The Great Gujarat Road
Odyssey – Day 18: Vaso and Shamlaji
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| Woodland Wonder of Vaso |
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| Carvings on the Shamlaji Vishnu Temple |
The Gujarat
Road Odyssey is winding down. You have never been on the road this long. The
journey has been epic in many ways. Take out the dusty element out and the mostly
miserable state of monuments and Gujarat is the perfect state to be driving
around.
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| Towards Vaso Wonderland |
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| Pij Railway Station ticket counter |
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| It is always lovely to find these quaint railway stations on narrow gauge lines - Pij in Kheda District of Gujarat |
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| Gateway into Vaso town |
There is one
last thing to do before you start making your way back home. You drive back
west from Nadiad, where you stayed for the night, for about 15 kms and arrive
in the town of Vaso. Vaso is supposed to be home to some wooden haveli wonders.
You had seen one such haveli in Jeptur. Apparently, the havelis here are the
motherlode.
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| Vaso: The Clock Tower dedicated to Darbar Gopaldas Desai |
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| Bust of Darbar Gopaldas Desai |
Beyond the
brightly yellow painted entrance gate, is the clock tower with the bust of
Darbar Gopaldas Desai. Gopaldas was a Gandhian and belonged to family of rulers
of Dhasa. He was the first prince to give up his principality and joined the
national movement. The British after warning him confiscated his estate. Later
he with his wife and sons would be jailed. Mahendra Desai was his elder son. Darbar
(Prince) Gopaldas laid the foundation stone to Gandhiji’s memorial Kirti Mandir
in Porbandar in 1947. Upon independence, his estate was reinstated to him and
again was the first ruler to merge his state with Union of India without any
conditions.
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| The nice folks invited you in to take a look |
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| Vaso Delights |
You are now
walking among the lanes of old Vaso. Before coming to the first of the havelis,
you get invited inside a haveli by some nice folks. It is typical Gujarati
haveli with a chowk or the open courtyard in the centre, into which the rooms
open. The verandah has wooden pillars
and beams with the ubiquitous swing. A Gujarati home is known by its swing. Some
neighbourhood havelis have survived with those elaborately carved wooden gates;
and those brackets are jaw droppingly deliciously carved.
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| Chowk of the Vithal Amin Haveli in Vaso, Kheda |
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| Facade and Otlo of the Vithalbhi-ni-Haveli in Vaso |
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| This is eye-poppingly unbelievable |
You are at the
gates of this three storeyed Vithalbhai-ni-Haveli which has the familiar ASI
sign. The haveli was built in 1872 and once belonged to Vithal Amin. Under Gujarat
ASI guardianship, the haveli has good chance of turning into rubble but at
least, it will not turn into a concrete structure. However, getting inside the
haveli will take few phone calls and explanations to some local ASI officials, before
the caretaker allows you inside. Once inside, you realise all the efforts to
get inside were worth it.
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| Vaso: Lintels, panels, sills, everything is a work of art |
This is the
motherlode of a wood wonderworld. You have not seen anything like this before.
Every inch of pillars, beams, lintels, doors, windows, brackets and struts is
carved into designs and motifs and images that takes your breath away. You can
see remains of colours on the different sections of the carvings.
British Library: Photograph of
wood carving on the front of the Dwarkanath Temple, at Ahmadabad in Gujarat,
taken by Henry Cousens in the 1880s, from the Archaeological Survey of India.
This is a view along the main façade, showing elaborately carved balconies,
brackets and pillars. This appears to be a haveli temple, where the upper floor
is used for domestic accommodation, often for those who look after the temple.
The building has a columned verandah with large richly-carved struts holding up
the overhanging first floor, typical of Gujarati buildings. Part of the carved
decoration is a row of stylised elephants heads surrounding the lower part of
the verandah. The studded and embossed carved door is also typical of this
style of architecture.
