The Pols, Ahmedabad

Pol, it is situated on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River. Pol is a housing group consisting of several families belonging to a particular group by caste, profession or religion. This is the city of Ahmedabad which is made up of 360 pillars within a complex. The oldest pole of the city is 'Mahurat Pol' and it was built near Manek Chowk. The main feature of these pillars is that each has a separate entrance, protected by an entrance the pillar, with a picket house at the top.

Polo has beautiful old houses with internal courts, intricately carved wooden façade pillars and fresco work around the walls or ceiling of the court. Pole architecture is an interesting development in the urban living space.

The Mandvi Pol in the Jamalpur area of ​​Ahmedabad is much larger than the rest and includes many smaller poles, with an area of ​​about fifty acres and a population of thousands.The city is made up of about 360 polo.

1. In the most congested areas of the old textile city of Ahmedabad, we find these poles. They are a legacy of the history of successive invasions of Gujarat.
2. To ensure safety, each pole has its point of entry through restricted gates. Within the pole, a tightly packed grouping of houses is articulated by a complex system of open spaces – sensitively reflecting the cultural and religious needs of the community.
3. In the past, no person could sell or mortgage a house to an outsider without first giving it to the people of the pole. Although this rule was not followed later, the residents of a pol sold their houses to people of the same caste.
4. When a house is mortgaged or sold, the people of the Pol had the right to claim from half to two percent of the money received.
5. If the rules of the policy are relaxed, the offender is fined and, in the past, he was not allowed to light a lamp or have a feast in his house until he made the payment.

📅 Last update: 2024-06-07 || ✍ Author: Sandhya Chauhan

Meet Sandhya, exploring India with curiosity and wonder. She shares info and tips in simple language, inviting you to join the journey. She is graduated in tourism and writes about the places of India.