AMAZING AMDAVAD

AMAZING AMDAVAD

Probably the only metro with 24 hour uninterrupted power supply! Probably the only metro which has no traffic jams! Probably the only metro which has no parking problems! Probably the only metro which has no water problems! Probably the only metro where you don’t have to dig deep into your pocket to pay rent deposit! Probably the only metro which has a split summer – mercury level varying between 40 & 45 degree Celsius and remaining there for most part of the day throughout from March to June and then you will experience friendly mercury for the next 3 months from July to September. When the mercury is between 30 & 35, it ought to be friendly, right!

As I landed in Ahmedabad on the 9th of May 2006, I was grimly reminded of my friend’s words – it’s very hot in Ahmedabad. I felt as if I was walking through a furnace. The heat waves slapped me. Within seconds I was drenched to toe in sweat.

“…thoda age jao, theen rastha ayega….”, was the response on seeking direction to a certain place. I was stunned. How can a single road become three roads! I followed his direction still trying to figure out what he meant by ‘theen rastha’. After passing a few blocks, I was intercepted by an intersection. I looked around, not sure which way to pick. Again I sought the help of a passer-by. “aisa karo, thoda age jao, chaar rastha ayega….”. Trust me, I never got to hear the rest of what he said – my head began to swim. ‘theen rastha’ was probably a mistake, I guessed. Either I had heard him wrong or I didn’t hear him right! Either way, I found it funny and strange and couldn’t hold the lips together as I helped myself to a hearty laugh. And now, ‘chaar rastha’!! Well, well, well, something must be seriously wrong somewhere. Bemused and befuddled, I surged ahead, searching for the ‘chaar rastha’. Suddenly I found myself facing yet another intersection. Copy the BOLD & UNDERLINED words above, paste it here and read. The passer-by with his face held high to avoid spilling what appeared to be a watery & rainbowish liquid in his mouth said, “aghad javena, cho rasttha aave chhe”. I didn’t understand a word of what he said as it was pure Gujarathi. A Hindi speaking boy translated it in Hindi for me: “thoda age jao, chhe rastha ayega”! I felt stupefied. Too stunned to react. Theen rastha, I somehow reconciled myself to it. Chaar rastha, I resigned myself to it. Now, Chhe Rastha – six road, it was too much. Theen, chaar & chhe!!! I was to learn later that ‘theen rastha’ meant a junction with road spreading out to three directions & likewise!! That is Ahmedabad for you. Or Amdavad – as it is traditionally known here. Amazing, isn’t it?

The roads here are so wide and well maintained that you will enjoy driving. From Bhuj to Valsad and from Bhavnagar to Mehsana, the quality of road is superb. We hear a lot about officials of state governments visiting (choice) countries to gain first-hand information on infrastructure development. I should remind them that we have a place called Gujarat in India where infrastructure development is on fast track – from roads to ports, power generation to industries. If Gujarat can do it, so can other states. The powers that be of other states would do well to visit Gujarat instead of making trips abroad. It would save exchequer a lot of money! Even the state highway running through a remote place is better than the best of national highways elsewhere in the country. Most of the roads are four-laned ensuring smooth flow of traffic. The 220 KM stretch between Ahmedabad and Rajkot is unbelievably good. And the Expressway from Ahmedabad to Baroda is simply breathtaking. My wife’s eyebrows shot up to the sky and her jaws fell to the ground as she accidentally cast a glance at the needle. It was at 145! Even at 145 Ks, it seemed as if I was doing 80! A hoarding screamed – it is a joy ride. It sure is a joy ride. Here in Gujarat, they don’t tolerate bumpy roads. Well, mate, read on and you will know. On another occasion, we went to a place called Dakor – a small town about 80 KMs away from Ahmedabad. When we started the journey back from Dakor, it was well past 8 at night. I dread driving at night and avoid it. Yet this time I had no alternative but to drive at night. The road was so nice that I enjoyed every bit of it despite my aversion to driving at night. You know why, the road – a state highway – was wide and totally free of potholes or bumps making it a pleasure drive, notwithstanding the oncoming vehicles with glaring headlights! The edge of the road is so nicely smothered to coincide with the mud surface that even if you happen to swerve to the mud surface, you hardly feel the impact. Elsewhere in the country, the edge of the road would appear as if you are standing on the edge of a cliff, making you fidgety and edgy! Amazing. Truly amazing.

For people coming from elsewhere – particularly down south, sipping a simmering hot cup of coffee on taking a stroll early in the morning is like breathing in and out. And down south, you will see coffee stalls and people clinging like bees, trying to find the slightest elbow room to maneuver themselves to a position from where they hope to lay their hands on the elusive cup of coffee. If it is coffee stalls down south, it is pan parlors here in Ahmedabad. You will see people lined up before pan parlors - some busy ordering their choice pan, some carefully placing a powdery material in a shapeless plastic piece measuring about anything between 2 and 3 inches from one side to the other and rubbing it vigorously on the palm for about 30 – 40 seconds before carefully tapping it into a smallish container so that they can keep chewing the powdery thing at their chosen time. No sooner do they wake up than they make a dash to the nearest pan parlor! Amazing! Truly amazing!

