
Ahmedabads boutique lodge jüSTa Diwans Bungalow was as soon as architect IM Kadris ancestral dwelling
The previous couple of years have seen the adaptive reuse motion decide up in India, and this property is the newest addition to the nation’s hospitality redevelopment tasks.Built within the 1860s by Kadri’s great-grandfather, the construction had two wings related by a small, vibrant hall. Today, it’s run by jüSTa Hotels, the boutique lodge chain with properties throughout India.
The household’s contact stays with heirloom artefacts, work, fragrance bottles, and portraits throughout the foyer and rooms | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Kadri contact
Today, the revamped dwelling with architectural influences of colonial Gujarat has eight rooms; two deluxe twin rooms and 6 heritage suites. Six of those rooms are named after Kadri’s brothers, and the opposite two are devoted to his elder brother’s youngsters. No two rooms are the identical, with non-public balconies, sit-outs, stained glass home windows, and connecting doorways including to the bungalow’s classic allure. The household’s contact stays with heirloom artefacts, work, fragrance bottles, and portraits scattered not simply within the rooms however throughout the foyer and eating areas. “The inside courtyard homes a swing that was once my mom’s favorite spot in the home,” reminisces Kadri, now 91, who helms Mumbai-based IMK Architects. The stated courtyard is the place Dalan, the all-day restaurant, sits.
Chasing havelis in Sidpur
An roughly two-and-a-half hour drive from Ahmedabad will lead you to Sidpur, a small city dwelling to the now deserted havelis belonging to the area’s Dawoodi Bohras. Ornate facades in pastel shades of rose, pistachio inexperienced, and poppy yellow — nearly resembling a sweet jar — greet you as you enter lanes lined with these mansions. Designed within the row-house model, the construction’s house owners at the moment are settled in varied elements of the nation and overseas. If you go to, don’t miss the Zaveri House comprising 365 home windows.
“The final individual to stay on this dwelling was my mom. It was within the mid-80s,” he shares, including that the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Morarji Desai have been frequent guests given his father’s involvement with the nationalist motion.
The eating space | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Once it was redeveloped as a lodge in 2011, Diwans Bungalow was managed by the Neemrana Group earlier than being relaunched below the jüSTa umbrella in October 2024. “Proceeds from the property go in the direction of funding the schooling of almost 3,000 women on the Rah-e-Khair Girls’ School run by the Kadri Foundation,” says the architect recognized for tasks similar to Taj Coromandel in Chennai, Ramada Hotel in Dubai, Ceat Mahal in Mumbai, amongst a number of others.
Taste of the outdated metropolis
Now run by extraordinarily courteous workers, jüSTa Diwans Bungalow presents travellers an expertise of Ahmedabad’s old-world allure. One means is by showcasing the household’s heirloom recipes of khagina, rooster Hussaini kebab, malai paneer, and many others. that the household is now planning to pen in a cookbook. The standouts have been the melt-in-your mouthpaneer begum bahaar, and khatta gosht. The stars of each meal have been the desserts: chikoo halwa, and decadent shahi tukda, that I’m undoubtedly going again for.
Today, the revamped dwelling with architectural influences of colonial Gujarat has eight rooms | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The up to date additions in the course of the dwelling’s restoration have been executed with utmost care, utilising each house and nook. The house beneath a staircase, for example, is now a collection’s bathing space, and tiny nooks have been transformed into open closets and studying rooms. “Back then there was only one rest room within the dwelling for 20 individuals, and it by no means bothered us,” says Kadri, including, “During the restoration, we needed to insert new plumbing traces, which was fairly a structural surgical procedure.” In the final decade, the home has seen three units of upgrades. “First, by my workforce in 2009, then by my son Rahul Kadri and his workforce that added a contemporary kitchen and workers areas, and enlarged some rooms, and eventually by architects Viveka Kumari and Shimul Javeri Kadri who added sophistication, luxurious, openness and a deep feeling of the outdated world allure of the 1800s.”
Shades of the town
As you relish the property’s varied choices, curated excursions are additionally deliberate by the workforce. An structure path of Mill Owners’ Association Building, Amdavad Ni Gufa, CEPT University; an eye-opening structure path masking Modhera’s Sun Temple, the Rani Ki Vav in Patan, and Bohra Havelis of Sidhpur; and an in depth textile tour of Patan Patola Heritage Museum, and the Calico Museum of Textiles is a must-do for style lovers.
The Rani Ki Vav in Patan | Photo Credit: Abhishek Vyas
For a style of Ahmedabad’s historical past, a heritage strolling tour of the outdated metropolis takes you thru Teen Darwaja, Jama Masjid, Rani no Haziro, the well-known Hussainy Bakery, amongst different websites. Do not miss the various chabutaras scattered throughout the town, and in case you are within the temper for a facet of eerie along with your chai, head to Lucky Tea Stall. Adjacent to the well-known Sidi Sayidis mosque, it’s constructed on a graveyard with chairs propped round tombs! The institution additionally homes an authentic MF Hussain, who was stated to be a daily.
With the vacation season approaching, in case you are searching for a vacation that takes you again in time and immerses you in a metropolis’s old-world allure, you realize the place to move.
The author was in Ahmedabad on the invitation of jüSTa Diwans Bungalow
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