Ahmedabad, a world heritage city is now 611 years old

 AHMEDABAD, India's first world heritage city. You might have traveled through the city but there is a lot more about the city you should know. The present city was founded on 26 February 1411 but still, If we look in the past there is a long history of this land. 

 In the 11th century, this area was known as Ashaval or Ashapalli, and the Bhil tribal king named Asha used to rule. During this period, a King from the Solanki dynasty named Karandev had a glorious victory over tribes, and he established a city called "Karnavati Nagar". Till the 13th-century Solanki dynasty ruled over Karnavati Nagar. In the early 14th century, the Muzaffarid dynasty used to rule Delhi, and they attacked Gujarat. 

 According to folklore, Sultan Ahmad Shah was passing with a fleet of soldiers from the bank of the Sabarmati river. Ahmad Shah observed that one rabbit was fighting with their hound. Sultan was impressed with the rabbit's courage. He thought that a rabbit who lives in this land is this fearless; if we built a city over here, people might become lionhearted. With this thought, Ahmad Shah started building a city named "Ahamdabad". later on, it became "Ahmedabad" 

 Today only a few people know about stories regarding this city. One of the famous stories is of Maneknath baba. When the sultan started building the city, he began with the walls that covered the entire city. Every day laborers used to construct a wall, and on the following day, when they resumed their work, they found that the wall had collapsed. This thing went on for a few days. After that, few rumors rose among the laborers that a holy man named Maneknath baba used to sit near the construction site. He used to weave the rug the entire day, and at night, when he unwove the rug, the wall used to collapse. Some suggested that this was the consequence of the sultan not asking the baba's permission before starting the city's construction. Sultan heard this rumor, but he didn't believe it to be true and still carried on the wall construction. But the wall used to collapse. The Sultan's advisers advised him to talk to this saint. So he went to the holy Maneknath baba and asked his permission to build the city. Baba granted his permission happily and gave him some instructions. When the sultan started construction according to baba's instructions, he found no destruction. After this incident, the sultan had deep faith in Maneknath baba, due to which the first building built in the city was named after baba as "Maneknath Burj."

 Currently, the city has an area called Manekchauk and here you will find the samadhi of Maneknath Baba. 

The unique thing about Manekchauk is that it conducts three different businesses simultaneously. In the early morning, it is used for cattle feeding (religious purposes), then till evening, it is used as a jewelry market, and from evening till the very morning, it is used as a street food market.

 Today this walled city has become 611 years old and witness of Mughal rule became an important part of the Freedom struggle and played a key role in modern Indian politics. This city has a lot of stories to tell and we will bring these kinds of stories to you.

P.C: Hemangi Shukla.