This post is a continuation of my travel series “Beauties of Mumbai & Ahmedabad”.
I hope you’ve read my previous post, if not please find the link at the end of the post.
After a splendid day 2 we were excited for the next day (Our Last day) in Ahmedabad.
Deepthi had a workshop that day but in the morning unlike the previous day. I had half a day till noon for myself before she was back from workshop. I started off from the hotel after having breakfast by 8:30Am.
Calico Museum of Textiles Collection:
As my trip was pre-planned I registered for guided tour in advance. I couldn’t find any registration link on website of calico museum so instead, called them and confirmed my registration. There are many rules in place drafted by the foundation, so in case one decides to visit this place it is absolutely necessary to be aware of them so I thought of including few basic guidelines below…
Quick Info:
- The gallery is open free of charge on all days of the week, except on Wednesdays and public holidays.
- The guided tour starts at 10.30 AM and ends at 1.00 PM. Entry is permitted only between 10.15 AM and 10.30 AM.
- Visitors must pre-register for the tour, through website (www.calicomuseum.org) or telephone (+91-7922868172/7922865995).
- Maximum number of visitors per tour is restricted to 20.
- Children below 10 years of age are not admitted on the museum tour; the ages between 10-15 years will be permitted to visit the museum if accompanied by a parent, guardian or tutor.
- Photography/videography is not permitted in the premises. No handbags/baggage, cameras or mobile phones are allowed in the premises; One must leave their belongings in their own vehicles; there is a provision for depositing belonging at the gate.
As You would know by now that photography is not allowed here, I couldn’t carry my camera. I anyhow carried my mobile phone with me as it would be difficult to commute in a new place without it and risked to leave it with the security at the gate. One will not be allowed to enter the premises for guided tour after 10:15Am, so to be on a safer side I reached there by 9:30am. Guided Tour started at 10:30am.
Art is something which I admire to the core…be it any form! I find immense joy in witnessing the beauty Art has to offer. My visit to Calico Museum was one such experience! I was spell-bound by the vast collection they had. The museum is set up in Sarabhai-Ni-Haveli and few other complex of buildings. The collection included…
* Textiles that represent era of the Mughal and Regional Courts
* Export Textiles which represent culture beyond our land
* Indian Costumes that were beautifully weaved.
* Many displays of Regional Embroideries
* There was also a section for display about Techniques of Weaving and Dyeing
* Also a section about Tie-Dyed Fabrics (Bandni Print)
* A separate section which shows Embroidery Techniques
* Ritual Textiles which represent Vallabha Sampradaya
* Images and Abodes of Indian Deities
* Sacred Bronzes from South India
* Jaina – Textiles, Manuscripts, Sculptures and Ceremonial Objects and Wood work
* Also a collection of Miniature Paintings
Image source for all the images : The Calico Museum of Textiles and The Sarabhai Foundation Collections
Delicious Gujarati Cuisine!
Guided tour ended at 1Pm and I was starving by then! Deepthi’s workshop was also done by then. After we had khandvi, fafda and jalebi the previous night my craving for local cuisine increased! So we decided to have our lunch at Gordhan Thaal. Need I say more…
After a scrumptious meal..We headed towards Veechar Museum for Utensils….
Veechar Cultural and Heritage Museum for Utensils:
We arrived at Veechar museum at around 2:30 Pm. Entry fee was 10/-. We collected our tickets and headed towards the museum. The whole premises gives you the feel of a village. Entire arena was setup like that. The collection they had of utensils which were used in old days were stunning! I guess the slide show of pictures below sums up everything I want to express…
You are going to see a lot us below….!
Time for Khahra shopping…!
As we finished our walk through the utensils museum it came into thought that we are yet to purchase the famous khakra! Had to buy khakra for sure when we were in the heart of Gujarat! So we headed towards Induben Khakhrawala.
We thought of purchasing just Khakra but ended up buying buying different flavors of Khakra, Thepla, Bhakarwadi and Mirchi ka achar! Girls and shopping are inseparable I guess 😉
Law Garden Road – Night Market:
We heard a lot about the famous Law Garden Road which is a paradise for shopping freaks…So there was no chance we were going to miss it! It was a long stretched street of small stalls and is basically a night market. We found many shops displaying ethnic attires of Gujarat like Ghagra Choli and many other fabrics of daily use like bed sheets, cushion covers, doormats, curtains, diwan spreads and what not! All of them representing the essence of Gujarat in it! We strolled around and settled with palazzo’s and a printed jute bag which were in ethnic prints…
Images sources : Flickr, Caleidoscope
Sabarmati Riverfront:
Well! As our long walk across the law garden road came to an end, we decided to have a long peaceful walk at River Front alongside the river Sabarmati. We hopped into an auto rickshaw and reached River Front by 8pm.
