Yarns of cloth: Textile based handicraft villages near Bhuj

A part of eastern Kachchh and one of the important places in the region Bhuj is traditional and at  the same time modern too. Playing an vital role on the history of the region Bhuj served as a capital of the Jadeja Rajput rulers. More recently it was devastated during the earthquake of 2001. This area is seismically  very active and the entire topography of the place bears changes brought in by earthquakes.

Bhuj is the nearest town for visiting all the villages located along the periphery of the white desert. These villages are famous for their handicrafts, each one specializing in a particular form. This post of mine would be dedicated to the vibrant handicrafts of this dry and arid land. It is probably as a relief from the harsh environs that these villages took to handicrafts, so colorful, that it fills their lives with color

The handicraft villages, starting with the ones close to Bhuj

Bhujodi: Weaving and a textile handicraft center town, Bhujodi is just 8 kms away. Vankars are the main inhabitants of this village . There are around 1200 people of this community still engaged in weaving colorful stoles, shawls, carpets etc with a variety of medium like the cotton, wool, silk etc  If you are around, do visit the place of Vankar Vishram Valji, a national award winner. His son Ramji will not only show you their work, would also treat you like personal guests.The place is also known for its tie and dye or the bandhani artists. Bhujodi is also home to Shrujan, a NGO involved in promotion of textile and embroidery related handicrafts. Its also the home to Hiralaxmi Memorial Craft Park, a exhibition cum retail place for all handicrafts of this region.

The humble house of Vankar Vishram Valji

This is where the weaving happens

Ajrakhpur and Dhamadka: Known for the famous block prints, Ajrakhpur is located around 10 kms from Bhuj and Dhamadka a little further. Ajrakh print has an interesting story attached to its name. Ajrakh is an ancient form of art using vegetable dye and hand made blocks, During the days of kings, apparently bedspreads were changed everyday. One particular day it was a spread with block prints, the king fell in love with the prints and asked his servant not to change the bedspread for that day by saying Aj Rakh (Keep it for today in Hindi). Hence the name Ajrakh. It is an lengthy and an interesting process of dyeing and printing the cloth with dyes and colors derived out of natural ingredients like pomegranate, tamarind, henna, indigo etc. The blocks are also hand carved with various designs.

Various pieces of ajrakh printed cloth being dried out

The base of Ajrakh!!

Dhaneti : Situated around 26kms from Bhuj, Dhaneti specializes in embroidery. Ladies of the village are engaged in Ahir and Rabari embroidery. Shrujan, an NGO has active collaboration with the ladies of this village for its products, many home factories run out of the village.

Hodka - Beauty in the middle of nowhere

No elaborate entrances, signages or roads lead you to the famous Shaam-e-Sarhad resort in this village called Hodka. Situated at a distance of about 60odd kms from Bhuj, Hodka is very close to the white desert. 

From Bhuj, you take the airport road and keep going straight till you reach Bhirandiyara and take a left from there. Bhirandiyara, is the place where the police outpost is situated, where you get passes to visit the white desert. All people of armed forces or for that matter ex-servicemen do not require to take these passes. In peak season like that during the Rann Utsav the queue is pretty long to get passes. Little before this outpost are the stalls selling Bhirandiyara's famous mava. Definitely a must try, go in for a cup hot from the stove, garnished with rose petals. Most of the people in Banni grasslands are cattle herders, no wonder u get such a yummy dish.

Now coming back to Hodka, it is a cultural village famous for craft like mirrors,lamps mud work especially on their huts. Silver jewelry from Hodka is also very famous. Their decorated huts are called bhungas. We didn't get an opportunity, however one can directly visit the huts and interact with the local artisans and buy their wares. 

Shaam-e-Sarhad (Sunset across the border) is a model resort run directly by the village panchayat of Hodka. It was set up in association with the UNDP and the Tourism Ministry of India. Inspired by the success of this place, many more have sprung up in the vicinity.

