Shaival Thakkar

Every time a friend from out-of-town visits my home in Ahmedabad, I jump at the chance to show him/her around. One of the things on the to-do list is The Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad’s old city. I have been for these walks so many times now that the guide who shows the tourists around has started recognizing me.

AMC’s Heritage Walk takes place every day at 7.45 AM and begins at the Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple (which has a very spacious parking lot). After paying a small fee (10rs for Indians and 50rs for foreigners), the tourists sit in the Heritage Walk office where they are shown a slide show of the route they will take and are given interesting information about the history of Ahmedabad. [Photo: A house in the old city with intricate wooden carving]

When the tourists step-out, they are guided through the beautiful labyrinthine lanes and narrow passageways that is the old city of Ahmedabad. The tourists make their way to Chabutras (birdfeeders), wooden houses with Otlas (porches) and swings, Havelis (big houses with numerous rooms) and many Hindu and Jain temples.

A little further and we reach Manekchowk, the centre of the old city named after saint Manek. Manekchowk operates as a jewellery bazaar during day-time and it transforms itself into an open- air food court in the evening. Here, one can find Larris (Kiosks) selling every kind of street food from Pau Bhaji, Ragda-Patis to strange new inventions like Cadbury sandwich and Pineapple sandwich.

However, enough of this mouth-watering digression. From Manekchowk, we are led to the tomb of Ahmedshah, the king who according to a folk-anecdote founded this city at a site where he saw a brave rabbit chasing a dog away. (There is no way to prove this now but I think Ahmedshah might have been high on some sort of drugs to be seeing such strange visions!) The walk ends at Jama Masjid known for its Indo-Sarcenic architecture. The wide-open space that is Jama Masjid seems to invite the tourists inside, away from the hustle-bustle of the traffic outside, and to spend some peaceful and contemplative moments in this breathtakingly beautiful mosque.

Ahmedabad like any other city has its fair share of faults and problems. The image and the spirit of Ahmedabad has been tainted by its communal history. Alcohol being prohibited in Gujarat also makes it a less favourable place for some tourists and vacationers. However, one thing that I am absolutely-100%-“chaati-faadke” proud of is the old-city of Ahmedabad. Visiting the old city is a pleasure that cannot be relished enough. The only way to experience this joy is to dive head-long into it and get soaked in its immense beauty.

Chabutro or birdfeeder

A house with a swing and an Otlo (Porch), a  convenient place for residents to sit, chat, socialize and gossip.

A shop selling mouth freshners and other condiments in Manekchowk

The beautiful Jama Masjid

All photographs by Shaival Thakkar

Shaival Thakkar writes from Ahmedabad about the restaurant that is built around graves

All of us will die one day and we cannot escape death. However, life would be difficult if we constantly thought about our mortality Most of us

keep away from thoughts of death by involving ourselves in different pursuits. But what if we are told that it is not only possible to live with such morbid thoughts but also to eat with them? Many brains have speculated about what happens after death. But has anyone come across a quotable quote that says, “After death, there comes a restaurant!”

Since approximately 250 years, there exists a graveyard in the Lal Darwaja area of Ahmedabad city. Then one day, about 53 years from today, someone started a tea-stall right next to this burial ground. Varnaraj Nair, the manager of Lucky Restaurant, explains, “Lucky started as a small place. When we wanted to expand, the government asked us to take up the responsibility of maintaining the cemetery.”
So we have this popular restaurant built around graves.

There are at least 22 bright green coloured tombs of various shapes and sizes in this restaurant. Trunks of trees shoot right out of the ceiling; one in the dining hall and the other inside the kitchen.

“Lucky was only famous for its chai. The first chai from Lucky cost 30 paisa and now it costs 6 Rs. People burn petrol worth 20 Rs just to come here and have chai.” says Nair.

Lucky offers a variety of foods including Punjabi, South Indian and the popular Gujarati Thali. It is known for its food quality and is considered affordable as all food items are priced between 10 and 50 Rs. “People were afraid to enter Lucky and eat next to the graves. We convinced them with our good cleanliness standards and our tasty meals.” says Nair.

The name Lucky is a favourite with many food stalls. Three sandwich stalls in the Law Garden area of Ahmedabad are called Lucky. And they are all parked right next to each other. Perhaps, the idea is that if you fail to notice the main Lucky, you can always eat at the smaller ones. But mind you, they don’t contain any graves.

Whenever I go to this restaurant, I feel as if the place is giving me an implicit message. Maybe, it is telling me that I am very lucky to be alive, relishing good food and having nice conversations. And also that I should have as many good times as possible before they build a restaurant around my grave.

This is my philosophical interpretation.

I like Mr.Nair’s interpretation much better. He says, “Here, you can sit and relax. Lucky is a top meeting point.”

Photographs: Yash Thakkar