Utsav | Overlapping lyrical narratives

By virtue of its beautiful location, plenty of architectural marvels, centuries old traditions, and the deeply rooted history, Ahmedabad is often referred to as the ‘Manchester of India’. This city might be known for being among the prominent industrial areas of the country, but it is a lot more than that. It was also once a home to the noted freedom fighters namely Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and Mahatma Gandhi. Ahmedavadis by nature are very warm, vibrant, foodie, helpful and social people. They celebrate their tradition by actively participating in all the festivals. During festivals, the entire city is well lit with bright lights and decorated. The main festivals they celebrate are Uttarayan, Navratri, Diwali and Holi. They are leisure loving people. Hichko (jhula) is very essential element of their houses. They are proud of their history, language, city’s heritage, culture and food. They have embraced modernity, without letting go of their culture and roots. The affinity for water made stepwells nodes for people to come together. Stepwells were not only for water, it was a meeting point for household females and place for celebration. In addition to the historic monuments, there is a potential legacy limit in the form of pols, which are traditional residential clusters of medieval period, making Ahmedabad extraordinary. “Chowk” in the Pol housing was a meeting point of the people in pols. Title of the project “Utsav” is about celebrating behavior of every Ahmdavadi. The project attempts to , “Enhance an existing lake edge that celebrates rich cultural heritage from the past and emerging future of the city. Enabling its inhabitants to gather together and actively engage with open spaces”.