The wonderful Shaam e Sarhad

 Shaam-e-Sarhad cannot in the strict sense be called a resort, it does't have many of the facilities that customers ask for, like a swimming pool or other activities like sports etc. However, they do offer you activities to keep you occupied, like star gazing lying down on your charpoys in the open, enjoy local music or dance, or view some magical sunrises and sunsets or listen to stories of Kutch and the wonderful place that it is, from the staff of the resort. 

The tent we stayed in . Cozy is the word!!!

The decor of the resort and the fresh homely food they offer can sweep you off the floor. The accommodation in Bhungas or tents is again so unique and colorful. We visited this place in winters and even in the thick of winter, their handmade razais kept us really warm, even though we stayed at a tent and not a bhunga. These (bhungas) are their traditional houses and are made out of mud, to keep you insulated from the chill.

The colorful dining area

Piping hot food being served 

Do u need to ask for more

Food was the best part of the resort. It was totally local, bajro ni rotla, subji with spring onion, jaggery, khichdi, kadhi and halwa, all freshly prepared and heated on coal and served with loads of love. Youth of the village take active part in the day today activities of the resort. The attire of the men in this part of Kutch is so much similar to the attire of Kashmiris and Pakistanis. Initially when I saw them, mistook them to be a part of some group from Pakistan. Goes to show how much similarities exist between the 2 countries, yet this animosity.

Local musical rendition

Sunrise at Shaam e Sarhad

This resort is operational only between 15 Oct - 31 Mar of any year. The summers in this part of the country is too harsh for the tourists and during rains the white desert is filled with water from the Kori creek. The tents and temporary structures at the resort are dismantled by the end of the season. When the rain stops, the resort needs to be redone, its flooring etc and then they are ready to welcome their guests. I have never heard of something like this. When the resort is not operational, the staff of the resort turn to their original professions of being a maldhari or a cattle grazer.

One of the staff, Pandhi Bhai told me that there is a huge cattle fair held right in front of the resort. He also showed me his village Meerawali (I am not sure of the name) and

Paandhi Bhai

said only rugged 4 wheelers can drive to his village. His wife and daughters undertake razai making and embroidery work. I wonder how these people go about their daily lives in the normal course. I was very keen on visiting a village and interact with people there, but a pressing issue with our Safari made us take a quick turn back to Bhuj.

From Hodka, one can visit the white desert at Dhordo, bird sanctuary at Chhari Dhand, Than monastery or make a day excursion to Kalo dungar or to Lakhpat (more on this,in my future post.)





Shaam e Sarhad: Shaam-e-Sarhad Village Resort
                              Endogenous Tourism Project
                              Hodka Village, Banni
                               Bhuj (Kutch) – Gujarat
                               PIN – 370 510
                              Email : hodka.in@gmail.com (Bookings can be done over mail)

Kutch - Like nothing else on this earth!!

Ads on the television promoting Gujarat Tourism by Amitabh Bachan are quite a hit. Its for quite some time I had been impressed and thinking of making  a trip to Kutch. It finally happened this year and this was the last and the most unique destination of our road trip. 

Kutch also spelled Kachchh locally is the largest district in Gujarat and is a wonderful combination of pristine beaches, the world's only white desert, swathes of arid land running into the horizon, the abode of as many as 18 different tribes, each one with their own way of dressing, customs, traditions etc, birds, handicrafts and the cradle of human civilization at Dholavira.

There is some much to write about this wonderful place, that I am still confused on where do I start.  

Salt pans along the Hakadiya Creek

I will maintain this post only as an introduction to the landscape of Kutch and cover the rest in further posts.We made our journey from Gondal passing through Rajkot, Morbi, Bhachau, Bhuj and reached Hodka. After Morbi, you pass through a part of the Little Rann of Kutch and it is interesting to see salt pans in that area. When you look at the map, the area is shown green denoting a forest, but the area is just dry and arid with Hakadiya creek providing some color of blue to the landscape. Road conditions almost excellent all through, except for some minor work on Bhachau Bhuj highway.  