You need to be very agile and athletic while walking on the pavement. You also need to constantly keep an eye on the people walking in front and on either side of you. You want to know why. There is every possibility of any one of them or all of them or most of them slanting the head across at any moment and spraying the brownish liquid in the mouth on the road in jet speed. Now you understand the need to be agile and athletic! If you are not, be prepared for a ‘pan-wash’. Or ‘pan-body-spray’ with ‘free-for-life’ label on it!! Add to that the ‘free-for-life-body-odor’ that will take the breath out of you (pun intended)! The spray comes in two different styles – one the jet speed kind (explained above), the other, an arc-like spray oozing out of the mouth to splash across the surface that will remind you of the Hindu mythology where upon the request of Bhishma lying on a bed of arrows, Arjuna shoots an arrow into the earth and water springs out to quench Bhishma’s thirst. The only difference is the movement – it is in reverse order. While it is from earth to mouth in the latter it is mouth to earth in the former! You will come across countless occasions where you see people skillfully pouring the powdery thing even as they are driving on their two wheelers. The sight of driver of a four wheeler suddenly slowing down and opening the front door a fraction and doing-you-know-what are very common sight. Let me explain. They simply empty the brownish liquid from their mouth on to the road! If you have the habit of chasing the vehicles in front of you, then you need to rein in your habit lest you might see your car getting a new coat of paint!! Amazing! Incredibly amazing!

The people here live their life to the full. They love their food. From roadside joints to luxury restaurants, you will see people lapping up their favorites. The sandwiches, dhabelis, dalvadas, gothas, vada-paavs et al. Add to this the dhoklas, kammans, shev – khamnis. They make you queue up to these joints like a guided missile! My favorite among these is ‘daalvada’ – a unique ‘nashto’ in the menu card. You will never find me saying ‘no’ to a plate of ‘daalvada’!! I was scanning a menu card. One item caught my attention – Jainwala Sandwich. Sandwich sans garlic and onion is Jainwala sandwich, my friend enlightened me. Amazing! Truly amazing!

The resilience of people of Gujarat is admirable. To check this out, all you have to do is visit Bhuj. Does the mention of Bhuj ring a bell? Yes, this was the town demolished by earthquake in 2001. When I went to Bhuj on a branch visit, I couldn’t believe what I saw. There is absolutely no trace of the tragedy. Now it has almost turned into a model town. Miraculous, truly miraculous!

Come October and the entire Gujarat is on its feet to celebrate Navrathri Festival. And the intensity with which they participate in religious functions is unbelievably touchy. You have to witness it to believe the joy and pride with which they celebrate it. From a five year old tiny tot to a sixty year old, you will find them dancing to the lovely rhythmic tunes of Garbha melodies. The session starts as late as 10 at night and goes on and on and on up until the early hours of morning!! With just a half hour break for ‘nashto’ in between, the stamina of these participants in indulging in this almost non-stop (except for the half-hour break) Garbha Dance for about 5 to six hours night after night for nine continuous nights is simply stunning. The climax is the ‘Dandiya Raas’. The Garbha session ends with ‘Dandiya Raas’ every night. The clucking sounds of the ‘dandiya’ played with such clinical precision is so sweet on your ears that you would be willing to swap your nine nights of sleep for watching it! It is worth it, mate. Surely. And you might think that they would sleep the entire day. Not quite true. They are up and away on to their routine life! Looking even more refreshing and cheerful! Would you believe it? That is Amdavad for you – an amazing place!

Amdavad is no different from any other busy metros. The traffic manners here are just as chaotic. But unlike other metros where such traffic indiscipline renders movement of vehicles to a crawl, it is surprisingly smooth courtesy wide roads, free left turn at every traffic signal and road divider. Small wonder then that you can bet on covering a distance of 10 KMs in less than 20 minutes even during rush hours! Amazing Amdavad, right?

In all of the 18 months of my stay in Amdavad, (at the time of writing this) there was power failure on 3 to 4 occasions. Each power failure lasted for about less than five minutes! Amdavad runs on Torrent Power – a private company supplying ‘torrent’ial power!

We were taking an after-dinner walk. It was around 11 at night. A lady in her teens breezed away on her two-wheeler, chatting animatedly on her mobile unmindful of the time in such matter-of-factly fashion. We were shocked. And surprised. Can you ever recall such scenes at any other major cities? Whether a lady should be traveling at odd hours is irrelevant. The point is they do so in Amdavad armed with the general feeling of ‘safety’ in their mind. So very comforting.

At first I didn’t like Ahmedabad, what with mercury soaring so high, sun seemingly hell bent on raining all its heat waves on people here. Next, I began to like it. And now I have fallen in love with Amdavad. And with Dalvada. Amazing Amdavad. Or shall we say, Amazing AMDA(L)VAD(A)!!