French connection

It couldn't have been more apt. Pierre Cadot's last working day in Ahmedabad was April 19, World Heritage Day. The man whose name is almost synonymous with restoration and conservation of heritage buildings in the city, was bidding goodbye to it after a three-year association. So perhaps it's but natural to expect him to be emotional. But Cadot surprises you with his candour."I have been here long enough, it's time to leave," the Frenchman shrugs. As always, he doesn't mince words. "World over, heritage buildings are crumbling. Even in Europe, people no longer have respect for Gothic structures. But here the decline is much faster. What's worse, people don't regret it." Somewhere in his outburst against the "lack of awareness about heritage" and "indifference of the moneyed class", you sense a tinge of frustration (though he himself vehemently denies it). Did the infamous Indian bureaucracy and red-tapism ever get to him? "I have never dealt with that," he says dismissively. "But yes, often you have officials who have no knowledge about what the city needs." He isn't being arrogant. For Cadot's information about the city is astounding. He knows the pols like the back of his hand, has stayed with residents, and can hold court on anything -- from Shah Jahan and Jahangir's historical association with the city to what each structure needs, to be restored to its former glory. "That's my job," he says simply. Yet even Cadot admits that the Ahmedabad sojourn has indeed been unforgettable. In the three years since he's been here as part of the French government-AMC project on restoration of pol buildings, a lot has been achieved. He and his team have restored 25 buildings in Shahpur, Kalupur and Khadia. His favourite work, he says, has been restoring the Khodiyaar mata ni vav at Guptanagar. Yet there were moments of frustration too. "We had set out to conserve an old school, instead we were slapped with a case," he says, recalling one such instance. The story has occasionally been reversed too. There have been rumblings about difference of opinions and clash of ideas between the residents and him, but Cadot once again, denies it. "We have always worked for people, taking them along." And now it's time to go. Though he insists he'll be back to review the unfinished projects that will be handled by the new team, the relief at going back home is palpable. Ask him to list out the positives and the negatives of his experience here and the response is typically honest: "The positive side is that Ahmedabad offers so much to do. The negative part is that nobody's bothered."