Gujarat’s ARCHAEOLOGICAL MARVELS in association with foreword & contents On the Tourist’s Trail: The Lost Civilisation: 4 Champaner-Pavagadh Dholavira 16 View Finder: 18 Uparkot Fort Palatial Splendour: Lakhota Palace and 20 All is Well: Adalaj Vav 6 Museum Arch of Victory: 8 Vadnagar Toran Enduring Images: Lothal10 Gateway to Glory: Polo Monuments, 22 Vijaynagar On the Way: Heritage Walks, Down Under: Ahmedabad 12 Rani Ki Vav 24 Temple Tour: Modhera Think Tank: Sarkhej Sun Temple 14 26 Roza Photographs Gujarat Tourism, Darshan Tripathi l Words Runa Jog Dhadphale PHOTOGRAPHS USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY ALL DETAILS CORRECT AT PRESS TIME LONELY PLANET MAGAZINE INDIA CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY CHANGES On the Tourist’s Trail The citadel: Remains of of Champaner. Today, the the fortifications that Mahmud easier alternative of a cable- Begda had envisioned and car ride to the top is available. put into place can still be There are also other Hindu seen — the large, rectangular and Jain temples (13th to 15th- entrance gates, especially Halol century AD) in the area. and Godhra, as well as portions Mosques: Champaner is a of the great wall, once rising fascinating study of mosques. nearly 10m high, and forming There’s Jami Masjid with its the first line of defence (Sadan carved entrance and imposing Shah Gate, cut through solid courtyard. More carvings rock, is especially impressive); and great views from the top stone frames for the catapult await you at Kevada Masjid; stands and stone balls found Lila Gumbai Ki Masjid flaunts in the area speak volumes a hanging kalash in the about his readiness, once, prayer hall, while Nagina to fight enemy intrusion. Masjid enchants with a Hindu and Jain temples: Here cenotaph bearing impressive you will find the earliest-known carvings on columns and niches. Hindu temples of Lakulisa (10th to 11th-century AD) and Kalika Mata (also of the same period). It isn’t easy to please the latter deity; you have to humour her GUESS first by undertaking the two- to three-hour, five-kilometre WHAT... trek along a jungle footpath, Champaner was declared something pilgrims have been a UNESCO World Heritage doing for ages irrespective of Site in 2004. the changing fortunes CHAMPANER-PAVAGADH T isn’t surprising for a AD. It then passed into the fort’s ownership to change hands of Gujarat sultan Go Now hands several times in the Mahmud Begda, known Where: course of history. Each to have spent nearly 23 Champaner is 45km from Itime, its character takes years renovating and Vadodara. It is accessible by on newer shades so that improving the fortifications bus or private vehicle. Hire decades later, when you visit of Champaner, now renamed a car if you want to combine as a tourist, you are struck by Muhammadabad. To little your journey here with other the intermingling of different avail, for the fort was soon sites like Jambughoda. elements, faiths and symbols. annexed by the Mughals in Entrance: Champaner, which is spread 1535. For long Champaner Indian/ foreigner ` 5/ 100 on and around the hill of had flirted with glory, but no Time: Pavagadh, started out as more! It went into a steady 10am-6pm part of the Chavda Kingdom decline soon after and was Accommodation: in the eighth century and overrun by wilderness until Hotel Champaner is basic later became the Chauhan a rediscovery of sorts was but provides good views Rajput capital around 1300 made by the British. from its balconies. 4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF GUJARAT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF GUJARAT 5 ADALAJ VAV All Is Well T its most prosaic, just like the water it holds? The five-storey a well is for drawing The Adalaj Vav, built in 1499 underground structure water from. It is by Queen Rudabai, is one has three entrances that a meeting point such brilliant specimen. meet on the first floor Afor men and women from landing. The octagonal the village to discuss their Go Now roof has openings to homes and current affairs as Where: allow air and some light they go about stocking water The city of Ahmedabad is to pass through. It is on for their needs. Sometimes, about 18km away. the stone walls here that it also doubles as a resting Entrance: Free art finds expression, as place for pilgrims and Time: 9am-6pm deities inspiring devotion, passing caravans. It is in Accommodation: kings sitting on stools Gujarat though that it takes Isher International Hotel is and common men going on the feel of a museum; conveniently located close about their business — for what else do you call to Adalaj Vav from churning buttermilk a structure that oozes poetry (Tel: 00-91-079-23600060). to making love. The style combines Islamic patterns with Jain and Hindu symbolism. Look for Ami Khumbor — a pot containing the water of life and Kalp Vriksha — the tree of life, both carved out of a single stone. For divine protection from evil spirits, there’s the representation of the Navagrahas — the nine planets — along the edge of the well. The intricate carvings are all but vanishing in a number of spots here, but where they remain, they are indicative of the extreme skill and talent possessed by the artisans of days gone by. Remember to look closely, for the beauty is in the detail, and you may just miss it. GUESS WHAT... Neither the flight of steps nor the landings in the well receive sunlight except fleetingly at noon, making the Adalaj Vav nearly six degrees cooler than the outside. Talk about natural air-conditioning! 