I would have regretted not visiting riverfront if we decided to skip it! I am not sure about the daytime but at nights, a walk at riverfront is mesmerizing with a view of lights on the other side of the river and cool breeze which instantly calms you down!
We had a long peaceful walk and sat there for a while listening to the sounds the river was making in a rhythm and enjoying that cool breeze! The feeling was indeed heavenly!
My camera’s battery was out of charge, yet I managed to click few pictures on my phone…here is one of the picture from my clicks…
Kankaria Lake:
We reached Kankaria lake by 9:30Pm, it was already late and we were starving and tried. We strolled around a bit and had some snacks at a food outlets there. There was not much energy left with in us to explore kankaria lake completely and were also not left with ample of time to do so…Hence after a quick look around we headed back to our hotel…
we reached our hotel room and ordered dinner at hotel itself…
As Deepthi’s friends spent their time visiting malls and food joints like Mc’D and KFC we were strolling around places which showed us essence of Ahmedabad. Our decision to part our ways with them in exploring Ahmedabad proved to be fruitful as we got to see the culture of the place! Ahmedabad with its rich heritage and warm people surly felt like home (Hyderabad).
Only regret I had at end of our trip was that we couldn’t make it to Akshardham (Gandhinagar) and I couldn’t manage to meet a dear friend who resides in Ahmedabad due to our packed schedule!
I couldn’t sleep well whole night thinking about parting the city and it made me sad…I could feel a connect with the city and I wanted to spend more time in Ahmedabad…
Next day (28th of Nov, 2016) we woke up early as we had an early train (6:20 Am) to catch, which headed to Mumbai….We reached the station in nick-of-time and as the train departed I was left with mixed feelings…felt happy that we had wonderful time at Ahmedabad and my initial blues about the city after a bad start we had on our 1st day just vanished and suddenly I was feeling sad at the same time that it was time to bid farewell to my journey there…!
Yet again after a long tiresome journey of nearly 7 hours in a chaircar-couch train our Train Reached The Terminal (Mumbai Central railway station) marking end of our trip to Ahmedabad and start of new experiences at Mumbai…
Stay tuned guys! More stories to come in future…
Until next time…
Ciao
You can read the previous posts here:
Trivial Adventure #SiblingDiaries Part1
Peaceful Morning #SiblingDiaries Part2
Celestial Vibes #SiblingDiaries Part3
Impeccable Structure #SiblingDiaries Part4
Troublesome First Day #SiblingDiaries Part5
Rebounding from Setbacks! #SiblingDiaries Part6
Those memorable days! #SiblingDiaries Part7
I AM TAKING PART IN THE WRITE TRIBE PROBLOGGER OCTOBER 2017 BLOGGING CHALLENGE.
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Gordhan Thaal and Induben Khakhra is a must visit. I miss Ahmedabad again 🙂 Thanks for capturing it so beautifully.
I had to post my writeup upfront as i was missing on dead line! Couldn’t upload pictures then…Just updated my post with my clicks…Hope you will give it a revisit! And let me know your thoughts…
You ate that entire thaali by yourself? 😮 Wow. That’s some appetite! 😛
Thanks for another glimpse of the city. 🙂
🙁 You know what happened! Updated my post with more pictures and write-up..Hope you will give it a revisit…
WOW I LOVE THE WAY YOU WRITE
I had to post my writeup upfront as i was missing on dead line! Couldn’t upload pictures then…Just updated my post with my clicks…Hope you will give it a revisit! And let me know your thoughts…
????
Such AN AMazing Travelogue of My city !
Cheers!
🙁 I had to post my writeup upfront as i was missing on dead line! Could upload pictures then…Just updated my post with my clicks…Hope you will give it a revisit! And let me know your thoughts…
Its a pleasure that you visited my city and liked few things and actually wrote a post on…. Liked the descripthion, specially the thali pic !
Thank you 😀 More clicks added into post after your comment!
Delighted to watch it. Thanks for the addition.
The post is beautiful, and your words are garland over it!
OMG! This is the most wonderful comment i got today 🙂 Thanks a lot Masoom.
??? Happy Happy.
Happy-Bee 😛
🙁 I had to post my writeup upfront as i was missing on dead line! Couldn’t upload pictures then…Just updated my post with my clicks…Hope you will give it a revisit! And let me know your thoughts…
What a virtual tour dear:)
Truly enjoyed
Thanks a lot Zainab 🙂 It means a lot that you liked it…
Loved the new pics too. 🙂 Especially the night one! 😀
PS: I still don’t know if you ate the whole thaali or not 😛 Can’t rule it out.
