sustains the 500 families outside the market. They have symbiotic relationship and together this forms

Rajnagar Vegetable Market 26

The Rajnagar vegetable market at Khamasa, a wholesale market but presently, it has become a semi-wholesale market. It includes 200 shops which open at 5:00 in the morning and close at 7:00 in the evening, and on Sundays at 3:00 in the afternoon. The shops do not sell all the vegetables sell onion and potato only, some sell only tomatoes and likewise.

Rajnagar market

Unloading vegetables from truck

They buy the vegetables in wholesale from APMC (Agricultural produce market committee) market in Jamalpur, which includes 80 shops. The vendors either go to the market in the morning or at night, according to when the trucks of vegetable

Unloading vegetables from truck

vendors order through calls rather than going to the market. They bring the vegetables from the Jamalpur market in loading rickshaws or pedal rickshaw. The Rajnagar market is managed and owned by the APMC and the shops are rented by the vendors. Most of the vendors live in Raipur, Shahpur, Kalupur and Narol and belong to the Prajapati community from Rajasthan.

The rates of individual vegetables vary a little from shop to shop but overall they remain the same. The customers come to the market and buy the vegetables and, if needed, they deliver the vegetables if they are ordered in a large of transporting the vegetables in and out of the market. The people assigned either carry the vegetables or load them onto carts. The vegetables which start to rot are collected collected by the AMC garbage truck between 5:00 to 7:00 in the evening. Some of the vegetables which is are not entirely rotten are sold to owners of low-price Dhabas (restaurants). and regions and yet it functions as a community.

People helping in carrying the vegetables

Shops at the market

Mojari Bazaar 32

Mojadi bazaar

Mojari is traditional handcrafted footwear. Situated in the Madhavpura, Ahmedabad, the Mojdi Bazaar was a community of mochis (which includes Sisodiya, Solanki, Baid) who made handcrafted mojaris. They were originally from Rajasthan but due to chappanyo akaal, a famine in the 1856, they shifted to Ahmedabad. Since then, they have been practicing this craft in Ahmedabad. They used to make and sell the mojaris in their shops and their houses were above their shops. At that time, all the families in the bazaar used to make the mojaris but as the time passed this craft was not passed on to the newer generations. At present, they only sell ready made mojaris, which they buy from Jaipur, Agra, Mumbai, Jodhpur and Kohlapur. There are 25 shops in the bazaar.

Selling mojadis

Ashokbhai Gajjar’s family is the only family in the bazaar who still practice this craft. The shop is run by his father and elder brother, whereas Ashokbhai along with 2 karigars (helpers) make and sell customised mojaris. They work from 10:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night and if they have more work they also work till midnight. They buy the materials used for making the mojaris according to the tools from Agra, Delhi and Ahmedabad. Along with making the mojari, they also do the work of leather covering. Each pair takes at least 4 hrs to make. They take the customer’s measurements and their preference for the design, they also provide options for the design. The mojaris are made from all kinds of fabrics like denim, canvas, velvet, raw silk and many others. The material is put over the canvas and astar (cloth) is stitched under it. Then the sole is cut and stuck with Fevicol 707. This take 10-15 mins to dry. The shape of the mojari is given using

Ashokbhai’s workshop

Ashokbhai

Mojadi being made

Tools

Ashokbhai and his helper

Mojadi making

Even though, the other families in the community do not pass on the craft to the newer generations, Ashokbhai promises to pass on the craft so that the essence of the community lives on.

Mojadi making

Kansara ni Pol 42

Situated in the old city of Ahmedabad, Kansara ni Pol is a community of copper vessel makers. In the olden times, copper vessels were used for domestic purposes like storing water and cooking food. It was also used in auspicious occasions like marriages and during festive rituals. The tradition of using copper vessels in these auspicious

occasions has been carried to the modern times, but its usage in domestic purposes has been replaced by other materials. Since the usage of copper vessels is limited to special occasions, need for their production decreased. This caused the community to move to other professions and places.

Kansara ni Pol

Mayaben’s workshop

Maya Paidapi cleans and polishes the raw freshly made copper vessels. She has been working since the last 5 years in Kansara ni Pol, before which she was a homemaker. She works along with her

Unpolished copper pots

vessels are washed with water and cleaned by rubbing a mixture of Amli (dried mango) and mud. This gives the surface a proper polish and shine.

Washing copper pots

Cleaning the pots

Amli

Polished copper pots

Deepak Girishbhai Kansara’s family has been in the copper vessel making business for the past 60 to 70 years. His family is originally from water facilities, they moved to Nadiad. For the past 10-12 years, Deepakbhai chose to continue working as a copper vessel maker in Ahmedabad. He set up his workshop in Kansara ni Pol where he does the work of tipvanu, which is forming March, April and May. Due to these reasons, he owns a small restaurant as a side business.

