Bigcity

Next door to Washington D.C., Alexandria was founded in 1749 by Scottish tobacco merchants: its location on the Potomac river making it a perfect site for bundling up and shipping out the weed from the south. Though included in the district of Columbia till 1846, Alexandria remained an independent-minded Southern town and declined along with its surroundings as the population increased after World War II. It was only in the eighties that it became a sight.8217;

The event did not come about by accident. Nearly two decades ago, the streets of the old town were recobblestoned to recapturethe nostalgic look. Gardens and patios were installed. Over 1,000 old facades were restored and tall ships and contemporary shops were invited to share the 1700s ambience. I walked down King8217;s street, the main street cutting through the town. On either side were quaint little cafes, restaurants, shops and art galleries. I made slow progress, stopping as I did, every once in a while to gape at the mind-boggling assortment of curios and antiques, painting frames, wigs, books, shiny dresses from the thirties and other knick-knacks. It was nearing lunch time, and enticing aromas wafted out onto the street at regular intervals. On the benches on the sidewalk, multihued garden people sat slurping ice-cream cones.

The road eventually led to one of the main attractions of the town: the Torpedo Factory, a World War I era munitions factory that has now been turned into a multiplex of open studios. Over 160 artists draw paint, sculpt, craft jewellery and so on in full view of the public which is free to buy the itemson display. Little remains of the original factory except a small exhibit and an inert torpedo, but the open design, the quaint staircases and the gangway make it a suitable backdrop for its current purpose. Outside the factory, a festive atmosphere prevailed as tourists and visitors from Alexandria and its neighbouring city, old people and couples with children roamed the wooden planks, looked out at the water or hopped onto one of the gleaming white boats for a ride down the river. Before I had realised it, the sun was about to set. And I hadn8217;t even ventured near the town8217;s other attractions, which included Carlyle House showcase home of an eighteenth-century merchant8217;s house, the authentically Victorian8217; Lloyd House, a display of Alexandria8217;s maritime activities and so on.

The point I am making is simple: if a place can do so much with such a limited amount of history, why can8217;t we with our amazingly diverse inbuilt attractions? I mean, all you need to do is drive a little way out of the city to comeacross scores of authentic old world villages. Why, you don8217;t even need to leave the city. Khotachi Wadi near Girgaum or Chimbai village in Bandra, to name just two, have a quaint charm that is worth travelling to see. If residents don8217;t mind, then all it takes is a little bit of vision and planning to turn an existing attraction into a draw. Combine architecture and history with local or diverse authentic food, music, crafts, and you could have a thriving hub.

To be consistently successful, however, there does need to be an effort at both sustaining and marketing the concept. It is also not enough to just put the traditional attractions on display. A certain dose of contemporariness and change for example music or food will ensure people visit repeatedly. The other crucial factor is convenience. Alexandria is a half-an-hour by metro from downtown D.C. and a forty-minute ride on clear roads. The waterfront is not only clean enough to eat off but has reasonably priced food outlets, toilets and telephonekiosks. And there are signposts everywhere. Sometimes these are the things that matter the most.

Amrita Shah is a writer and former editor of Elle