Kutch: The Wonders of the Desert Land
The Heritage Club at Sanskruti is a unique educational programme offered by the Ahmedabad based Educational Initiatives. Its objective is to ignite new ways of learning Social Studies and to make the process more interesting, fun and practical by linking it to other subjects.
An educational tour of Sanskruti - The Heritage Club
As part of the heritage programme, students and teachers of Rachana School of Ahmedabad got the rare opportunity to visit Kutch for 4 days in December 2004 and to experience the countless stories of human adaptation there. Kutch, which The Outlook Heritage refers to as nature’s most hated child, is even today, a surprising land. Travelling across Kutch is like tackling a quirky history lesson that got left out in the syllabus. It is in this allegedly cursed land, where the earth is perennially restless with tectonic movements, that Dholavira, one of the earliest cities of South Asia, flourished. And today, though earthquakes have orphaned the Kutchis and droughts have dried up the place, we still see the beautiful art of embroidery springing forth from the talented hands of the people of this desert land. These masterpieces of art often decorate the homes and attire of many among the city elite and country people alike. The embroidery is a variegated reflection the Kutchi lifestyle of camels, peacocks, parrots, flower, trees, and women churning milk. Each pattern tells a story. There is a story behind every pattern, every village and perhaps every person.
At Sanskruti, students discover the wonders of their neighbourhood and of India with the help of award winning documentary films, lively power-point presentations and live chats with experts/artisans, innovators and practitioners. They learn through teamwork, group presentations, art-and-craft activities, skits and by visiting different places.
In this sense the educational trip to Kutch was quite unique as it not only exposed the students to the various layers of History and its complex interplay with Geography but also allowed them to interact with the people of the countryside, who possess rich knowledge and skills of their artistic heritage. The students travelled across the fossil park of marine and animal fossils and wandered through the vast Rann of Kutch - the white desert land.
Kutch - The Desert Land
The word ‘Kutch’ has been derived from the land’s geographical feature that resembles the tortoise (kachbo). Bhuj is the district headquarters of Kutch. Located in the extreme west of India, it is surrounded by the Gulf of Kutch, the Arabian Sea and the Great Rann of Kutch, which separates India from Pakistan.
History of Kutch:
The human history of Kutch goes back to the time of Prehistory. The dry bed of the river Surkhi at a few miles in the northeast direction of Nakhatrana has revealed large flakes, hand-axes and scrappers of the Paleolithic era made from local dikes and basalt. The people who lived here were hunter-gatherers.
Around 2,600 BC, the Indus Valley Civilisation made its way to Kutch with people settling down at Dholavira, an island city and trade centre, having links with the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Dholavira has shown an excellent town planning and water storing system of the Indus Valley Period. Dholavira is located at Khadir Island to the northeast of Bhuj. The other Harappan settlements are: Deshalpur, Kotada and Todies in Nakhatrana taluka; Jhangar, Kotda and Pirwada Kheta in Anjar taluka; Kerali, Lakhpur, Pabumath, Kharika and Khavda in Bhachau taluka. The typicality of Harappan settlements at Kutch is the use of stonewalls instead of bricks.
During the early historic times, Buddhism and Jainism had a strong presence in Kutch. Buddhist caves and Kshatrapa inscriptions are found at archaeological sites like Nani Raina, Kateshwar, etc. Kutch was a melting pot of various ideas coming from Central Asia and Saurashtra regions. A tribal community called Abhira, referred to in the Mahabhrata and in the inscriptions, inhabited it.
The 7th century Chinese traveller Huen T’Sang described Kutch as lying 1,600 kms southeast from the capital of Sindh. The capital’s name was Kie-Tai-Sai-Ta-Lo (Kateshwar).
During the early medieval period, i.e. from 7th century onwards, Muslim traders arrived at Kutch in large numbers and settled all along the coast. Ports were established at Mandvi, Koteshwar, Lakhpat, etc. In addition to Muslims, Kanthies from Sindh and Chavdas were the other communities, which had strong presence at Kutch involving trading business. Chavdas were expert sailors. Their relic in terms of temples is found at Anjra, Bhadreshwar, Kerakot, Kotay, Pumragadh and Verucura. Besides, temples, tanks and dams were also constructed during their rule. During the later Medieval Period, Lakhas and Othas ruled Kutch. In the later part of History Bhuj and Lakhpat were the main trade centres for the caravan passing through Indian desert and Central Asia.
People:
The people of Kutch are as mysterious as its history. Nomads, pastoralists, Hindus, Muslims, and Jains are the communities inhabiting Kutch for generations. Among the nomads and pastoralists, the Rabaries predominate the Kutch population. They are divided into three clans - Desi Rabaries, Dhebaria Rabaries and Vagadiya Rabaries. Desi Rabries live in the central and western side of Kutch. The Dhebariyas live near Anjar Taluka and the Vagadiyas in the village of Vagad. The Rabaries move from one village to another along with their household goods and animal herds. Midialo of Anjar Taluka is the main village of Dhebariyas and almost 800 Rabari families live in this small village.