The entire area is not very fertile and you do not see much of cultivation anywhere around, however once you cross Bhuj airport and the Rudramata dam, the change in the  landscape is dramatic. Banni grasslands take over and changes the color of the land. The land is almost flat, no cultivation anywhere interspersed with some thorny shrubs here and there. Castor plants however are found here and probably cultivated too. From here on you get to see bhungas(traditional mud huts) and also occasional settlements of nomadic Rabari tribes. The occupation of the most of the people in this region is cattle grazing and are called Maldharis. Just a little ahead is the Rann of Kutch, the world's only white desert. Do not be mistaken, it is not made up of white sand but it is due to salt deposits. During monsoons, the Rann is filed with standing waters from the sea, which recedes during the summer and winters to leave a crust of salt above. Ecologically very rich, the area of Greater Rann of Kutch along with the Little Rann of Kutch is home to many wildlife sanctuaries and preserved areas like Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Bird Santuary, Kutch Bustard Santuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Santuary, Chhari- Dhand Wetland Conservation reserve and more. Bird enthusiasts are sure to have a field day here.

The Banni grasslands

You can see till infinity

Its said before the earthquakes of the 18th century, river Indus flowed through this place and was the land very fertile not anymore. This arid, dry and dusty land is the hotbed of many handicrafts which bring in much needed color to the lives of those living here.

Gondal- A small treasure trove

While planning for our long road trip, it was a struggle to find places where I could find accommodation and at the same time maintain driving distances for a day. I just happened to chance upon Gondal and found it interesting enough. Accommodation too wasn't a problem. Just 3 hours from Diu and it happened to fit the bill. I was also keen on ensuring of elements of fun and frolic, heritage, culture in the trip.

A small princely state of the erstwhile years, Gondal is hardly on the tourist map. Gondal is located in the Rajkot district of Gujarat, just 35 kms off Rajkot and 255kms from Ahmedabad. No sightseeing places in the town except for a palace which is turned into a museum and a guest wing of the palace where you can stay. In spite of all this the experience that Gondal offers,  puts this destination apart from any other.

HH Bhagwat Sinhji

Set out from Diu around 11 in the morning and passed through Una, Tulsishyam, Dhari and Bagasara. On this route you enter the Gir forest, famous for its Asiatic Lions for a small distance. We were hopeful of sighting some wild animal, but all that paid an audience to us were some birds, random peacocks and peahens and some monkeys.

The state of Gondal was a small state comprising of 4 towns and more than 175 villages. The rulers of Gondal belonged to the Krishna vanshi Jadeja clan. Under the famous king  HH Maharaja Bhagwat Sinhji the princely state became a first-class princely state. He was a very progressive ruler who introduced many economic reforms, compulsory education for girls, made the state tax free and improved infrastructure. Bhagwat Sinhji was a highly learned personality with degrees of Law, Medicine, Engineering and architecture everything under his belt.

Now coming back to our experience. We reached Gondal (Orchard Palace) by around 1530. A part of the Huzoor palace, Orchard Palace was originally the guest wing of the  now converted into a heritage hotel. The original rulers also stay in the same campus, just behind the hotel.

Antique Fan in our room!!

We were then escorted to our room (apparently we got the best one). Seeing the decor of the room, with antique furniture right from writing table, carpets, beds, fan and the sheer size of the room , we were floored. In addition, there was a dressing room, again with elegant furniture and a more bigger bathroom with bathtub and old tiles. Lot of  fruit bearing trees gives Orchard Palace its name and serenity. You could see peacocks flying in and out of the gardens adorning the palace. Oh my god!! I felt like a queen myself.

The Orchard Palace Hotel

Orchard palace is the location where the famous vintage car collection of the Gondal maharajas is displayed. There are about 60 -70 of them, many of them are specially crafted on order and all of them are in operating condition. They are taken out for vintage car rallies. The present title holder and his son are sports and car racing enthusiasts. When we were taking a look around the cars, we could see the Yuvraj Himansusinhji zoom in, in one of his sports cars. There is also the Railway Saloon of the Maharaja, which is on also on display next to the palace. Interestingly, this saloon is offered as accommodation for a family or a couple. It features separate living and dining areas, attendant areas and its own kitchen. The staff at the Orchard Palace, especially Ravi takes good care of the guests at the hotel. His service is exemplary and  leaves no stone upturned to bring a smile on the faces of guests at the hotel.

