Ahmedabad Foundation Day is reflective of many things, past and present – the architectural legacies of pols, of institutions like Darpana, Hutheesing Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad Education Society, which has given us fantastic, navratnas of India, IIMA, to organisations like SEWA, which have a global impact, and places like Blind People’s Association.
These are philanthropic initiatives created by the Mahajans of Ahmedabad.They were very relevant in the past, and they are very relevant in the future – and they are very alive today. There are many young people I know who are actively involved with the management and will carry these legacies into the future. New museums like the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum or (veteran artist) Amit Ambalal’s collection and many other places are again coming up in the private domain, bringing cultural legacies to Amdavadis.Another important level of preservation and recognition being done in the city includes restoration of havelis – restoring my haveli, and Abhay (Mangaldas) doing up his haveli, and we entertain people from across the globe there.I think the spirit of Ahmedabad’s Mahajans has been kept alive for the last 600-plus years, and I’m very confident that it will continue to thrive in the future. Bringing the past and the present alive, and keeping it alive, continuous and preserved, I’m very confident that it will continue.
