Riona Chintan Shah

MONUMENTS, MEMORY AND RUINS

The foundation stone of Ahmedabad, as the famous folklore goes, was laid by Sultan Ahmed Shah when while banking on the river Sabarmati, he saw a hare chasing a dog. Since then, the most commonly told history talks about the Sultanate reign, the Mughal and Maratha rule, the advent of the British era, Gandhi reaching Ahmedabad, and finally the independence and modernization of the city by mill owners and influential people of the city. The history of Ahmedabad has always only been told of and about the significant people of Ahmedabad. The rulers and leaders have dominated the stories and this leaves out a huge gap. The stories of the rest of the people who have lived, occupied and owned this city for the past 600 years have been lost and forgotten somewhere in this narrative. The Re-interpreted city museum brings to life the stories of the common people of Ahmedabad. The non dominant history, the stories and the experiences that got lost in the mainstream narrative of this world heritage city are revived in the museum for the people of the city. The tale of the city and its people is retold as Aa Che Amdavad. (This is Ahmedabad).