Photograph of
a carved wooden balcony window with richly carved corbelling at Sidhpur in
Gujarat, taken by Henry Cousens in the 1880s, from the Archaeological Survey of
India Collections. Wood carving on house facades was prevalent in Gujarat. The
decoration is generally concentrated on the upper storey, with the ground floor
left relatively plain. In the 'Archaeological Survey of Western India, vol.
IX', Burgess and Cousens wrote, "Gujarat, as already remarked, is full of
examples of artistic wood-carving applied to the decoration of house fronts;
and in a bye street, behind the mosque and not far from the Rudra-Mahalaya,
there projects from a very dilapidated wall, a beautiful specimen of this kind,
in the form of a balcony window."
Wood carving in
Gujarat is said to be 2000 years old but given the nature, most of the old
specimens have not lasted. It is said Somanth Temple too had metal encased
wooden pillars. After it was destroyed in 1024, wooden pillars were replaced
with stone pillars. As a tradition, Gujarati havelis started to have carved wooden
facades. The 19th century was the golden period when the rich built
their havelis and along with wooden facades had elaborate carved wooden interiors
too.
Few towns would have some remaining
woodcarved havelis – Kapadvanj, Patan (Henry Cousens took several photos in the
town which can be seen in the online gallery of British Library), Palanpur and
Radhanpur. Delhi’s Craft Museum has a gallery of a recreated wooden haveli from
Radhanpur.
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| Ras Lila in Vithalbhai Haveli, Vaso |
The central
sky-open chowk has two wells. Apart from rooms there are granaries and
bathrooms. It seems like the haveli is self-sufficient. All you can do is walk in
the parsal that connects the rooms and just gape at the carvings. Every
possible wooden surface is a work of art; lintels, sills, panels, plaques,
niches are gorgeously carved.
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| The Mahendra Desai Haveli in Vaso |
A little
distance away is the Mahendrabhai Desai Haveli. The two branches of Amin and
Desai came from the same family and both built these two wooden marvels close
to each other in the 1870s. Mahendra bhai is the son of Darbar Gopaldas Desai.
The haveli with about 80 rooms is apparently not open to public. Some visitors
have arrived in fancy cars, probably on invitation. You take few photos of the wooden
façade and leave.
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| Nadiad - Sign indicating the route of Dandi March |
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| Nadiad is known as Ashram |
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| Nadiad - The Clock Tower |
You are back in
Nadiad. Now that you notice there are these signs which indicate that this is
the route that was taken by Gandhiji on his way to Dandi, an epic event that we
all know as the Dandi March. Nadiad is the birthplace of Sardar Patel. So yes,
Nadiad should get more attention. The roads in the town are better and you can
actually see buildings on the side of the roads that have been usually hiding
in the dust in most Gujarat towns.
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| Roads made to trip on |
It is time to
be leaving. You will head north and will take a different route this time. You
won’t be exiting from Palanpur from which you entered Gujarat about a fortnight
ago. The plan is to reach Udaipur by night via Himmatnagar. And if there is
time you will stopover in the temple town of Shamlaji among the Aravallis.
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| Shamlaji Temple |
The highways of
Gujarat are among the best and the kilometres melt away on the excellent asphalt
all the way to Shamlaji. Shamlaji sits pretty in a valley among the wooded
hills of Aravallis on the banks of Meshwo river reservoir. Apparently, the
temple dedicated to Vishnu is popular among devotees and there is quite a rush
making it all a lively place.
Though the
temple looks quite new compared to the surviving temples in other parts of the
country, it is possible this complex saw its first construction in 6th
century along with several other temples, while the main Shamlaji Temple got a
makeover in 15-16th century when Idar was ruled by Pratihars. The shikhara
and the mandap do look differently hued. It is possible, the site has 6th
century Gupta period and 8th century Maitraka dynasty construction
too.