Deepakbhai

Deepakbhai’s workshop

Tools

In his workshop, Deepakbhai works with 6-7 labourers. They work for 11 hours everyday and workshop is in Kansara ni Pol but he does not live there.

Deepakbhai’s workshop

These are the tools (which are called aujar or kharbarto) used for making patterns on the Beda (pots). They are made from unused metal used for making railway tracks, this makes them resistant to wearing down over time. As the new generations are exposed to newer opportunities, they do not prefer to be a part of this craft. This is the reason for no innovations in the tools used.

sit on low stools and use their hands or a thick metal rod for supporting the Bedu (pots) while the process of Tipvanu. For resting the Bedu, they use their leg for support covered with a cloth. sells the vessels. These vessels are sold in wholesale weight.

Pots after tipvanu

Kadva Sheri 52

Rogan printing is a 300 year old art of printing patterns on cloth using rogan paste. Situated in the old city of Ahmedabad, Kadva Sheri was a Muslim community of Rogan printers. This community has been practicing this craft since the past 300 years and so their surnames are ‘Rangrez’. They were originally from Rajasthan and seeing the business opportunity in Ahmedabad, they shifted to Ahmedabad about 100 years ago. Before this community shifted to Kadva Sheri, it was a community of Kadva Patels, hence the name. This craft was practiced on the porches of the houses in the Sheri. Both men and women were involved in the process. Some of the printers, also had workshops elsewhere. Since the process was mechanised, the value of hand-printed cloth decreased. This caused the community to move to other professions, mainly screen printing, 30 years ago.

Kavda Sheri

Rogan printed fabric

Hanifbhai

Hanif Rangrez’s family is the only family in the community who still practice this craft. He does Rogan printing along with 1 karigar (helper) and because it is not enough to sustain the family, he does tie and dye and shibori on handmade paper and cloth. The only customers are designers and design students. Their workshop is on their terrace in Kadva Sheri.

Hanifbhai’s house in Kadva Sheri

Hanifbhai’s workshop

The printing is done using a special thick paste made from mixing rogan (varnish), chalk mitti and turpentine. It can be printed on any fabric or paper. The tool used is a block of wood with a carved on its base, this tool is called a rogan block. is put on it. This is placed on the fabric and then the wooden block is pressed to make the design.

Printing in process

Tools

Printing in process

Once the design is printed on the entire fabric, particular manner. It sticks to the paste and the on the design. The gold and silver powder give a is also used. When the gold and silver powders are used, the fabric needs to be washed after spreading to properly remove the excess powder. The prints are slightly embossed on the fabric. This takes minimum 24 hrs to dry and if the weather is not sunny, it takes upto 3 days.

Applying gold powder

They bring the ingredients from Rajasthan and Mumbai. The tools used for the printing are from Rajasthan and the same are used since the practice started as they are not manufactured anymore. What used to be community of Rogan printers is now just a family. This art is not passed on to the newer generations, due to the mechanisation of the process, leading to a decrease in the value of hand-printed cloth. Hanifbhai’s family is a part of the living heritage of Ahmedabad.

Rogan printed fabric

Ratan Pol 62

Situated in Manekchowk, Ahmedabad, Ratan Pol is a community of Shah and Patel. This pol has kapda (cloth) bazaar which is 100 years old. There were 800-1000 shops and the shop owners lived in pols within 1 km of the bazaar. As the time passed, the area was commercialised and the number of shops increased to 2000 shops. The shops sell materials for sarees, shirts and pants, readymade dresses and cloth pieces. The shops are both retail and wholesale. The shop keepers buy the material from all over India. The shops in the bazaar open at 10:30 in the morning and close at 8:30 at night and on Sunday at 6:00 in the evening. Unlike bazaars in Rajkot, they do not take breaks in the afternoon. Outside all the shops, one employee sits to attract customers by calling out to them.

Ratan Pol

Vendor setting up shop

Vendors calling out to customers

Vendor setting up shop

Temple in the pol

Shops at the entrance of the pol

At the entrance of the pol, there are smaller shops selling coconut water, food, sugarcane juice, tea, water, weighing machines and mobile covers.

Luhar ni Pol 68

Luhar ni Pol, Ahmedabad was a residential pol since the past 200 years. This was a Jain community. As the time passed, the area around the pol began to commercialise and so the rates of the houses in the pol increased. This caused the people to sell the houses and move out. Since the past 30 years, this pol has become a community of jewellery makers and sellers. The shops are owned majorly by the Marwadi and Soni community. There are 150 shops in the pol. When the shops were opened 30 years ago, they used to make silver, copper and gold jewellery themselves and also sold readymade jewellery. Presently, only a few shops make the jewellery while the others chose to sell only readymade of jewellery like mangalsutra, payal, Bhagwan na mugat and the like.

