Kutch nahin dekha to kuch nahin dekha is not just a marketing tag line. India's largest district has so much to offer that one visit is barely an appetiser
Lakshmi Sharath/Lakshmi Sharath - Vijay Vilas in Mandvi
Kutch nahin dekha to kuch nahin dekha is not just a marketing tag line. During my recent visit to the largest district in India, I realized the truth behind that line rendered in Amitabh Bachchan’s booming baritone. Almost every destination in India is unique and, yet, Kutch seems to surpass them in its sheer variety. Landscapes, monuments, talented people – the list goes on. Not just tourists, even birds flock here in large numbers. I was there for just five days last year and I could come up with five reasons to visit this region, but am sure there are more.
The fascinating white Rann of Kutch
1. The White Rann
If you believe that there is something magical about nature, you have to visit the “White Rann” to believe it. The Rann of Kutch refers to a land which alternates between being dry and wet according to the seasons and is virtually uninhabitable. The shallow marshlands are under water during the monsoons and when the wetlands dry up, they leave behind an ocean of salt. In the Greater Rann of Kutch, the white sands are an absolute showstopper. I have heard that it is dazzling on a full moon night, but I was content to gaze at them during sunrise and sunset, primarily the former. I had the entire landscape to myself and, standing there, I was freezing in the cold, watching the sun rise from the white horizon, lighting up the snow white crystals of salt. It was simply mesmerising.
Crafts-making is a major part of the Kutch experience
2. Crafts, craftsmen and women
The heart of Kutch lies in its villages and you can go village hopping, watching craftsmen and women at work. Almost every hamlet specializes in one craft and just a handful of families practise it. I started my crafts tour at Bhujodi, where I saw the weavers at work creating magic with their fingers. I went to Ajrakpur, another textile haven where families practice block printing. Another village on the must-see list is Nirona, where a unique craft called Rogan art is practised. I was told it’s the only place in India where this art, which has its origins from Persia, is still practised using castor oil. I met the bell makers of Nirona and the craftsman who creates a riot of colours with lacquer on wooden spoons and rolling spins, before leaving to Kavda where pottery is in demand. There are several other villages specializing in jewellery to bandhini and you can spend days watching these artisans at work as they tempt you to buy their creations. If you have been to Kutch and you have not been to the villages then believe me, you have not seen Kutch at all.
Praj Mahal in Bhuj, Kutch
3. A tryst with Bhuj
It was Bollywood that introduced me to Bhuj and yet, I was told that it is mentioned in the Mahabharata when the Pandavas are exiled. It was an earthquake, however, that created a jolt and even today the old city bears the brunt of it. The headquarters of Kutch, Bhuj is a 16th century capital of a princely state and its royal status can still be seen in the forts and palaces strewn around the old town. The Praj Mahal and Aina Mahal stand adjacent to each other, taking you to the glorious era. The former is built in a lavish Gothic style while the walls of the latter was built with marble and adorned with mirrors. Bhuj still retains the magic of its past. I would recommend at least half a day in Bhuj, walking through the markets, bingeing on dabelis, and revisiting history at the palaces and the fort.
Vijay Vilas in Mandvi
4. Mandvi
A destination for me is not very special if it does not have a beach. So I decided to head to Mandvi to soak my feet in the waves of the Arabian Sea. Mandvi was one of the oldest ports and a summer retreat for the old Maharajas. You can see the Vijay Vilas palace and the harbour even today in the city. But what really fascinated me was the 400-year-old ship-building industry. Small wooden ships are built here even today by the local people. As the water ebbed during the low tide, I walked, watching the ships in various stages of completion as flamingos flocked around them.
Great white pelicans at Mandvi
5. Pelicans and flamingos everywhere
Birds of a feather flock together and if you are a birder like me, you do not have to go looking for water birds in Kutch. They are virtually everywhere – lakes, nallahs, creeks, marshes, swamps, rivers, and oceans. Just look for any water body and they are there. I saw huge blocks of great white pelicans in Bhuj and greater and lesser flamingos in the lakes around Mandvi. Giving them company were black-winged stilts, red-wattled lapwings, and spotbill ducks among other waders and water birds. All I had to do was to stop by a lake and perch myself there for hours until the heat of the sun drove me away.
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A colony of Lesser Flamingos dots a flooded salt marsh in Khadir Island in Gujarat's Great Rann of Kutch.
Source: Yahoo!
