Riyaz Tayyibji's YouTube "Riding with Bapu: How to befriend a Mahatma"

Robert Tyabji, Shah ALam, 4 October 2021

This morning I received a Whatapp from Ursula with the link to the above YouTube of a lecture by cousin Riaz as part of the Beyond Boundaries: Gandhi Jayanti Special series. The video was posted by the Takshila Educational Society.

Ursula had received it from Michel who is an avid mountain cyclist in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles.

Riyaz is the son of cousin Qays Tayyibji who has always been a motorcycle enthusiast and collector. He had, or still has more that 18 powerful bikes, many of them prized collector's items, some of which he still uses. Some years ago Qays took me on an early morning tour of Mumbai on his monster 4-cylinder Triumph so that I could photograph the beautiful gothic, colonial and art deco buildings the city is famous for, before the traffic took over. You can read that story HERE.

For me, Riyaz's hour-long presentation is a fascinating journey through the architectural nuances of Mahatma Gandhi's residence at Sabharmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, to the discovery of his old bicycle and how Riyaz, who is an avid mechanic himself, had the bicycle dismantled and overhauled during which process many mysteries as to the machine's origins came to light. This in turn led to a sampling of the foundries and workshops which are unrivalled masters of appropriate technology and for which India is renowned. Riaz skillfully weaves a connection between appreciating indigenous technology and understanding Gandhi.

In this session ‘Riding with Bapu: How to Befriend a Mahatma’, our speaker Riyaz Tayyibji shares his experience in restoring Gandhiji’s bicycle at the Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad in 2017. Riyaz Tayyibji is well-known architect who takes keen interest in architectural research, documentation and restoration. He is the principal architect and partner at Anthill Design in Ahmedabad and is leading the NIUA heritage management project for the Walled City of Ahmedabad. Riyaz is a grandnephew of Gandhiji’s associate Abbas Tyabji and has studied at Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai and School of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad. He has served as associate professor at the CEPT University, a visiting instructor at Ecole Speciale, Paris and as the coordinator for the Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission, a project to document 34 buildings associated with the life of Gandhiji. Riyaz has also curated exhibitions and published a guide on the architecture and urbanity of Ahmedabad.