Payal making in process

Luhar ni Pol

Silver wire

Silver wire wound into spirals

One of the shops is owned by Sunil Panchal who makes chandi na payal (silver anklet). He runs the shop along with three other family members. The shop opens at 9:00 in the morning and closes at 7:00 in the evening. He is the only shopkeeper who lives above his shop. They make 150 payal everyday which are exported to Delhi, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. In Gujarat, customers copper is 80:20 or 90:10. In other states, customers prefer less expensive payal so the ratio is 60:40.

Sunilbhai

The silver comes in form of wires which is then wound into springs at Sunilbhai’s shop. The springs are then cut into rings. The rings are arranged by aligning the cuts together which are then glued using a mixture of Zinc, silver, copper, Khar and navsar chemical. The solution is called raavti. To strengthen the glue it is heated using a burner and this is called gunthad. This takes 15 minutes to cool. The rings are either made into chains or sent as it is to karigars for ado chadiyo (inserting beads into payal). These payal are called ballpinjar payal. The tools used for this are called samaani, sansi

Silver wire cut into rings

Rings glued together

Tools

Heat to dry the adhesive

Payal making in process

Rings pressed into other shapes

He brings the taar (wire) from a factory in Naroda. It is delivered to them every three days. The beads for the payal are bought from Rajkot. They have

Payal

Even though, the other families in the community have moved out, Sunilbhai continues to live in Luhar ni Pol, so that the essence of the community lives on.

Guidelines for Research and Documentation Since this kind of research had not been done previously at The House of MG, we were not given communities and vendors and tried to develop our method of research and documentation. There was a lot of information to cover so we also strategically decided how we would go about it and what areas we would cover. In the process, we, often, presented our work and ideas to Priyanka Baliyan, Abhay Mangaldas and the design team to seek their insights. As a result, we followed the design process and improved the documentation through feedback. We visited the places more than once to collect uniform information. Ahmedabad is a world heritage city and so it is rich with communities. The House of MG also had several vendors who were part of the living heritage of the city. Due to the limited amount of time, we could document only some of these communities and vendors, so we noted down the guidelines as to how we went about the research and documentation.

Points covered in research Vendors The vendors were chosen looking at their relation with The House of MG and also the value the

product will add to the purpose of the research. • History of the market • Present scenario of the market • History of the vendor • Relation with The House of MG • How they came in contact with The House of MG • Process of making • Raw materials and transportation • • Waste management at their shop/market • Interesting stories Communities The walled city of Ahmedabad was divided into pols. In each of the pols, people from the same community practicing the same occupation came together to live and practice their business there. As the time passed, the pols commercialised and people moved out of the pols. The communities in which there were still a few families who lived in the pols and practiced their ancestral businesses were chosen. • • • •

History of the community Present scenario of the community History of the particular family Process of making

• Raw materials and transportation • Facilities provided • Waste management at their market • Link of the communities with their respective pols • Interesting stories

Communities

Flow of content Vendors

Presentation at MICA Abhay Mangaldas was invited to make a presentation at MICA, Mudra Institute of Communications, on the heritage of Ahmedabad. Since our research was relevant to that, I was given the opportunity to present some of it at the institute.

Students at MICA

Ahmedabad is a World Heritage City and the most obvious reason as to why is that it was a walled city with its numerous pols and beautiful architecture. But an important reason is the living heritage here. Ahmedabad houses craftspersons from all over India who settled in the old city of Ahmedabad decades ago. Even the most basic markets like stories and become exciting places to explore. So, I chose to present the Kalaiwala and Rogan printing as they were the perfect examples of the living heritage in Ahmedabad. After the presentation, there was a very interesting discussion on heritage and especially the dying crafts in India. I concluded that it is very important to responsibly help the artisans to grow without creating a hierarchy. It is important to work along with them. An interesting fact that came was that it is necessary to make heritage “cool”, get more people to appreciate the beauty of handmade to one of the students, I came to know about Wabi Sabi. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, it is a world view centered on the acceptance of imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”. I learned a lot from this experience.

Learning Over the course of the six weeks, I got the opportunity to interact with a great deal of interesting people in and outside The House of MG. I was exposed to the heritage of Ahmedabad, which I had not explored and appreciated in the many years I have lived here. It taught me to always stay engaged and interested and that ocean of information we got from conversing communities was the biggest challenge I faced. important. Once we collected the information, represent it in form of social media posts and stories without missing out any information. I also got the chance to sit in a meeting with the designer of the brand guideline. Another exciting opportunity was the presentation at MICA. The articulate my thoughts and opinions. It also got me thinking about heritage and how it can concede with our modern day life. My learning in this internship has been immense.

Bibliography www.houseofmg.com www.ahmedabadtrunk.in

Living Heritage of Ahmedabad

Articles inside

Learning

Guidelines for Research

Research

Presentation at MICA

Introduction