Walled City features in book series on Seoul's heritage
"Few may know, but the enclosures also served as water reservoirs with wells and a well-maintained water system comprising a river and channels. Panchkuva Darwaza, as the name suggests, got its name due to the presence of five wells, some of which may even have served travellers," said Ashish Trambadia, a city-based conservation architect.
Trambadia, along with his wife Poonam, also a conservation architect, represented the city and India in the Seoul City Wall Studies Series of books focusing on urbanisation and history coexisting in an Asian context.
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Their chapter, 'Ahmedabad Fortification', gave a peek into the development and conservation of the walls over centuries. Poonam Trambadia said that, like Ahmedabad, the city of Seoul is also seen as a medieval walled city before its modern avatar. "Thus, the compendium is seen as a collection of best practices that also includes perspectives from Japan and China among others.
The city was included due to the long history of the fortification and its World Heritage Site status," she said.
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The duo said that built between 1411 and 1486, the city's fortification has a long, documented history with a founding fable including Sultan Ahmad Shah. There are three distinct phases in which the fortification came up and multiple phases of restoration — the last one continuing to date. "We also focused on the original 14 gates of the city, especially the recently restored ones that gave a peek into the city's architectural style and its foundation," said Ashish Trambadia.
"During the restoration of Khanpur Darwaza by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), the roof slab was opened. At that time, we noticed a unique element. Unlike other city gates, it did not have an arch but a beam supported by stone brackets with trabeated spanning commonly seen in eras predating the Sultanate era. It can be seen as a confluence of architectural styles," he said.
"Likewise, at Raikhad Darwaza, we went up to the foundation level for the first time during the restoration process and found the unique technique of layers of bricks between stones, perhaps as a measure to soak moisture and provide a cushion against earthquakes." Poonam Trambadia said that from being the reason for Ahmedabad's municipality to exist (to repair the dilapidated walls) in 1831 to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's historic decision to decongest the walled city areas in 1921, the walls have played an integral role in the city's history.
"Today, they need conservation and maintenance amid several challenges of urbanisation. But the need of the hour is to ensure that we pass them down to the next generation," she said.
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