The royal saloon

Rolls Royce 1973

The common area at Orchard Palace replete with antiques and accessories

Dinner at Orchard Palace hotel is something one should not like to miss. It is an fixed menu dinner served in the tastefully decorated dining hall..The dinner is cooked at the royal kitchen and you eat what the royalty eats. It was a complete 3 course dinner with an interesting combination of western and Indian cuisine. The food was one of the most tastiest meals we have ever had. You can choose not to have your dinner here, but do not make that mistake.

All guests staying at Orchard Palace or the Riverside Palace (originally meant for the Princes now a heritage hotel) are taken for a guided tour of the Naulakha Palace (the main palace of Gondal). This place is now given out for film shootings apparently. When we visited there was some movie being shot featuring Mithun Chakraborty and Ayusshman Khurana. The palace has also been converted into a private museum.

The Naulakha Palace

The palace itself is quite impressive with its jharoka styled windows, long pillared corridors, arches, spiral staircases and carvings. The museum at the palace houses many antiques, silver and gold caskets and other gifts received by the King, coins and stamps of Gondal state, beadwork and other personal items. Hunting spoils of the kings are also on display here. Among the other things on display are fine crockery, utensils used by the royals, toys etc. The toy car collection of the present Yuvraj (prince) is definitely not be missed, on display are hundreds of vehicles of all sorts. Horse carriages and other mode of transport used by the royal family is also on display. A wonderful trip down the history of Gondal!!

This toy actually runs on petrol

The legend has it that, HH Bhagwat Sinhji would use this carriage to check the newly made roads. He would travel on this with some water in a vessel and if even a single drop spilled out, the road would have to be redone

Another interesting thing about Gondal is respect and protection that cattle (esp cows) is given. There are in fact many trusts established to take care of cows and stray cows from all parts of the country come here and no cow is denied the care it is in need of.

Diu - The island of breeze, serenity and sun

From one Portuguese occupied territory we come to another one. Daman and Dia are parts of the same UT, however from administrative point of view they are different. Most of the people including me think they were co-located. Only afterl I started researching for this road trip of ours, I realised that they were far apart. Goes to show how little we know about our country. Anyways isn't it better to be late than never??

After a day's drive from Ahmedabad we reached Diu by around 7 in the evening and checked into Hoka Island Villa.A small but well maintained resort close to Nagoa beach, one of the most popular and probably the most crowded beach in Diu. 

The Colorful Hoka Island Villa

The island of Diu has a unique charm of its own, in addition to the sea,sand and serenity. Places with a unique history like Daman, Diu etc interest me a lot. Curious to see old buildings, churches, the Portuguese population etc. 

Fortim-do-mar

The Portuguese built a fort here in Diu too, as in Daman, however the fort here had a vantage point as Diu, being the southern most point of Gujarat assumed importance from the trade point of view. In addition to the fort on the sea shore (near jetty), there's one more in the water too. It is still known as Fortim-do-mar or the Pani Kotha. You can hitch a boat ride to the fort. 

The fort is made of stone and is quite an imposing structure and makes you wonder how the entire structure including the cannons are built out of iron. A lighthouse is located within the fort giving you splendid view of the sea.

Many of the areas in Diu are still known by their Portuguese names like Fudam etc. The town is basically an extension of Gujarat because of its location. 

A bell in the fort !!

Mighty Cannons !!

  

Potato Pesto, Portuguese fish stew, Pasta and fried prawns

Around 60 odd Portuguese families still reside in Diu. I was very sad to find only one restaurant serving Portuguese cuisine. It might not be called a restaurant in the true sense, its just a home based eatery. The husband wife couple manage the whole show at 0'Coqueiro. They have a combination of basic Indian dishes like Rice Dal, some Italian stuff like Pastas and the Portuguese food. But the specialty definitely is Portuguese cuisine. Few items on the menu have to be pre-ordered as all the ingredients are sourced fresh. While you wait for your food, you could pick up some of the books from Mr Kailash Pandey's collection, chat up with him or relax with your drink and listen to some good music. They are open all through the day, choose to visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The location and the restaurant itself is not very prominent. It is located at main Diu Island in Firangiwada. There is a nice heritage building just at the end of the road near O'Coqueiro. The house where the restaurant is located is some 100 years old Portuguese house, which Mr Pandey wants to maintain as it is. There is a whole row of Portuguese houses on that road. 

