Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad stands for the confluence of the old with the new. At the first glance traffic-ridden and polluted, this city of textile mills and millionaires hides the gems of its glorious past.

Beautiful mosques, carved havelis and ancient temples are screened from view behind its steel-and-sky-scraper facade. It's a city on the brink of change, like most urban centres in India, not quite here, not quite there.

So while you have the option of roaming the labyrinthine pols of the old city, drinking in the sites of its atmospheric mosques, the citizens of Ahmedabad are flocking to shopping malls, buying happy meals at McDonalds and strutting around in Levi's.

That said, they are fiercely protective of their city, and gracious hosts. They might throng McDonalds but if you are their guest they will take you to the roadside kiosk serving the best sandwich dhokla in the city and stuff your face with khaman. Soft spoken and friendly, the people of Amdavad will take care of you.

Three bridges connect Old Ahmedabad to New Ahmedabad. Some of India's most prestigious institutes of learning thrive here. The city's beautiful architecture exemplifies Indo-Islamic style and the two communities have lived here in peace since over half a millennium. But the communal riots of 2003 have left their mark. Although peace has returned, some reverberations of tension still reside, deep down. As one of the most prosperous urban centres of Gujarat on the threshold of rapid change, only time will tell what Ahmedabad's destiny is.