chabutaro/ santanu prasun

Introduction

While making the journet into the history of art and design we tried to make an attempt to relook and trace back t5he history of our existence. We saw how form changed from time to time. How product evolved and get accepted by the mass. But deeper than it’s tecniquecalities and economical fluency, it is its strong asthetic, culture and its strong functional aspect that made it stand out from the rest.

Living in the city of history and vast culture, ahmedabad , we thought of searching the city and tracing its evolution and history.


AHMEDABAD THE CITY OF HISTORY


The city came into being on the easty bank of the sabarmaty river.The site appears to have been occupied by settlements going as far back as the stone age and there are later vestiges bearing evidence to the existenence of buildings erected along the river at sarangpur ,Raipur ,Raikad and Bhadra. According to literary sources, Karnadeva, Solanki, king of Anahilvada – Patan established his capital here between 1063 and 1093. The firs city was designated in the 14th century by the name of Ashaval. Asha bhil- no-tekro, some where near Dhaal-ni-pol, is eaven today known .All-biruni a Persian from 11th century and jain author in the 12th century mentioned the city of Ashaval and Karnavacati,but say nothing of its precise location or of its size.

Thus Ahmedabad dates officially back to 1411,founded as it was by Adamed Shah ani its history can be divided into five periods. Origin of name
There is a legend associated with Ahmedabad. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, an independent sultanate ruled by the Muslim Muzaffarid dynasty was established in Gujarat. Sultan Ahmed Shah, while camping on the banks of the Sabarmati river, saw a hare chasing a dog. The sultan was intrigued by this and asked his spiritual adviser for explanation. The sage pointed out unique characteristics in the land which nurtured such rare qualities which turned a timid hare to chase a ferocious dog. Impressed by this, the sultan, who had been looking for a place to build his new capital, decided to found the capital here and called it Ahmedabad.
Solanki dynasty
Archaeological evidence points to the occupation of the site from a much earlier period than that of Sultan Ahmed Shah. It was known in ancient times as Ashapalli or Ashaval. In the eleventh century the Solanki King Karandev I, ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan), waged a war against the Bhil king of Ashaval. After his victory he established a city called Karnavati on the banks Sabarmati at the site of modern Ahmedabad. Solanki rule lasted until the thirteenth century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dwarka.
Sultanate rule
Gujarat was then conquered by the Sultanate of Delhi at the end of the thirteenth century. In 1487 Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer city wall six miles in circumference and consisting of 12 gates, 189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements to protect it from outside invaders. The last Sultan of Ahmedabad was Muzaffar II.
Mughal rule
Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1573. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the empire's thriving centres of trade, especially in textiles, which were exported as far as Europe. Jehangir, son of Akbar, visited Ahmedabad in 1617 but did not like it and called it Gardabad, the city of dust. Shahjahan spent the prime of his life in the city, and also built the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug.
Maratha rule
In 1753, the armies of the Maratha generals Raghunath Rao and Damaji Gaekwad captured the city and ended Mughal rule in Ahmedabad. A famine in 1630 and the constant power struggle between the Peshwa and the Gaekwad virtually destroyed the city. Many suburbs of the city were deserted and many mansions lay in ruins[1].
British rule
The British East India Company took over the city in 1818. A military cantonment was established in 1824, a municipal government in 1858, and a railway link between Ahmedabad and Bombay (Mumbai) in 1864. Ahmedabad grew rapidly, becoming an important center of trade and textile manufacturing.
The struggle for independence from the British soon took roots in the city. In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi came from South Africa and established two ashrams in the city, the Kochrab Ashram near Paldi in 1915 and the Satyagrah Ashram on the banks of Sabarmati in 1917. The latter was later called Harijan Ashram or Sabarmati Ashram. He started the salt satyagraha in 1930. He and many followers marched from his ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, to protest against the British imposing a tax on salt. Before he left the ashram, he vowed not to return to the ashram until India became independent.
Post independence
After independence, Ahmedabad became a provincial town of Bombay. On May 1 1960, Ahmedabad became a state capital as a result of the bifurcation of the state of Bombay into two states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. A large number of educational and research institutions were founded in the city in the 1960s. In February 1974, Ahmedabad occupied the centre-stage of national politics with launch of the Nav Nirman agitation. It started of as an argument over a 20% hike in hostel food bill in the L.D. College of Engineering, but ignited an agitation which later snowballed into the Nav Nirman movement. This movement caused the then chief minister of Gujarat, Chimanbhai Patel, to resign and also gave Indira Gandhi one of the excuses for imposing the Emergency on June 25, 1975[2]. There were two major anti-reservation protests in 1981 and 1985[3]. On 26 January 2001, a devastating earthquake centred near Bhuj, measuring 6.9 on the richter scale, struck the city. As many as 50 multistoried buildings collapsed killing 752 people[4]. In February and March 2002, Ahmedabad witnessed communal riots as an aftermath of the burning of a train full of Hindu pilgrims at Godhra.
The pols of Ahmedabad
The gropping of the houses into pols of Gujrat and specially of Ahmedabad Pols can befound Cambeay,Baroda,Vaso,Sidhpur and Pattan. A pol is agathering of houses gropped together along interior streets closed off by a gate having above it the quarters of a guard.We know little if anything regarding the founding,dating and development of the pols is such that we cannot deduce whether they resulted from the dividing up of large plots of land or rather from the gradual gropping together of smaller plots of land. Initially,each pol was inhabited by community of the same religion cast,or trade and this still holds true today.
The cadaster shows that different types of pol exist.Some are of an organic type and would appear to have been formed by aggretion’ whereas others resemble planed housing tracts straked out deliberately in one step.The dimension of the pols varies,ranging from the few houses to several hectares.An interlocking of pols which at times are subdivided in to subpol,can also observed.
No attempt were made to delineate and count the number of pols even through mention was made in 1872 of 356.On the basis of cadastrl numbering it would appear that there are curently some 500 pols,leading to concider that the pols are subdivided,for the counting of pols only cka space and concern those districts which have been distructured.
The areas outside of the pols is defined as non pol,a naka space and includes the open space surronding places of worship and main roads.The limits of the pols facing these roads identified by facades onto which small shops have been built but which remain in non pol space .The houses on the borderline betwn pol space.The houses on the borderline between pols can be identified by their large plinth stuructures,blind walls and small windows of their rear frontages. There can also be narrow alleys in the space separaing two pols.
Not only can pols defined by their nestling togethr as separation techniques but also in terms of their equipment.
The pols gate ..The poral under the porch affording access to the main street is the only way into the pol.When passing through the portal one leaves behind the din marchant streets of the techiniquality of the pole. A steep stairway leads to the guards quarters located on the top of a portal. To provide for access control the main leaves of the door are kept closed. Only a small wicked door in one of the leaves affords access into the pole for one person at a time who must duck his head down and step over the high sill.
• the temple near by the entrance of hindu and jain pole is the ritual place for puja, prayers and daily offerings.