Parallel to the main temple there is a south faving narrow vav called the Shamlaji Vav. It is dated to the 15th century with a domed entrance and three kutas - pavilion towers. In the glorious tradition of fate of vavs in Gujarat, the well and steps are filled with muck left by the pious and grateful devotees.
Hsien Tsang has reportedly visited the area. Devni Mori Buddhist excavations with 4th century monastery and stup lie to the east on the other side of the Meswo reservoir. So this area along with the excavations you saw in Vadnagar would have been a major Buddhist area.. Ruined temples abound in the area but you do not have much time to explore except this smallish temple with a Toran supposed to be the oldest in Gujarat a little distance away.
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| Harishchandra Chori in Shamlaji, Gujarat |
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| The Oldest Torana in Gujarat - at the 10th century Harishchandrani Chori in Shamlaji, Gujarat |
The torana is attributed
to the 10th century along with the temple from the same period. The
temple is called Harishchandra Chori, with the belief that the legendary King
Harishchandra was married here. Chori in Gujarati means the pavilion in which
the couple walks around the ritual fire during a wedding ceremony. The torans
in Sidhpur and Vadnagar are a lot bigger. Interestingly all the torans lie on this 150 km east west arc.
The sun has
gone down and you have about 150 kms to clock to get to Udaipur.
The journey
continues.
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| Entering Resurgent Rajasthan |
Day's
Stats
- Route
Taken – Nadiad to Vasu and back, Ahmedabad outer to Himmatnagar to
Shamlaji to Udaipur
- Distance
covered today – 336 kms
- Total
Distance covered so far - 4102 kms
References
Naqsh – The Art of Wood Carving in Traditional Houses
of Gujarat, A Focus on Ornamentation by
Jay Thakkar; published by CEPT, Ahmedabad
Preview available on google
Social History of Havelis: Indian Mansions by Sarah
Tillotsan (Cambridge, 1994)
Study of Wooden Courtyard Haveli’s in Gujarat: Haveli by
V. S. Pramar (Ahmedabad, 1989)
Gujarat Daman Diu: A Travel Guide by Ward Philip (Orient
Longman), Page 53 (Vaso), Page 172 (Shamlaji)
Preview available on google https://books.google.co.in/books?id=P7EHTBl_pyQC&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=Vaso+Havelis&source=bl&ots=Jht_Oux3u-&sig=ACfU3U3Bp_hl1MFVJV7oDmtKsTxIEaPMvQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiE1oGSg4PpAhWZH7cAHX8xCak4ChDoATADegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=Vaso%20Havelis&f=false
Gujarat: India Guide, edited by Anjali H Desai (India
Guide Publications 2007)
Prince of Gujarat, The Extraordinary Story of Prince Gopaldas Desai (1887-1951) by Rajmohan Gandhi
The Archaeology of Sacred Spaces, The Temple in Western
India, 2nd Century BCE – 8th Century CE by Susan Verma
Mishra and Himanshu Prabha Ray (2017 New York Routledge)
Preview available on google
The Samalaji Sculptures and 6th Century Art
in Western India by Sara L. Schastok (E. J. Brill 1985, Netherlands)
Preview available on google
British Library as usual has large number of images
mostly rendered by Henry Cousens and their detailed descriptions on its online
gallery – Just type ‘Haveli’
Carved Wooden Balcony Window in Siddhapur
Dwarkanath Temple, a temple haveli in Ahmedabad
https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/comment-havelis-are-the-ornaments-of-world-s-architecture-1471301
This Shiva relief is
believed to be carved in Shamlaji Caves – now in a Parel, Mumbai temple
A great album which will
make me go back to Shamlaji
Buddhist
site of Devni Mori
Day 1 - Viratnagar
Day 2 - Pushkar
Day 3 - Vadnagar
Day 4 – Siddhpur
Day 5 - Dholavira
Day 6 - Lakhpat
Day 7 - Narayan Sarovar
Day 8 – Jamnagar
Day 9 – Bet Dwarka
Day 10 – Porbandar
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