ReMindful : Holi Ahmedabad!

The shrine in Deepal's yard.

In mid-March, I flew to Ahmedabad for a reunion with my friend Deepal, whom I met 10 years ago in Hawaii during an East-West Center conference. We remember singing lots of karaoke along with other participants, namely an extremely corny, beery and wonderful version of "We Are the World."

Back to 2014: Deepal, now editor of the Ahmedabad Mirror, planned a chock-full itinerary for me. While she worked, I was sent off with her driver to explore. First stop: the Calico Museum of Textiles, home to an astonishing collection of weaving, embroidery, brocaded and quilted pieces, all handmade; some as long as 500 years ago.

No photos were allowed, so here are some images from the collection that I cribbed from the Internet:

From there, it was on to the Old City, where Muslims and Hindus live uneasily side by side (more to come on this part of town). Appropriately, the next stop was the Conflictorium, a grass-roots museum housed in a former beauty salon where permanent interactive exhibits and public programs are designed to defuse communal tension.

Museum staff.

In one room, life-size silhouettes of Indian greats stand in harmony or opposition to one another.

Toured the Gandhi Ashram, where Gandhi lived for a period and launched the march to Dandi in protest of the British Salt law. Good timelines chronicling the Mahatma's life and displays of some of his few possessions, including a spinning wheel and his walking stick. Peaceful place on the river, and an all-things Gandhi gift shop.

I also visited Deepal at work and spoke with some of her reporters, who were prepping for the grueling national elections. It was the first time I've been in a newsroom in nearly six years!

Mirror staff

Mirror newsroom

The next day, an early morning heritage walk through the Old City took me through different "pols," or communities that established boundaries between castes as well as faiths. Here and there, though, architectural mayhem broke out, resulting in homes constructed by British, Mughals and Brahmins within a few steps of one another.

One of the Old City's few remaining bird houses; this one is still maintained and regularly stocked with feed to ensure that Hindus make good on their responsibility to all creatures great and small.

Beautiful, old, old, neglected house made from teak.

Laundry abstraction

Doorway

Cul de sac

Easy rider

That evening, I got to see "the world's first water show created to convey a spiritual message through a delightful fusion of lasers, lights, water, fire, sound, animation, video projection and live characters," according to a promotional brochure. As promised, it was an extravaganza of flames and fountains, darting lasers and a Wizard of Oz -like god projected against a 60-foot-tall screen of gushing water. The show takes place nightly at the Swaminarayan Akshardham, a relatively new mega temple on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, where families come to pray, view dioramas dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan, eat ice cream, spin around in a small amusement park, and stroll on grounds where the topiary elephants roam.

Holi, a holiday celebrating the death of an evil witch, fell on Monday, so Deepal's household "played Holi ," flinging clouds of colored dust at one another or rubbing it into the scalp with frighteningly pink and green results.