Did you know where Sidhpur was? Did you know it was in Gujarat?
I lived in Gujarat, India for 8 years & i just about a couple of weeks ago found Sidhpur on the map because of these.
I feel terrible because i didn’t know it was right there & more importantly I missed a very convenient opportunity to witness all this beauty and glory with my own eyes.
I am a sucker for old buildings. I find crumbling roofs & peeling paint poetic. For people like me, these are the best time travelling machines.You live that age through the cracks in the floor & the pictures on the wall. Somehow you find those odd strange faces that stare back you friendly… Or maybe my eyes are clouded with love for this dilapidated piece of real estate.
Alas, mounting Maintenance costs, a disregard for heritage & sky rocketing land prices makes the perfect hammer to bring down a piece of history. While that happens, i still cherish pictures of broken houses & crumbling building often inhabited by the homeless who are unfortunately oblivious to the little piece of luxury they are momentarily living in.
Reminiscent of the Baroque period of architecture, these mansions are a kitsch mix of Indian Hues & western architecture resulting in a overtly ornamental style. The image is like a labyrinth, each layer unfolding another dimension of pattern & finish. The Indian version of Versailles built by the Bohras.
Being traders by profession, the Bohras forged good trade relations with England & several African nations. They brought back these influences to concoct an architectural style that was neither wholly European nor completely Indian or Islamic.What they built quietly stands till date as a testament of their culture in the haunting by lanes of Sidhpur.
Doesn’t this remind you of the streets in San Francisco line with those pastel colored houses.
same same but different.
The facades of houses lining both sides of the road are dotted with windows. While the photograph looks a little empty, I am sure there was a day in history when these “Bohrawads” as they are called, would be echoing with daily mundanities and lively chatter of the families that resided within.
I am a little confused.I am not able to decide whether the Victorian looking wooden frame with etched mirrors is more handsome or that little boy? Who teaches these little dudes to pose?
I am falling in love with the symmetry & the slight absence of it, the little pockets of light that beam through the window on the left hand side of the photograph, the layering of the floor carpets, the high gloss finish on the wood, the mirrors on the carved wooden panel on the back……(phew) & the paintings on both sides of the door! With each unfolding detail, my smile widens & my eyes cloud some more 🙂
I wonder if i would ever be able to sit so peacefully in a room that beautiful? After having caught my pounding heart, i would have to tame my darting eyes.I wouldn’t quite be able to decide if i should look at the ceiling or the floor.They both seem equally ravishing.
“Whatever good things we build end up building us “- Jim Rohn.
These photographs were part of the 9th season of exhibitions organised by Tasveer and the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad City Museum titled “Sebastian Cortés – Sidhpur: Time Present Time Past” in Mumbai, between 22 March-30 April 2015.
Copyright: Sebastian Cortés / Tasveer
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