Ahmedabad, the largest city of Gujarat in western India, nestles on the bank of Sabarmati River. Once called the Manchester of the East for its textile industry, Ahmedabad has been a traditional hub for art and culture. Louis Kahn and
Le Corbusier are among the internationally acclaimed professionals who have worked in this vibrant city. Ahmedabad is home to several educational and creative institutes such as the National Institute of Design, The School of Architecture, The Indian Institute of Management, the Centre for Environmental Education and Kanoria Centre for the Arts.
You can visit the L D Museum of Indology,
Calico Museum of Textiles,
Shreyas museum of folk art,
the Ravi Shankar Rawal gallery, Herwitz Gallery and the Husain-Doshi Gufa. The city is rich in heritage and offers stellar examples of vernacular architecture from different periods.
Also worth visiting is the Gandhi Ashram, Jumma Masjid, Sidi Sayed Mosque, Ahmed Shah Mosque, Rani Rupmati Mosque, Hutheesingh Jain temple, Sarkhej Roza and Swaminarayan Temple.
Visitors can take trips in and around Ahmedabad visiting heritage and cultural sites at Champaner, Patan, Lothal, and using Ahmedabad as a base, venture further out to Bhuj and the craft villages of Kutch.
There is year round contemporary cultural activity in Ahmedabad and the city is known for its many festivals including Uttarayan, the exciting festival of kites that takes place in January,
Navratri
(the Festival of ras garba dance),
Diwali (the festival of lights),
Rathyatra (Festival of Lord Jagannath), and Saptak, a festival of Indian classical music. |
