Welcome back to ILF Radio! Every once in a while, at ILF, we would like to turn our attention from the famed monumental, religious and political legacies to the common citizen’s vernacular heritage. Today we visit the singular, stunning streets of Sidhpur in Gujarat lined with the Vohrawads of the Dawoodi Bohra community. The architecture of these mansions is a truly masterful blend of various European styles adapted to the traditional Bohra lifestyle through the hands of Gujarati craftsmen. A style which in every way is the best of everything West of the subcontinent, which makes Sidhpur a place beyond belief! ILF is delighted to have architect Zoyab Alihussain Kadi, here to deliver us the story from the horse’s mouth. Born a Dawoodi Bohra, trained as an architect who also turned academician, he has been instrumental in documenting the neighbourhoods of Sidhpur and has written three books dedicated to the cause of the conservation of these vohrawads. His prolific writing and talks continue to stir interest in the region’s fading heritage. He has also received a UNESCO Sahapedia fellowship to document the cultural and architectural heritage of Sidhpur. Along with three other concerned architects, he has set up the “SIDHPUR HERITAGE COLLECTIVE”; an initiative with an ambitious and diverse agenda to stir interest in the region’s fading heritage. Links to key heritage sites from today’s episode:

- Sidhpur from the lens of ILF founder Amit Pasricha: https://www.instagram.com/p/CwZkPq7v9Ae/?igsh=bmxrcHBxcmRocXdy https://www.instagram.com/p/CwabLUjvUqI/?igsh=bTF0ZXh5NG1oNWVr https://www.instagram.com/p/CwaE2QjPeAi/?igsh=cWJ4MjVwNWNpZWNi - From the Sidhpur Heritage Collective: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6PKSKqSfFz/ https://www.instagram.com/p/C6PKsN8SLpR/ https://www.instagram.com/p/C6gQIs2Sptt/ https://www.instagram.com/p/C6gQTZ4yy8o/ https://www.instagram.com/p/C-2q2pryw50/?img_index=1 - Information of the Sidhpur Heritage collective’s upcoming heritage walk https://www.instagram.com/p/DAnzVOhSzTe/?img_index=1