Lets Go! Gujarat - 3. Bhuj and the Great Rann of Kutch

We then hired a taxi for the entire day and went to explore the places in and around Bhuj and the Great Rann of Kutch. On the way, we visited couple of traditional tribal villages in Nirona and Hodka. We saw the traditional Rogan art on pieces of cloth, by a single family named Khatri and came to know that one of whose members, had also won a National award for this work.

Traditional Rogan Art work on a piece of cloth

We later came across a traditional hut called ‘Bhunga’, just before lunchtime, which had nice inscriptions and paintings on it. To the pleasant surprise and delight of the ladies in our group, one of the Bunga’s opened up to reveal a large collection of clothes, bed-sheets, purses and all other objects for sale that are dear to the female heart. They quickly forgot their hunger and spent a good deal of time purchasing these to their heart’s content (well almost!). Then with very light pockets and heavy shopping bags loaded to the brim in the the trunk of our car, we proceeded further to search for a place to eat. We could only find one small cart on the way selling hot Dhabeli’s (similar to Vada Pav) and some kind of Mewa based sweet, both of which we relished and gulped down to douse the fire in our hungry bellies!

A traditional ‘Bhunga’ (hut) in the village of Nirona in Kutch

A large herd of camels ambling by as we drove near the village of Nirona, Kutch

We then proceeded to Kalo Dunger or Black hills, which is the highest point in Kutch. On the way our driver showed us a high magnetic area, where our car rolled on neutral gear against a slight incline on the road, due to the magnetic force acting on it! At the top of the hills was a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Dattatreya (incarnation of the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara). We climbed further above and reached a view point, which presented a great panoramic view of the entire Gulf of Kutch region. From this point, we could see the India bridge and the border with our neighbour, which was just 50 Kms away. Unfortunately due to heavy rains in the region this year (similar to many other parts of our country), we couldn’t see the White sand desert that day, which was flooded with the sea water. We could only view it from a long distance away, from the view point.

View from the top of Kalo Dunger (Black hills) - the highest point of Kutch

It was almost sunset when we reached back to Bhuj, after which we proceeded to the glorious Swaminarayan temple. The original temple built by Bhagwan Swaminarayan himself, was unfortunately destroyed during the massive earthquake here in 2001. A new temple was later built, at a cost of 1 Billion Rupees (Rs.100 crore), making it the most expensive temple built in Gujarat in recent times. This beautiful white marble structure simply takes your breath away! We were amazed to see the extent of the intricate carvings that adorn the pillars and ceilings of this magnificent structure, made entirely of Marble. So much so that we couldn’t find even a single square feet of space on any pillar, or the ceiling which didn’t have some kind of carvings or inscriptions on it! A modern architectural marvel indeed!

The glorious Swaminarayan Temple in Bhuj (photo courtesy Flickr)

Next: Jamnagar, Dwaraka and Somnath

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