Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Walking the past

The streets in Umreth are narrow, barely wide enough for one car to pass. And yes, there are cows roaming about these streets. Just walking here makes the past come alive. This is the area both my grandparents grew up in. In those years, I am sure it must have been much livelier.

The doors and windows are handcrafted and are absolutely beautiful, as evident from this ancient door.

In a typical house, there is a patio outside the door, which is about two ft up from the ground level. The second floor has a balcony from the room, and on top a flat roof. A flat rooftop is an essential part of Gujarati lifestyle. It's used for things like drying mangoes to flying kites. Also getting to the second floor or the rooftop through those wooden stairs is nothing short of an acrobatic exercise. Keeps you agile, you know.

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