The Guide

“Hello dear, what brings you here at this unearthly hour. My Honourable Master sleepeth now,” said the Goat in White.

“I come in peace not to awaken the Lord but just to see the place. Just a casual visitor, a tourist they call me.” said the Man in Black T-shirt and shorts.

“Tourist and you? Naa-yee,” cried aloud a few more of the breed. “You don’t look like one. Neither is your skin white, nor do you have a camera with a big lens hanging in front. Just by wearing a Man United T-shirt you can’t become the man from Go Ra Land.”

This is what I felt when I landed at around 9 o’clock at night at the Tomb of Ahmed Shah near Manek Chowk at Ahmedabad. With not a soul in sight, these goats were the only guardians of the man in whose memory this city is named. But I later came to know that Ahmed Shah 1 of the Muzaffarid Dynasty ruled the Gujarat Sultanate between 1411 to 1442. He named his new capital city in honour of four Ahmeds- Shaikh Ahmad Khattu Ganj Baksh who was his religious teacher, Kazi Ahmed and Malik Ahmed and His Majesty himself. Sad to see the man who built the city lying alone with no lights, illumination and had it not been for my autorickshaw driver Tauseef, I too would never have ventured into the small lanes of the old city to reach this place.

Met Tauseef near the modern river front of Sabarmati where I landed that evening after finishing my office work. For once I was tempted to take to the speedboat ride but then as usual Mr Google threw up a place called Jhulta Minar which sounded more interesting to go and watch. After bargaining unsuccessfully with Tauseef, the autowala, I started my journey towards the shaking minarets at around 7.30pm. After a couple of minutes into the ride, got befriended with the fellow who suggested that there are some other good places to visit on way to Jhulta Minar and I readily said, ”Yes, let’s go”.

My first stop was Sidi Saiyyed Mosque which was said to have been built by an Abyssinian General of the last Sultan of the Gujarat in 1573. As it had become quite dark, my iPhone failed to capture the lattice work in this mosque which, as explained to me by a bystander, was so intricate that it earned the mosque its other name, Jali Masjid. The most beautifully done work was on a single piece of stone having intertwined trees, foliage and palm motif which has now been used by the best B School in India, IIM-A, as its logo.

By now Tauseef had become my friend and guide…the philosopher part has been intentionally not added to the cliché. The next stop he took me was Jama Masjid via Teen Darwaja which is the historical gateway of the Bhadra Fort. Legend says that Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth, came to the gate of Bhadra Fort to leave the city in the night. The watchman Khwaja Siddique Kotwal identified her and stopped her from going out until he obtained permission from King Ahmed Shah. He went to the king and beheaded himself in order to keep Laxmi in the city which is a reason for the city’s prosperity till date. There is also a tomb near Bhadra Fort dedicated to Siddique Kotwal and a temple of Bhadra Kali representing Goddess Laxmi. A lamp is lit in one cavity of the Teen Darwaza continuously for over six hundred years now by a Muslim family in dedication to the legend.

Tauseef told me that I would not be allowed to enter the Shahi Jama Masjid since I was wearing shorts.I told him it was fine with me if I could just see it from outside. But when we landed there, from outside, this Jama Masjid looked like pigeon hole as compared to the one at Delhi. Tauseef was ,however, determined to take me inside. As I waited at the gate of the Masjid, our man went inside and after ten minutes came back with a lungi. He wrapped the lungi around my waist…it looked quite neat and clean and I walked inside and saw the huge place of worship which could hold a couple of thousands in the open space during namaz.  Jama Masjid was built during the reign of Ahmed Shah in 1424.This mosque was at that point in time the largest and often considered the most beautiful mosque in the East.

By now Tauseef had also become my philosopher and why not. The man had taken so much trouble just to show the masjid to a non-believer that was happy to designate him, Kazi Tauseef.

My next couple of interesting historical stoppages before going to Jhulta Minar were also gems but unfortunately in the darkness of the night they could not be captured well on my camera phone:

Rani Sipri Mosque or the Masjid-e-Nagina. It was commissioned in 1514 by Rani Sipri , the Hindu wife of Sultan Mehmud Begada who had executed their son for some mistake. The queen was later buried inside the mosque.

Rani no Hajiro or Mughalai Bibi’sTomb is a tomb complex where eight tombs of various wives of the Sultans of Gujarat including of Ahmed Shah I are kept. Saw the tombs from outside peeping through the jali work as the tomb was shut by then.The principal tomb belongs to Mughalai Bibi, the wife of Muhammad Shah II.The name reminded me of my mother whose Mughalai paranthas were a big hit with my friends at school.So if ever I were to make a memorial for in her honour, I knew what to name it, Mughalai Ma no Hajiro.

Finally, landed where the journey was to begin, the Jhulta Minar. Here again I was told by a Kazi who descending the steps leading to the mosque that I couldn’t go inside in my shorts and that I should come next morning at 10am in full trousers to see the place. Tauseef pleaded on my behalf with the Kazi saying that I will be going away to Mumbai next morning. The Kazi agreed to let me go inside the complex but not within the sanctum sanctorum which was enough for me. This place is also called the Sidi Bashir Mosque and was built in 1452. The mosque has two tall minarets and a gentle shaking of one of the minarets leads to the other minaret vibrating after a few seconds even though the passage between the two minarets remains free of any vibration. Many have tried to explain the phenomenon but failed to prove anything conclusively.

It was almost 10.30pm and now my energy levels had come down and hunger level had gone up proportionately. Happy at what my guide had done for me during the entire evening, I asked Tauseef to take us to a place where he always wanted to go. He drove me to a place called Araby’s which appeared completely packed with people waiting outside. My Friend, Philosopher and Guide was not one to be denied or delayed a good night’s hard earned dinner at his dream place. He went to the counter and spoke to someone there and in no time we were escorted inside the air-conditioned restaurant. Tauseef proudly told me that one of his childhood friends worked in the place as a manager and his recommendation had worked. Here we were treated to absoloutely wonderful dinner of chilly chicken as starters followed by shahi keema with butter naan and a aerated drink to gulp down. I enjoyed the delicious food but enjoyed seeing Tauseef eat with a childlike delight. He also got me a ten percent discount on the bill.

Now my phone rang…Mumbai Bibi calling…”Bharat Darshan khatam hua tumhara?” Yes, it had ended as Tauseef drove me to my hotel. He refused to take any money for the auto ride and I had to literally force the money into his pocket. He bid good night with a smile which I will never forget for a long time.

It couldn’t have been a more fascinating night travelling to the old city but so full of history at every step. How I wished the sultans of the city today did something to restore these historical sites and promote them for people to come and live history. Mr. Google told me there was much more to see, I told him another day, maybe. I shall come and call Tauseef again. But Google Da told me another interesting tale about the city. Ahmed Shah was camping on the banks of the Sabarmati River when he saw a hare chasing a dog. The Sultan was quite intrigued by this sight and asked his spiritual adviser to explain. The sage pointed out the unique characteristics of the land they were in which nurtured such rare qualities that 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 if there was any place, it had to be this and nowhere else. Little did Ahmed Shah of 1411 realize that the land which would be ruled after six hundred years by Shahs of today would also find the timid vegetable eating population chasing away the ferocious meat eating ones…

No wonder they say, history repeats itself.

SS