Ahmedabad, DeshGujarat

Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was looking more like a curious reporter rather than high profile princess of Thailand. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was on one day visit of Ahmedabad city. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn walked in narrow streets of Ahmedabad’s old wall city area participating in Heritage walk, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Sidi Saiyad ni Jali(wonderful carving in Ahmedabad’s mosque), Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram and Adalaj stepwell.

Heritage walk starts from Swaminarayan temple campus at Kalupur. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn curiously asked questions about carving, building style and history of wooden haveli at Swaminarayan campus. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn paid visit to wife of this sect’s chief and spent half an hour discussing with her.

Participating in heritage walk, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Kavi(poet) Dalpatram’s sitting statue situated at the place where this poet actually was residing. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn studied Chabutara(community operated small towers at public places for birds rest, water and feeding) system with great interest. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn curiously asked every kind of detail and noted down in diary. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn frequently used to click photographs using her ordinary digital camera to document her experience.

In Ramji mandir, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn performed Arti. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn prayed lord Rama’s idol and donated money presenting envelop there. In ‘Pol’ area (Ahmedabad’s original wall city locality with narrow streets) people had gathered in balconies and footpaths for a glimpse of princess. Old ladies showered blessings to princess from balconies, young ladies greeted her with red dot on forehead (Kanku chaanlo) and garlanding. Children waived hands and shouted. Princess visited two Jain temples and donated money there. At one place when she saw underground rain water harvesting tank, she immediately prompted her assistant to collect all the details of that subject.

After heritage walk, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Sabarmati Gandhi ashram where she started working on spinning wheel (Charkha) and bought some books by Gandhi. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn then visited Adalaj stepwell and afterwards rushed to Anand to visit Amul dairy and NDDB. In the evening she visited a small village Naavli where she witnessed cooperative milk movement on the ground. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn observed and enjoyed how milk is collected from rural people at one place and how they are paid.

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Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is in the campus of Kalupur Swaminarayan temple in the morning. Debashish Nayak, a coordinator of Ahmedabad Wall City Heritage Walk( Debashish started this walk in Ahmedabad and several more cities across India including Delhi and Jodhpur) is narrating history and importance of this campus which has first Swaminarayan temple and amazing Haveli(building) with authentic Gujarati wooden architecture.

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After visiting Chabutara(small wooden carved tower which is created by community for feeding and resting of birds)Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was at Dalpatram chowk. This was third stoppage of Heritage walk. Princesss Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was sitting besides Great Gujarati poet of 20th century Shri Dalpatram’s statue. This statue was put here in the course of Heritage walk. Dalpatram’s original house was at this place. House was very much weaken and was on the verge of collapse. Heritage walk became savior for Dalpatram’s house and it was restored along with new establishment of this statue of Dalpatram.

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After visiting another Chabutara and having a site scene of Calico Dome on Relief road Princess Maha chakri sirindhorn passed through a very narrow street in ‘Pol’ area of old Ahmedabad and entered into a Kala-Ram temple. This temple has unusual black idol of Lord Ram. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was prevented to enter into the Hindu temple at Jagannath Puri in the past because she was not Hindu. But here in Kala-Ram temple she was welcomed and she also participated in Aarti too. She paid an envelope of donation to this temple.

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When Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn passed through narrow streets of ‘Pol’ area, old women showered blessing from balconies and people gathered there, followed her crew curiously.

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In this video you can see internal chowk( small open square) in the ‘pol’ area. After visiting one ‘deraasar’(Jain temple) Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited this chowk. You can see a person feeding squirrels. You can also see in this video, small holed specially created at the height on the outer side wall of residential building for nesting purpose of birds.

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And this is the photograph of Jagvallabh Derasar(Jain temple) where finaly Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn arrived to see underground idol, wooden carving and underground rain water harvesting tank. In this video you can see that, she was curiously inquiring about what this person was doing. That person actually was making ‘Chandan’ from sandalwood for the purpose of making dot on forehead which is considered as a riligious ritual.

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