KARAN, an 11 year old boy, accompanied by his father is inside a high speed elevator on his way to the terrace of a magnificent high – tech 80 storied building on the west side of Ahmedabad city, a city known for many things. The terrace is vast and full of ethnic food stalls. The Food Courts of this place is known for its authentic taste and also as a favoured place for tourists.

   The view from the terrace looks magnificent. The sun is about to set in the west behind the forest like National Park, which is a jewel of the city. The sky looks orange and crystal clear. Yes, the city is known for its pollution control and environmental attitude.

   Karan’s father is an Architect by profession. In his mid 40’s, he is in deep thought looking at his beloved city being spread around. He is awakened by a little question asked by his son. “Why is our city so beautiful and clean, dad?”

   The father replies, “There is a great story behind this”. Before they start the story, they occupy a cosy corner and order cold drinks. They are waiting for Karan’s sister “Anu” and his mother who have gone to the National Park with their NRI guests.

   The son cannot wait any longer and so urges his father to reveal the true story. The father stretches to a comfortable position and starts….

   Ten years ago, our city was also included among the dirtiest cities, which had lots of problems. Ahmedabad was known as GARDABAD – a city of dust, a city that was unhygienic. People used to litter the surroundings with plastic and papers. The city could be called the biggest dustbin in the entire world, where civic sense was a big zero. The city had passed through two major quakes - one was the earthquake while the other was man made. Both had shaken each and every living thing. The city, which has a great history, has survived only because of the inner strength of the people. It had great citizens but no leaders…. No hero…. No pathfinder…. The police were also lousy during these times.

   One bright lucky day, a powerful man enters into politics. He is the one who changed your city, my city. This man is my hero and I hope he is yours too. And now the name of our city is a little bright sparkle in the world map. The son suddenly says, “ I know this hero. He is our city mayor”. Yes, it’s because of the great vision of this city mayor, our city is so beautiful. Once the city which was known as Gardabad is now Ahmedabad which is the cleanest not only in India but also around the world.

   During those days, the river Sabarmati was empty, which was later merged with the Narmada River and also the Sardar Canal. Seeing the wonderful sight, people were very excited but the mayor was not. He had read about the greatest dam in China and used to read the issues related to them in the newspapers.

   The Mayor wanted to do something for his city. Unable to sleep, he decided to go for a walk to the Kankaria Lake. Seeing the beauty of the lake, he thought, “If one could build such a lake years ago then we can make it a 500 times bigger lake at present. Though China might have beat us on the Dam Project but we will beat them in the Lake Project”. He decided that he would make such a lake that it will bring the tourists from all over the world to witness such a sight.

   Early next morning, the mayor called for a meeting, which included intellectuals and well-wishers. There was a team of Architects, Engineers, Environmentalists, scientists and many others from the brains trust of the city. They came up with a giant lake project surrounded with a thickly forested park. They also came up with an idea of a high-tech building which will be build as a monument near the park, on which we are at present sitting. The building and lake took 3 years to be completed. Children from all over the city were invited and each of them planted a tree. That is how the National Park began. All the data is stored in the computer and you can identify the plant planted by you and can also know its status now.

   This building is a first of its kind in India and also it is very famous. The next step was to clean up the city just as we clean up our homes by washing roads. The new lake was full with water from the Narmada Canal and there was no water shortage. The third and final step was to train police in a right possible way. Smart and physically strong people were selected and this motivated the other staff members to work well. The policemen who earlier used to smoke and chew tobacco in front of the public were asked to pay a high penalty. This was the story of a great mayor and his three steps - unique lake, cleanliness and great police force for the city.

   Yes, this is the story of Ahmedabad and its growth. Now in 2011, Ahmedabad is the cleanest city in the whole of the planet. The National Parks and its Children's Museum had fetched awards from Singapore last year. The National Park has the highest number of trees planted by the highest number of people. Ahmedabad, today is the only place where the highest numbers of tourists come. There is a ritual being followed that every tourist visiting Ahmedabad is encouraged by its citizens to plant on a tree in the National Park, which will later be taken care of by the Municipality. The status of the tree is always forwarded to the parent tourist by e-mail every year. In 2010, 10 lac tourists visited the park and planted the trees, which is world record according to the UN. Ahmedabad will again break this record, as there are a lot more tourists expected this year. Ahmedabad is also known for its Architecture and its heritage preservation.

   The story is brought to a halt by the arrival of Karan’s sister and the NRI guests. The guests remarked, “ It will take atleast two weeks to see Ahmedabad”. The Ahmedabadi family is proud of its city. They are also proud of Ahmedabad as they themselves are from India. The little girl, Anushree is very happy as she got a chance to plant a tree again as part of the Ahmedabadi rituals.

   The sun has hidden away in the horizon and the clear sky is getting darker. There is a slight breeze on the terrace, which are full of tourists and the citizens of Ahmedabad. The calm atmosphere is enlisted by the music of a carnival festival, which is coming from the promenade near the lake, a lake built by a visionary man and a man who changed this city…. A city known as a….h….m….e….d….a….b….a….d.

   Hiren Patel is a city-based architect. He provides his vision for Ahmedabad on World Tourism Day.

BACK TO ARTICLES