House Of Mangaldas Girdhardas

Our place, the House of Mangaldas Girdhardas, is right across from the Sidi Saiyed Mosque in the Lal Darwaja area of Ahmedabad. If you know the city, you know how busy this spot gets. The mosque is famous for its stonework, and we see people standing outside taking pictures all day long. We are in an old part of the city, so the streets are narrow and the traffic is pretty much constant. The house has a lot of history behind it. It is not like the modern glass buildings you see in the newer parts of town. We have a lot of old wood and stone here. Working in a place like this means dealing with old plumbing and creaky floors sometimes. We spend a lot of time just maintaining the character of the building without changing too much. The heat in Ahmedabad can be brutal, so the thick walls of the house actually help keep things a bit cooler. We get a lot of people who are interested in the history of Lal Darwaja. It is a noisy, vibrant area with street food smells and the sound of rickshaws everywhere. We just focus on keeping the place running and making sure the dust doesn't settle too much on the old furniture. It is a living piece of the city for us.