Yeah I did complete it! My love for food is beyond anything 😛
Thanks vinay for the revisit and also sorry for the trouble :0-
Keerthi firstly let me thank you for describing my home town so beautifully. Just a note : The Induben Khakrawala store from where you bought Khakras is not the original one. The store started by Induben – a very enterprising lady is at Mithakali , the store picture which you have included is one from the road off C.G road. This guy is using Induben’s brand name for his benefits , he has just made few changes in the logo which tourists would not know about, that’s why I thought I mentioning here.
Sabarmati Riverfront is one of the most successful project of Modi Government. Earlier the Sabarmati river used to be dry for most of the time of the year , but thanks to the Narmada dam project, Ahmedabad city doesn’t face water problems anymore.
Loved reading about your experience at Gordhan Thal, the owner of the restaurant Is known as Gordhan Maharaja and he also did catering for my wedding. All those memories refreshed in my mind on reading your post.
Oh we were not aware of the fact that it was not the original store! Glad that you told me so i can suggest anyone else..! We loved our lunch at Gordhan Thal..I am glad that it brought back such beautiful memories of yours 🙂
Could you DM in Facebook or Twitter which is the original store. Would want to keep it for my reference and save it for my next visit.
Sure Keerthi
This is a fabulous travelogue . The thaali looked so yummiliciois! I thought even for 2 it was too much.. ?
I sure will visit it again for the pics.. keep posting and updating pls
Thanks a lot for stopping by 🙂 I am glad you liked them.
Gujarati and food is a great combination ?
Ha ha indeed Arv! Thanks a lot for stopping by 🙂 Aren’t you taking part in Write tribe Problogger Challenge?
No, Keerthi! For MFA was also a bit squeeze for me with 8 posts. Generally, I take lot of time to write as there are so many pictures to edit and then its also about you being in a frame of mind. But I might give it a shot next time. When is it happening next…any idea?
No arv no idea as of now! But sure will keep u updated when i get to know abt it 🙂
Thank you, Keerthi! 🙂
Fantastic description! I’m wondering why children below 10 aren’t allowed for Calico Museum tour. That sounds strange.look forward to read your future posts!
The pieces of art and the fabric on display are old and many are displayed in open as proper care and cleaning should be done on regular basis, one of the reason by children below 10 are not allowed as they can be quite tricky sometimes to manage!
Ah okay, got it. Thanks! 🙂
Great post!
Seeing Ahmedabad from your lens is different yet at the same time feels so good… Living here & thriving here.
Thanks a lot Nikita for dropping by! There was a connect with the city…loved my trip to ahmedabad 😀
??? if you plan to visit it next, lemme know – we can catch up.
Sure thing! 🙂
The artwork and textile looks so beautiful… The timings are pretty strict for entry. I am glad no camera was allowed as people tend to click more than enjoy and understand the beauty of art. The Thai looks so delicious. I am now craving for a good Indian thali. You had such an enriching experience. Loved reading.
Yeah enjoyed a lot during our trip it was indeed memorable 🙂
The calico musuem has me intrigued and I am realising my list of things to see in Ahemdabad is increasing steadily!! 😉 What food smorgasboard you have shared here Keerthi – man I am hungry and can eat that whole lot in one go!!
Glad to see you have been enjoying the sister sojourns- looking forward to reading more of these 😉
Ha ha being a foodie it was like a paradise for me! Do visit veechar museum as well shalz its will be an unique experience!
That thaal looks so tempting..I need to go grab a midnight snack now!
Ha ha i what a coincidence i was just thinking to make something as i am craving!
Thanks a lot for stopping by Mahak 🙂
Wow looks like a fab fab trip! Loved the pics again glad you decided to explore the city than go to malls
Yeah its been my calling when ever i visit a new place. I love to explore the street and get to know the culture that place has to offer 🙂
Thanks a lot for stopping by Aks! You know how much it means to me 😀
wow, this post is quite a feast. thank you for sharing.
anyway, i think i know what you meant when you said that leaving Ahmedabad made you sad. one irony of traveling is that once you get used to the place, it’s time to go.
Yeah! True that…
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
What a lovely travelogue. I felt like I was seeing the Calico Museum through your eyes. If only I could reach out through the screen and grab some of that yummy food ?
Ha Ha thanks a lot Apeksha 😀
Ahmedabad is one place u can buy some good fabrics from gujju stuff
We purchased some!
Thanks a lot for stopping by 🙂