• the black board on to which are written the dates of the feast days, wedding or other information for the inhabitants of the pole bearing witness existance of collective life.

• the birds feeders or chabutaro, a pole supporting a platform covered by an awning. The inhabitants bring food here for the birds. It is the common to find here “bird facades” comprising many niches or birds tray which rock under the awning. The chabutaro is crafted out of curved stone or wood or moulded in stucco or plaster. The existance of more recent version in sheet metal or concrit demonstrate that this practices are still very much alive.

• For the most part of the wells which enabled water autonomy of the pole have been sealed off and their sculpted brim removed due to lowering of the water table.

• Water pots sitting atop a podium at the entrance of the pols are therefore for thirsty passers by and can be found frequently at muslim pols.

• Some public toilets are still visible but have been replaced by toilet faccilities in the houses.

• The street and the small quares inside the pols are used for ceremonies, feast and reunion. The ground there is a paved kota stones which have now increasingly given way to asphalt with the arrival of the motor car.
CHABUTARO

Chabutaro is raised platform, where seeds and water for feeding birds like pigeons, sparrow, squirrels and mynahs are kept. The food is kept on a wooden plate like structure and is raised above the ground in order to save the feeding birds from stray cats and dogs. The Chabutaro in ancient times are also known for wooden carvings done on it. The platform built on its pillar is a distinct feature, which invariably served as a meeting place for people. It often served as a resting place for hawkers and a stage for speakers. In the end, the chabutaro did not remain a place merely for feeding birds, but also looked upon as a decorative element in public places and also an iconic location, which people could identify.

Jains have always shared a close relationship with animals and specially birds. The first food of the day has to be offered to animal specially cow. In the old city of Ahmedabad we find holes built in the south east wall of the houses for the dwelling of birds. One primary reason for that is less of vegetation and trees in the old city. Feeding birds is not only a superstition but it has also became a part of daily life. In the older days the land lord or the zagirdars used to built the chabutaros, but now the situation has changed. Each pol has its own chabutra. Not only pols even the modern skyscrapers has its modernistic version of the chabutaro. It has been an interesting study for us to see how the structure and form of the chabutaros has changed from time to time.

In the past the chabutaros used to be built with stone with heavily carved on it. Its used to be a piller placed on a stone platform three feet high. It was used to be a resting place for the travelers or hawkers in the day time. Later we even see wooden chabutaros. In the newer part of the city we even see the latest version of chabutaro. Some are concret and some are made out of tin sheets. And even in some place the whole chabutaro has been replaced with a bowl with grains and water.