First impression of Ahmedabad
I am back from a road trip to Ahmedabad. My first time in Gujarat.
I did not read anything nor had any opinions about the city prior to my visit and that was the good thing about my trip.
Here is my first impression of the city Ahmedabad.
Competing in the open…
1) The city is a mix of the old and the new. Though I did not see many skyscrapers, there is a marked movement towards development that suggests the people here support change. But they have also tried to preserve the heritage buildings well. Old town is very congested with narrow alleys.
2) There are many simple things as firsts in Ahmedabad which I haven’t noticed in any other Indian city. For example, there is a separate barricaded lane with stops for BRTS buses. No other vehicle can enter that lane and a bus can not go outside it. So simple and easy. It doesn’t take rocket science to implement these.
3) City is not green. Very dusty, hot and lacks greenery. In that regard, I was comparing it with the city of Gardens, Bangalore. 🙂
This was the scene near modern riverfront.
4) Traffic is chaotic… especially the old town. Traffic is so reckless and unruly that I have to accept, Delhi takes a second place in my list now. Except for few parts in new Ahmedabad, the city is chaotic.
5) Transport – Generally autos go by meter. If not, beware. They might ask you to pay what you feel would be the fare. But they’d always expect more than the average fare!
There are buses and taxis as well but we did not get opportunity to try them.
6) People are friendly, warm and hospitable. Some of them offer selfless services. As for the photos, like any other Indians they demand to be clicked by you. 🙂 Policemen are very helpful except traffic policemen who try to extract money for any stupid reason.
Seva Cafe
7) Seva café. This is again a first for the city. It’s new concept of voluntarily running a restaurant. It’s a topic for a separate post so more on this later. A teaser – They don’t give you a bill. 🙂
8 ) Festival crazy. I am told Gujarat has more than 2000 festivals every year and they celebrate each one of them with much gusto. Music, firecrackers, delicacies and craziness are part of it. Think of Diwali evening in Karol Bagh or Pongal time in Chennai or Eid time in Md Ali Road, Mumbai.
All in all, I was happy to experience the city, and given the chance I would like to explore it further. 🙂
If you want to travel places with me, I suggest you to join me on my Facebook travel page.
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