The city was intended to be a walled town and there are many gates for entry into the main town. One such gate is the Zampa gate, a massive gate painted red looks magnificent with paintings and the cross.The remains of the original wall built by the Portuguese can be seen at different places. 

Zampa gate at the western end of the city

Once you enter the city from this gate, you encounter narrow streets of the town and somewhere on these roads is the Nagar Sheth haveli, the beautiful and ornate 3 storied building. Carved balconies, huge carvings on the doors. The architectural style is said to be Indo Sarcenic. Walking along the road we found many such buildings in a dilapidated condition bearing paintings and carvings. A trip along the Diu that once was!! It clearly demonstrated the influence of Portuguese. Even to this day, all business establishments in Diu follow Portugal timings ie., open by 8 in the morning, close by 12 for a siesta and open after 3.

Nagar Sheth haveli in all its opulence

An old door , look carefully for the painting above the door

An interesting place to be explored near the Zampa gate are the Naida caves, a maze of interconnecting caves of myriad shapes often making symmetry. It is said that the building materials for the forts and gates were taken out of these caves by the Portuguese. There are 10 caves on one side and a big 11th one on the other side.

The maze 

While talking about Diu, one can't really miss the beaches. Nagoa beach, as said earlier, is very popular and crowded, with lots of activities like water scooters, hot air balloon, para sailing, quad biking etc. However we liked the Chakratirth beach better, being less crowded and providing great views of the setting sun. Also located at this beach is the INS Khukri memorial. This is great place just to sit and relax and hear the waves of the sea lashing at the rocks. Other popular beaches being Ghogla, Jallandar and Gomtimata.

The sun sets over the peaceful Chakratirth beach

At the St Paul's church, one of the oldest and most elaborate of the Portuguese churches in India

Diu market near the main road by the jetty is an interesting place where goods from Kandla and Mundra port reach here for selling (export surplus I suppose). Clothes, belts, jackets, quilts, watches, chocolates everything can be found here. A bargain pick would be the spices and dry fruits. Good quality cashews often sell for as less as Rs 300 per kg.

3 days in Diu had me captivated beyond my imagination and wished to go back again to enjoy the laid back nature of this island. No wonder it is called the Goa without hippies and the crowd. 

From Daman to Diu

Never knew till recently, that though they form a part of same Union Territory, Daman and Diu are far aprt from each other, around 650kms from each other. While Daman lies at the start of Gujarat, Diu is the southern most tip of the Kathiawadi region of Gujarat.

From Daman we set off to Ahmedabad, taking the Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara route. Roads they remain excellent throughout. Ahmedabad was just a night halt, and no exploring. But the roads of Ahmedabad, they are too chaotic, no signals at all, not even at major junctions. This was not expected out of NaMo's own land. 

From Ahmedabad set out to Diu by around 10 in the morning. There are a lot of factories and industries on the outskirts of  Ahmedabad. In fact the entire belt from Surat to Ahmedabad there are quite a lot of industrial activity happening, but nothing much once you move forward into Gujarat.

Offroading somewhere before Savar Kundla

The route to Diu from Ahemedabad gave us a real taste of rural Ahmedabad. The famed good roads of Gujarat do not exist on this route. The route took us through Dhandukha, Vallabhipur, Savar Kundla, Damnagar, Chalala and Una  and these were all state highways (so called), but were so narrow and at one particular place there was no road and we had to drive through this. True rural experience and offroading op. Moreover, this route lacks any sort of facilities for food stopovers. The Bhavnagar, Mahuva, Rajula, Una route may be better. We also passed very close to Lothal, one of the prominent cities of ancient Indus Valley Civilization, however did not stop by. Its just 80kms from Ahmedabad.

