Day 2

Our first stop of the day was the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati. This was a small compound which housed a mini gallery where we could learn about Gandhi’s legacy, a bookstore, a small kindergarten, and even the house in which Gandhi and his wife lived whenever they were in the Ashram. It was here where the team were a little surprised, not by the gallery but by the people here. The locals were really excited to see foreigners amongst them, and many came up to us to ask to take pictures with us. One interesting thing we noticed was that these locals did not seem too concerned with owning the photographs. They were happy just taking the photos, even if they were taken on our cameras and not theirs!

After the Ashram, we made our way to Stepwell Adalaj. The contrast between the Stepwell and the Ashram was distinct. The majestic architecture of the Stepwell was complete with intricate designs carved into the walls. The grandeur of the infrastructure, though awe-inspiring, was not unexpected, given that the Stepwell was built around 500 years ago by Ruda, the wife of Vaghela Chief Virasimha, and is now also used for social gatherings.

We were also lucky enough to witness one such social gathering. With the state elections just round the corner, performances were put up as part of a voting awareness programme for school children. When we were there, young children filled the steps of the Stepwell, entertaining themselves while waiting for the performances to begin. Some of them started chanting what seemed to be school cheers, while others played games among themselves. The atmosphere was jolly, and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

Next, we went for lunch at the Indian Institute of Technology – Gandhinagar (IIT-GN) and toured its compound. The lunch was great and the students of IIT were very hospitable. The IIT compound was constructed with the aim of being environmentally friendly, and it was interesting to see that there are solar panels and underground water catchment areas around the campus.

We attended a seminar at the IIT-GN about the Indian culture, through memetics by Professor Rukmini Bhaya Noir from IIT-Delhi. The professor talked about the “defeated argument”, which are the alternative actions that could have been taken when making a decision. The Indian culture allow these arguments to stay within the minds of the people instead of being forgotten. The professor also used an interesting example of the sari as a cultural model. The sari has many properties and uses, and is not just a simple piece of garment; it is a meme that can be extended to illustrate the design innovation in Indian culture. Rachel was really amazed and happy that knowledge from her IEM2 about memetics can be applied to the change in Indian culture as well.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and ended the day with reflections. It was interesting to hear everyone’s differing impressions of Gujarat.