Ahirs, the pastoral community of Kutch, is known as the children of Lord Krishna. There are four clans of this community, namely Prantharia, Mochhaya, Baureech and Sorathia. Ahirs are principally animal farmers, selling ghee and milk. Ahirs wear colourful clothes, decorated with charming embroidery work.
The other communities of Kutch are Maldharis, Jats and Harijans, besides Jains and Upper Caste Hindus.
The Tour
The journey started on a chilly morning with lots of excitement and fun. The distance from Ahmedabad to Bhuj (base of our stay) is 400 kms. The first visit was to Mandvi, a historic port town located on the shore of the Gulf of Kutch. As a seat of Maharao, the local Maharaja, Mandvi was a strategic port during the medieval times. For the Mughals, it was a transit point to export from India and for pilgrimage to Mecca. Apart from the beautiful beach, the town has preserved the unique Vijaya Vilas palace, a true reflection of fusion of various architectural ideas - Dutch, Gothic, Bengali and Rajasthani. Little wonder, the classic film of Lagan was also shot here. The students were thrilled on the full moon evening at the golden beach of Mandvi.
On the second day, we travelled to the ancient city of Kateshwar at Lakhpat taluka in the extreme northwest of Kutch to see the archaeological treasures of caves and other ruins - all referred to in Huen T’Sang’s account as the capital of Kutch in 7th century AD. From a hilltop at Kateshwar, one can view the vast Rann of Kutch and miles of arid land without any human settlement. Pakistan boarder is very close to Kateshwar. On the way to Kateshwar, we stopped for while at Vithone Fossil Park - a huge collection of both marine and terrestrial animal and plant fossils of million of years old. Kutch is actually a treasure house of fossils - the whole land mass have evolved due to a series of tectonic upliftments since the beginning of Jurassic Age. Scientists say that a large part of the land was sea during the geological past and therefore we often find fossils of marine species, such as starfish, mollusk, and tortoise. There are also fossils of the giant reptiles - dinosaurs.
In the evening, we travelled to the extreme west of the country again to a beautiful beach - Koteshwar - a religious-cum-scenic place. The walk across the dry estuary on the moonlit night was amazing.
On the third day, we passed through Kuneria, a small village on the way to Khavda. At Kuneria, the students wandered through the arid landscape of Kutch, where the classic film of Lagan was shot. The people of the village were very warm and revealed interesting stories of their experiences during the shooting of Lagan. From Kuneria we moved to Khavda and then Kalodungar - the tallest peak of Kutch. On the way, we passed through Bani, another unique landscape of marshes and dunes. The view from the top of Kalodungar was amazing - the wide Rann of Kutch looked spectacular. We spent the afternoon in the nearby village of Ludia - a wonder in the desert, consisting of colourful Bhugies - the round Kutch hut decorated with colourful murals and glasswork and an array of handicrafts. Students interviewed the villagers and inquired about their history and lifestyle.
On the last day, we were all lost in the wonders of the archeological treasure house - Dholavira and the silence of the Rann of Kutch. Dholavira, situated in one of the remote corners of the country, is known for its spectacular town planning and water harvesting system, dating back to the Indus Valley time. Fifteen years of excavation has partially exposed this lost town; there are, enough clues to guess what could have the lifestyle of people then, who had established trade contacts with the Persian Gulf when many of the modern nations had yet to see the light of human civilisation. While walking around the acropolis, a student echoed: “Oh! Such systematic town planning and water harvesting…perhaps our modern cities can take some ideas…!”
The trip has no doubt made a tremendous impact in the minds of students, which is loud and clear in the words of Mrs Ghosh, the principal of Rachna School. She says, “The most recent trip to Kutch was really an eye-opener on the lost tower of a glorious civilisation - amidst the Rann of Kutch lies Dholavira known for its unique planning and water harvesting system. The walk through the Kutch Fossil Park was a nostalgic retreat into our past. The students got to experience the unique diversities of humanities that defy both space and time against the spectacular backdrop of Kutch’s dynamic landscape. The ordeal of human existence in the desert was an experience that our children will remember forever.”
Food
Kutchi food typically consists of vegetarian meals like bajri ka rotla with desi ghee, dahi kadi, bengan ka bharta, mouth-watering chaas, etc.
Tips for a traveller to Kutch
Kutch, despite its rugged beauty and splendid historical ruins, has not yet been marketed as a prominent tourist destination. There is one star category hotel in Bhuj, called’ Prince’, on the Station Road. Gujarat Tourism has a comfortable retreat “Toran” on the outskirts of the city. There are also a number of reasonably priced hotels such as Abha International, VRP Guest House located near the city centre. We stayed at Hotel Abha International, which has a price range of Rs. 300-1500.
The people of Kutch are warm and hospitable and, it is needless to say that any traveller to Kutch would find it a lifetime memoir of experiences.
Synergy Communications and Star World had hosted a national quiz for students between the ages of 11 and 13, with well-known quizmaster Siddhartha Basu hosting it. The idea was to find the brightest kid in India. EI was the content provider and educational consultants for this quiz. A team comprising of subject experts with school teaching experience had prepared the questions for each round after considerable research to ensure authenticity and accuracy, besides relevance and usefulness. This was aired on Star World from mid-2004 to November 2004.