Beyond the TANGIBLE....

Some things do not change.....so is our culture....so  intangible , it adds life to the spaces. Be it Community interaction  , be it coming together on the festivals or for those evenings or be it children playing all around adding noise and sense of liveliness to the space...
Yes this is what we call as our culture...this represents us..

Recently we had been to the a   Heritage Walk   in the POLS of Ahmdavad, gushing through the ULTRA NARROW lanes of the old city....feels as if every space is calling you..welcoming you....

                                                         The ULTRA NARROW LANES of the Old City

The old city of ahmdavad is very dense, they call it POLS -The community dwelling places. Pol is the ultimate world  for the people staying there.
We were moving through these lanes to explore the rich heritage that was established here by the different rulers of those times. The Islamic, Hindu and Jain architecture truly add to the diversity of the culture as a whole.

                                                                      Poet Dalpatram  

 

                                                                       The beautiful SWAMINARAYAN TEMPLE
While we were on our way exploring the   dynamics of the spaces  we also in between continuously had glimpses of the people cooking...people washing clothes.....people brushing ( since we had gone at 6 a.m for the walk) doing their Buisnesses as USUAL....
 
This made me think for a while though this heritage walk was a experience in itself, it actually intruded the personal spaces of the people staying there...we had actually disturbed their sense of privacy totaly...!!!

                                                   Uninterrupted BUISNESS AS USUAL... 
A unique sense of community interaction was observed...we saw the MUSLIMS and the JAINS outside the JUMMA MOSQUE  spending a laughing time together ...we saw the community spaces jam packed with the kids & old people enjoying the outdoors....

Sense of attachment....

Sense of community..........

Sense of understanding..

All these were unequivocally expressed by the people in the pols through their actions...More than the heritage...all these human interactions were actually the  magnets  to attract the attention of the people...This is what may be they call as the “ Living Heritage " .....The Heritage that lives in itself....that has brought life in the city...and still continues to be the driving force for the immense enthusiasm they hold....making their place,...a better place to evolve...enjoy and celebrate...........!!!!

This heritage walk made us explore the  True Heritage ...made us realise it does lie in the masterpieces of human  Art and Craft  ... The Human Genius  ...but then they might seem DEAD without the essence and ethos of the actions & activities of the people of the fabric....that add life and a MEANING to the entire picture.
Seeing heritage is probably beyond the Conventional boundaries of the “ Tangible  Heritage ” we often forget to SEE..


Glimpses of the HERITAGE.....