AHMEDABAD

By ANIl MUlCHANDANI

Spend your first morning at the Gandhi Ashram where you can see the spinning wheel, work table and simple belongings of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba at their house called the Hriday Kunj. Walk the hallowed ground to the prayer area overlooking the Sabarmati River, and get an insight into the life of Gandhi in Ahmedabad from 1915 to 1930 at the Charles Correa designed Gandhi Memorial. Travel north from here to Calico Museum of Textiles. Lunch on kebabs, and biryani at Mirch Masala (Chandkheda Gandhinagar Road; tel: 079-6450 5334). Continue from here to Auto World Museum, which exhibits a stunning collection of vintage and classic cars that once belonged to Maharajas. Dine at the museums Vintage Village where Gujarati food is served in bell-metal utensils.

Join the Ahmedabad Heritage Walk (8 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.) to see the havelis, temples, mosques and other monuments along the labyrinthine lanes of the 600-year old walled city. Hungry after your walk? Have a Gujarati-style breakfast of fafda, jalebi and dal at Chandravilas, which has stood at Manek Chowk for over a century. Explore the textile and jewellery markets nearby. For a meat feast, lunch at Bhattiyara Galli of Khas Bazaar—get mutton, chicken, fish or eggs fried in front of you on tawas served with khichdi, biryani or tawa rotis. Travel to the medieval Kankaria Lake around which are the pedestrian boulevard, amusements and infotainment for children, and a zoological park. Dine at The Green House (tel: 2550 6946), the garden caféof the House of MG which is known for its chaat and handmade ice-creams.

Drive to Gandhinagar, the capital complex about 30 km from the House of MG. On the way, visit the medieval Adalaj stepwell which has superbly detailed carvings along its stairways. Spend the rest of the morning at the Indroda Park, which has life-size models of dinosaurs, prehistoric fossils and a nature park. For lunch make your way to the Indus restaurant of the Cambay Spa and Golf Resort, and then visit the Akshardham Complex with its imposing temple and state-of-theart shows. Dine on Parsee food at the Keys Cama Hotel (Khanpur Road; tel: 2560 1234).

Experience Ahmedabads contemporary creative scene. Visit the National Institute of Design where you can buy garments and accessories from NIDUS, then cross the road to the Le Corbusier-designed museum building called Sanskar Kendra which houses a unique kite museum and a museum dedicated to Ahmedabad. Indulge in a sumptuous Gujarati thali on Ashram Road which has well-known places like the Gopi Dining Hall (tel: 2657 6388) and Pakvaan (tel: 2687 3290). Head from here to the University area where there is an Indology Museum, MF Hussains museum called Hussains Doshi Gufa, and a number of art galleries. Head for Vishala Village which is Ahmedabads iconic village theme restaurant, for dinner.

Dedicate this day for shopping. Start at Ashram Road with ethnic clothing shops like Asopalav (tel: 2657 9704) and Deepkala (tel: 2657 7549), Ajanta Shopping Centre for salwar kameez sets, and designer boutiques like Bandhej (tel: 2642 2181), Harita Kapur (tel: 2640 4647) and Shyamal & Bhumika (tel: 2656 2600).