One more thing that you notice on any Gujarat highways are herds of cattle, sheep, goats taking a leisure walk, and I should mention it here the cattle and their horns are truly worth seeing, seem so robust. Another ubiquitous feature on the roads is the enfield turned 'Jugaad' or Chakkada locally. They come in all hues and colors, brightly decorated and painted. I was tempted to hitch a ride on one of them, but couldn't manage. Also noticed that this was the main mode of transport for the villagers, buses were rarely seen on the state roads.

The Jugaad/Chakkada

In spite of the conditions of the road, I found this journey enjoyable. We got to see so much of what the real Gujarat is. Colorful attire of ladies, the typical attire of cattle herdsmen, acres of cotton farms, a glimpse into the food habits, a camel caravan somewhere along the way, colorful crowded markets, groups of aged men chatting under a tree almost in all the villages we passed by and much more.

Bhel stalls are found all over

The fafdas,bhujias and more

Daman- Upcoming Goa??

Daman is at a distance of about 167 kms from Mumbai. One would have to get off the Mumbai- Ahmedabad highway few kilometers short of Vapi, towards your left. This is the entrance to Moti-Daman. Daman is divided into 2, Moti (Big in Gujarati) Daman and Nani (Small) Daman by the river Daman Ganga.

Our first impression of Daman was very nice. We entered Daman from Vapi side and passed the area at 11 in the night. It felt we were passing through a forest. Dense vegetation on both the sides of the road with not a single soul on the road. Then there is a huge gate with a big statue of a fisherman welcoming you to the Union Territory of Daman. The roads are broad, well maintained and well lit. This was Moti Daman, where all the administrative offices are located. Ahead on the road, is a church (It is Basilica of Bom Jesus, I think) and many old houses reminding you of the Portuguese occupation of Daman. Along with Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Goa, Daman was a Portuguese colony for over 300 years and was liberated in 1961.

Well-lit Daman Fort also looked formidable. You pass on the Rajiv Gandhi setu(bridge) to reach Nani Daman. This bridge again was very well maintained, which got us thinking if it was a general phenomenon being a Union Territory maintained under the aegis of the President of India himself. After crossing this bridge, you enter Nani Daman.

We stayed twice at Daman both ways, while going to and coming back from Gujarat. We stayed the second time because the first time, we felt there was more to explore at Daman. The first stay at Daman was at Silver Sands Beach Resort just off

Sunset @Daman Jetty

Devka beach and the second one was at Hotel Emerald near Daman jetty. These fare among the affordable range of hotels at Daman. There are more luxurious ones too, along the Devka beach, near the Coastal Highway like Hotel Miramar, Ocean Panorama etc.

Daman has many similarities with Goa, the Portuguese influence being the obvious one, beaches and beach shacks are the other ones.

However the beaches of Daman do not have the usual brown sand. Instead they have black sand and due to the beach shacks and incessant use of plastic, the beaches are quite filthy, especially Devka beach. As we stayed right in front of Devka beach, we went for an early morning walk and found plastics wrappers and covers strewn all over the beach. The water too seemed quite dirty. Moreover, there are lots of rocks preventing you from swimming.

Empty shacks at Devka beach 

Rocky sea

The scene at Jampore beach at Moti Daman seemed much better. There are beach shacks here too, but the beach looked better maintained. These beach shacks serve all kinds of alcohol (at a premium) and sea food, like fried fish, prawns etc You could also pick the sea food you like at Daman markets and ask one of the shack owners to prepare it according to your taste for a fee. We tried some seafood and found the preparation quite good. This beach also offers rides on camels, horses etc. One interesting feature at Jampore beach is that, waters does not flow to the beach, instead you would have to walk in soft sand ahead to reach the sea.

The most popular thing at Daman is liquor. Daman lies sandwiched between Maharashtra and Gujarat and the latter one being a dry state, there is a steady inflow of people from Gujarat to quench their thirst. There is good variety of liquor available at Daman, which is not generally available anywhere else. The prices are also cheaper. In fact, liquor shops at Daman open much before any other shops.

Relaxed pace of life at Daman

All said and done, Daman is a place where you can spend a day or two in leisure, as it is not as crowded as Goa. The roads are relatively empty and the town still retains the old world charm, especially Moti Daman, with its fort , churches and old Portuguese architecture.