Siddhpur

Enchanting Mansions of Siddhpur (Gujarat)

The images were shot at Siddhpur town, Gujarat, situated midway between Ajmer to Amdabad (Ahembdabad). The shooting with a still, digital camera (Kodak Z 981) at various modes was done from 7 am to 11 am on 21 March 2012. There are about two thousand havelis (traditional Indian mansions) in the town just near the Station, which were erected by Daoodi Bohras from 1880 to 1935 AD. The habitation is well planned like the Jaipur and most mansions are double storeyed. All of them were constructed by expert masons of Gujarat. However, the designs imbibe the spirit of the European architecture but most motifs are not European or alien but Indian. In objects in the mansions, such as a stambha or pillar, desgins in carving are suggestive of Buddhist architecture (Reference: Mansara by Acharya Prasanna Kumar Acharya (1934). The total impression is majestic, spectacular and the novice beholder is stunned to see them. The Bohras belong to a cult in Muslims (earlier they were all Hindus- probabaly from some Brahmin sect/branch that did business and converted later to Islaam).