Departure for Mehsana. Breakfast Onboard at 0415 hrs. Arrival at Mehsana at 0645 hrs. Visit Sun Temple at Modhera. Visit Ran-ki-vav & Patola at Patan . Departure for Ahmedabad at 1115 hrs. Arrival at Ahmedabad at 1245 hrs. On arrival transfer to Hotel for Lunch. Sightseeing of Ahmedabad, Adalaj Step-Well, Gandhi Ashram, Calico Museum of Textiles, Sidi Sayyad Mosque, Shopping. Dinner Onboard. Departure for Sasangir at 2015 hrs.

At Mehsana you will see the Sun Temple at Modhera, built in 1026 AD by Bhimadeva of the Solanki Rajput clan. The temple is one of the two Sun Temples in the world- the being at Konark. It is an exemplary model of art & architecture of the 11th century- a style that was to influence the developement of temple architecture in neighbouring regions. Temple site at Modhera, located on a high mound on the left bank of river Puspawati, consist of three distinct units: the Sun Temple, the Nrityamandapa, and the Suryakunda. In another part of temple you can see a whole Kama Sutra of traditional erotic sculpture in a style that rivals that of Khajuraho and Konark. Unlike Konark, which rests on 12 wheels of a chariot, Modhera has been built on the petals of a lotus which runs the whole length of temple.

Another example of the Solanki-period architecture can be seen at the Ran-Ki-Vav stepwell at Patan, some distance from the town centre. Built in 1050s and named after Rani Udamati, the stepwells is oldest and perhaps the grandest among the more than 120 stepwells in Gujarat. The stepwell was silted up for centuries and only major excavation and restoration work in the 1980s helped expose its glorious structure. In the chambers, where royal families came to rest in summer, the water from the well served as a natural air-cooling system. No other vav in India is so profusely adorned as the Ran-ki-vav. More than 800 sculptures form a remarkable backdrop to what was purely a functional structure.

The beautiful ashram complex of Ahmedabad, with it's shady trees populated by thousands of parakeets, beeeaters, sunbirds and squirells, offers a refuge from the loud streets of the city, and is one the foremost tourist attractions of Ahmedabad. Among all the monuments and memorials to Mahatma Gandhi, from Dehli to Maharashtra, this is easily the most moving. This ashram was Gandhi's headquarters during the long struggle for Indian independence. His ashram was founded in 1915 and still makes handicraft, handmade paper and spinning wheels. Gandhi's spartan living quarter are preserved as a small museum and there is a pictorial record of the major events in his life.

 

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