Deewanji Ni Haveli’, literally meaning house of the Deewan, a minister to the court of the King. This 300 year old traditional house called 'haveli' was the residence of the Deewan family. Deewanji Ni Haveli is a wooden icon intrinsic to the 600 year old city of Ahmedabad, holding in its place the magic of a deceased way of life that ought to be engraved into its memoirs for its people and the world, and it waits for your arrival. It is a resplendent three storey edifice has an eye catching view with the remarkable long bracket fusion of gurati patters on flower , peacocks and a large chinese dragon. As you enter into the reception area and the cafe you will not be able to take your eyes off the minute wooden carvings on the column, doors and the stucco around the windows. You will be greeted and received in It’s 'chowk' - the court chichis the soul of this building. you will be given you welcome drink on the 'Juha' - the swing , the traditional sitting area. You can walk underground to the 'Tanka' - the rain water collection system, this is also a sitting area. The revitalisation of the haveli ensured that space was given to host and encourage various cultural activity

I and my friends took heritage walk of our old city in year 2007, this walk ended in spontaneously acquiring a 280 Year old Magnificent wooden Hertiage Haveli. This one of its kind ‘Deewanji Ni Haveli’ was then in dilapidated state and was declared unsafe, fit to be pulled down by the local authority. I look forward to share with you my journey , A series of events, decision making and learning while restoring this wooden Haveli. We established 'City Heritage Centre' a NGO to one of its kind ‘Institute’ to promote and preserve the heritage of our city. Deewanji ni haveli houses this heritage and cultural centre with art gallery , artist studio, performance space. It gives an opportunity to the citizens to have a 1st hand experience of our heritage and culture and be inspired to be part of the on going heritage preservation drive of our city.

Deewanji ni haveli is located in Sankdi Sheri- Narrow lane , just 100 mts the 'Manek Chowk' - the historic city centre of Ahmedabad. Mane Chowk - Jewel court. The manekchowk is surrounded by historical structures. It is a a very vibrant and dynamic place , a vegetable market in the morning, a bullion market in the noon and the street food market at night. Walking here is an adventure. The city of Ahmedabad was established in 1411 . The main street of this old town leads to the Main Friday mosque- the ‘Jami Masjid’ into manek chowk. Later also were added the King and the Queen’s Tomb. Along with the royal complex in the fort, areas called “puras” developed where the senior army officers of the ruler stayed with their retinue. These “puras” were self contained residential areas that during the 18th century developed into micro neighborhoods consisting of people from the same com- munity, which are called ‘pols’. you can wander into the mandvi ni pol and see all the traditional bronze utensil market, look at the local crafts, eat the local food and truly know the sprit of ahmedabad.