I got to welcome the the new year in a new city - Ahmedabad - the city of Kites, Camels and Krishna...:-)
Every city has its own unique flavor - its culture, history, climate, food and people make it a totally one-of-its-kind combo.
Ahmedabad city : first look from the railway station.
The first thing that leaps out as soon as you step out of the station are the auto-rickshaws - bright green and yellow, a fresh welcome from the "taxi" black and yellow ones here...
Another prominent thing was the numerous vibrant kites lined up in a riot of colours along shops in the street. Also got to see the "manja" in making... along roadsides - between two rotating wheels, and lines and lines of colorful thread spinning away merrily! Ekdum jhakkas!
IIMA - saw the campus from the outside!
What stood out in the city were its rows of quaint little pretty bungalows - complete with a lawn,garden and a swing - making me wish I owned one!! *sigh* ;-)
Peacocks - everywhere : from hotel motifs, kurta patterns to real ones along a particular stretch of the road (not kidding!) :-))
Camel carts : saw these quite frequently along streets, as conspicuous as horse carts in some parts of our city.
Gandhiji: Visited the Sabarmati ashram...will write about it soon.
Awesome tea and coffee : everywhere from roadside canteens to hotels to railway-ka-chai...normal tea was always spiked with masala - u needn't specify a "masala" chai! Ah, loved it! :D
Traffic : We named it "manmaani" traffic - thanks to the "manmaani" of the autowallahs, car-drivers and bikers who ignoring the presence of traffic cops and signals alike, continued to go about their way as they pleased.
Narendra Modi : staring out from posters and ADs promoting a "vibrant Gujarat 2011" - won't get into the politics and all, but you couldn't ignore the presence of this man - almost everywhere in the city.
Akshardham temple : Housed in huge grounds - the infamous terrorist attack spot.
But inside the temple, it was pure serene calm - almost making you disbelieve that such cruel and heinous attacks could have taken place within such environs...
Krishna : It was almost synonymous with the city, with every other shop/stall/hotel named after the God.
The food - TOTALLY deserves a separate post! :D
Have a wonderful and rocking 2011!
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