“Why don’t we need AC or fan in Mandirs?”

Following are some interesting parts from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s speech delivered at inaugural function of International Conference on Asian World Heritage Cities in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

-Why don’t we need AC or fan in our Mandirs? That is because of traditional architecture. But we now construct buildings with glass elevation. This is ridiculous and blind adoption of west. While in west they use glass elevation to attract more sunlight, we have harsh summer and therefore our blind followers of west first build buildings with glass elevation and then use curtain to save interior from harsh sunlight.

-I visited Konark sun temple where they show me a sculpture of woman wearing midi and hand bag in her hand. This fashion was there even before 1000 years. We have not progressed ahead much from then to now because we still use that same kind of purse and midi.

-In 1977 when we were fighting emergency, I stayed in Ahmedabad’s Pol areas. Thanks to typical design of pol area, whenever there was an information about possible raid of police, we used to escape one pol to reach another pol via roof tops.

-In Ahmedabad’s pol area, you would see a small door but you enter and you would see a big house inside. The unique architecture is responsible for lower temperature inside the pol house.

-People visit Gandhi’s birth place Kirti Mandir in Porbandar, but they should also visit underground water tank there. This 200-year old water tank still collect rain water which is useful for entire year time. In Gujarat, Nagar community’s girls used to wash their hair only with this kind of conserved rain water in past.

-A place can become historical place just due to single historical event. But to become a heritage city, it needs hundreds of years.

-If one rural boy from some village get success in board exam, whole village would say this is our boy, or some would say this is Ramanbhai’s son. But this culture is absent in the city. If someone has achieved a top position in board exam, not all would feel connected with that success. You loose identity in city area. But Pol area of Ahmedabad has different flavor. Though in city, the people living in pol area are very much connected. There is rural flavor here.

-Gujarat has highest number of heritage structures per square miles in entire India.

-Legendary archaeologist of India, Dr. SR Rao discovered Shri Krishna’s submerged Dwarka city from Arabian sea. We want to showcase this Dwarka to the world through public private partnership project.

-When I went to Washington, I saw Albert Einstein’s statue. It was so beautifully built that one could feel, he will talk right now! Recently in Ahmedabad, statues of poet Dalpatram and poet Akho are matching to Einstein’s statue that I saw in U.S. in quality parameters.

-We have initiated Jal Mandir scheme in Gujarat to revive our ancient stepwells. Now this Mandir word would surely be disliked by Seculars.

-Usually I don’t call journalists, like other politicians do. But one fine morning, I called Bharat Desai, Resident Editor of the Times of India, Ahmedabad. I congratulated him for heritage related coverage in TOI. After some time when I met Desai, I told him to publish a coffee table book about Ahmedabad’s heritage. Finally the Times of India has published a book and it is here. Similarly Ahmedabad’s CEPT university has published a book on stone structures of Gujarat. I congratulate them too for this work.