Walking along the walled city of Ahmedabad, one will inevitably find feeding spots for birds at regular intervals. The practice of feeding birds in Ahmedabad, goes back to its ‘pol’ community and architecture, where people would sit together at the ‘chabutro’ – the bird feeder or shelter typically located either at the entrance of a neighbourhood or at the village square.
The octagonal chabutro (or chabutra) erected on a column, made of ornately carved wood, or stone, came to symbolise Ahmedabad as an intrinsic part of its culture.
“The old city of Ahmedabad which is now a World Heritage city consists of neighbourhoods known as pols. These pols are usually self-governing social units of specific communities. The pol comprises traditional houses as well as community spaces such as religious places, a community well, and market spaces in the streets connecting the pols.” said Jayashree Bardhan, Program Lead – Assessment and Training at CEPT Research & Development Foundation (CRDF), Ahmedabad.
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“One such common asset for community use is the chabutra (or bird feeder) where the practice of feeding the birds is an act of service. Chabutras also acted as social gathering spaces where people would come, sit and talk to others while feeding the birds,” she added.
As per the data by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), there are 67 listed chabutras within the city. (Express Photo)
Tracing the origins of the chabutra in Gujarat, Ashish Trambadia, director of Heritage at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, said that the earliest example can be seen at Adi Kadi Vav Stepwell at Uperkot in Junagadh.
“There were rectangular spaces/holes which were assumed that birds would use it, and surprisingly, birds started to use them. Even in places like Uperkot, which is a rock plateau, birds won’t find places to have water nearby. So if you have these holes, you feed them some grain there and they will get water there (at the Stepwell) it all starts to make sense ecologically. That’s the essence of architecture connecting with nature,” Trambadia explained.
He also emphasized that the streets in Ahmedabad are very narrow, which was one of the reasons for the rise of chabutras in the city. “As most of the houses wanted to go high and tall so that the lower floors become habitable in the harsh summers. In this scenario, communities that care about nature or birds would not be able to plant trees but they still want to have birds, dogs and cows around. For cows and dogs, they don’t need a specific place to feed them. You use the ground. However, if you do the same with birds, they will be killed by other animals. For that reason, you need to have something which is higher. It (chabutra) was the devised solution,” he said.
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According to Trambadia, the chabutra has practical uses for the birds as it acts as a shelter during the rainy season and gives them a steady source of food and water. Moreover, the chabutra helps in the breeding of the birds and keeps them away from houses during adverse weather conditions which otherwise in its absence, in birds becoming a nuisance and making nests in people’s balconies.
As per the data by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), there are 67 listed chabutras within the city – the maximum compared to other cities in Gujarat. Seven of these chatbutras are part of the Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad, Trambadia said.
Ahmedabad, according to Jayashree Bardhan, has been transformed over the Sultanate, Mughal, Maratha and British periods of rule and governance. The city has flourished because of its history of trade. “So a lot of people came, lived in the city, and left their influences here and such a change is also visible in Chatbutras as well. The wooden architecture, the intricate carving on the chabutra signifies the wealth of the patrons (at that point in time),” Bardhan pointed out.
Many argue that the chabutra came into existence because of religious customary practices which were prevalent in the city. “Many of the traders were Jain merchants. Act of service is an important part of Jainism and Jeev Daya (compassion for living beings) is one part of that. Hinduism also has the act of serving cows. The World Heritage Property of Ahmedabad has been inscribed on UNESCO’s List because of the unique inter-relationship between Indo-Islamic architecture, Jain architecture and the influences of various cultures on the settlement fabric,” Bardhan said, adding that the chabutra probably got assimilated into all the varied communities and made its way to most pols in Ahmedabad.
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Sparrows compared to other birds don’t know how to weave nests so they always look for cavities, and gaps to make their nests with raw materials. “The old city of Ahmedabad is a concrete jungle, and the birds are habituated to living with the humans, in which the design of the buildings has completely changed. For example, there used to be vents for air ventilation in old houses, and these birds used to make nests there,” said Jagat Kinkhabwala, Ahmedabad-based environmentalist who has advocated for the return of sparrows in urban spaces.
The number of trees has gone down, and pesticides are being used in the gardens which are harmful to the birds. “So we are completely disconnected from nature, unlike the past. Earlier, if you look at the design of chabutra, the bottom part had a storage component for humans as well which allowed people to just store grains and whoever gets time can throw it up. Especially, its elevation helps in getting rid of the predators for the birds. It’s a scientific and well-thought-out design choice.” he added.
AMC’s Heritage department has restored around 15 chabutras in the city in the last two years. AMC Heritage Department officials also highlighted the challenges behind maintaining the chabutras in the city where “the amount of time and effort that goes into carving for conversation and restoration, compared to traditional buildings are not at par for some conservation architects. We expect the same level of quality work despite the structure or the size of the building being restored,” Shivani Shah, assistant architect, AWHCT (Ahmedabad Walled Heritage City Trust), A