6 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF GUJARAT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF GUJARAT 7 Arch of Victory VADNAGAR TORAN HE little town of Vadnagar is a mosaic of different surviving fragments from Thistory; one such piece is the toran left behind by the Solankis. The name denotes a pair of 12th-century AD columns supporting a graceful arch that rises 40 feet high. Built in red and yellow sandstone and edging Lake Sharmistha, the toran is one of the few surviving entrance gates that were so typical of the Solanki period. The battle and hunting scenes inscribed on the panels suggest that it was erected to celebrate victory at war, but exactly what it was an entrance to remains a mystery. Go Now Where: The nearest railway station is Siddhapur, 42km, on the Ahmedabad-New Delhi railway line. By road, Mehsana is 47km away. Non-metered auto rickshaws make for local transport. Accommodation: The Gemini Guest House is a cheap option, but you will find better places in Ahmedabad (83km). Guess WHAT... In a sense, Vadnagar Toran is a gateway that leads nowhere. It may have served as an entrance to a large temple complex but no such remains have been found here. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF GUJARAT 9 LOTHAL Enduring Images OOKING at the Egypt and Persia. The scattered ruins, it is crumbling remains of private The Archaeological hard to imagine that residences, with neatly Museum (Entrance: ` 2; 4,500 years ago, this built kitchens and brick- Time: 10am-5pm, Sat-Thu) Lmust have been one of paved baths, meticulous preserves relics of the lost the more bustling ports drainage systems and street civilisation and throws in the sub-continent. The layouts further hint at the more light on its history, if name — Lothal, or Mound sophistication of the people you are interested. There of the Dead — certainly and align the settlement is an artist’s visualisation does nothing to inspire such with the once-flourishing just to give you an idea confidence, though evidence Indus Valley Civilisation. of what Lothal may have discovered from 1955-62 looked like in its prime. states otherwise. A glimpse Go Now It will help put things in of the dockyard alone Where: perspective when you go reveals just how scientifically Lothal is 78km from Ahmedabad. about exploring the ruins. advanced its people must It’s a three-hour journey from The following exhibits too have been. At the time, it the capital city by bus. may hold your attention: must have been capable Entrance: Beads: Bead-making of holding 30 ships of 60 Free was a flourishing industry tonnes or 60 ships of 30 Time: then and micro-beads tonnes, a capacity matched Dawn to dusk under 0.25mm have by the modern port of Accommodation: been discovered; a telling Vishakhapatnam. Seals have Slightly pricy, Palace Utelia just example of their expertise been found that indicate oozes atmosphere and is only in the field. the port’s possible trading 7km from the site Weights and measures: ties with Mesopotamia, (Tel: 00-91-79-26445770). These are surprisingly precise and seem to have been standardised across the empire. Earthenware: Large ceramic jars, games and toys as well as human and animal figurines are on display here. Tools: They are handy yet beautifully crafted with human and animal figurines. Guess WHAT... Evidence found at the archaeological site of Lothal links it to the magnificent Indus Valley Civilisation of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa now both in Pakistan. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF GUJARAT 11 Down Under Begin your journey at ground level; several steps and pillared pavilions later, you find yourself at the well. More than 800 sculptures featuring the Dasavataras, or 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu, greet you in this underground gallery. These are accompanied by the usual retinue of sages, brahmins and apsaras. It is at the water level that Lord Vishnu manifests himself as Sheshashayi, the lord reclining on a thousand- hooded serpent. RANI KI VAV HE grandeur of Rani specimens in the state today. Go Now Ki Vav takes you by It was commissioned by Rani Where: surprise.