After my maiden visit to the Gulf of Kutch, especially to the salt pans a few years back, I was longing for a visit to the enormous expanse of salt — Rann, the white desert near Village Dhordo. Thanks to Gujarat Tourism, this year, I got a chance to soak in the sheer magic of the white chadar.
The moment my flight took off from Delhi, the image of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan standing in the middle of the white desert flashed through my mind. As we traversed the 400+ km road journey from Ahmedabad to Dhordo, Big B’s voice resonated in my head. Wooing travellers to visit Kutch, the actor, in his baritone voice, says, “‘Kutch nahi dekha toh kuch nahi dekha!’ (you haven’t seen anything if you haven’t seen Kutch)”.
As soon as I got off my car at Tent City, a celebration of sorts started for me. I was overwhelmed by the colours of the attire of Kutchi people and also by the colourful jewellery that the women folk adorned. As I waited for a tent to be allotted, my thoughts drifted to the long white chadar made of ice on Zanskar river in Ladakh. Though the terrains are vastly different, both the places have a white aura that engulfs you.
As I entered the gateway to the white desert, it was exhilarating. Every year, Rann Utsav is organised to celebrate love, life and culture over a period of two months by the state government to attract tourists. And the bonhomie is clearly felt.
This white desert, deep inside the Kutch region of Gujarat, is actually a dried river bed in winter months, almost 40 km in length and approximately 80 km from Bhuj. River Layari, which originates in the Banni Grasslands, dries up completely in winter months leaving the white salt sediments in the form of amazing rock formations. Layari, in fact, is a vast oasis for birds during the summer months, when it is full.
The Rann, literally meaning salt marsh, is a white, cracked and barren land with sparse, usually thorny vegetation. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth I have visited. As I stood on the white chadar awestruck, looking at the endless white stretch, I considered myself lucky to witness the magic unfold in front of my eyes and also feel the excitement within me to witness another phenomenon — a full moon night in this breathtaking landscape.
While I waited for the dreamy experience of star gazing in the white desert, the sun was fast approaching the horizon, and the ball of fire completely hypnotised me as it continuously changed its colour, gradually fading away in the endless sky. The sky turned into a painter’s canvas with the panorama of colours creating a masterpiece that was simply mesmerising.
The view of the setting sun at Rann and the colours on the horizon were mind-blowing. I was told that the Rann changes its mood as per the time of the day and it was a visual treat to watch the magnificent saffrons, blues and reds at play.
Soon it was dark and the Rann turned into shining crystals. I felt like no less than Neil Armstrong as I stepped on the romantic purple coloured Rann and had a quick, romantic tête-à-tête with the moon. I bid a short goodbye only to return early next morning before sunrise and be one with nature again.
Even though sunrise, sunsets and moonlit nights at the Rann are the most colourful presentations that made me ecstatic during my visit to the arid desert of Kutch, I was also amazed by the gifted artisans. The tented colony at Dhordo was full of pop colours that the people wear and also the handicrafts they sell. The villages around Bhuj with settlements of pastoral nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, display different art forms. A visit to the Rann is incomplete without a tour of the artisan villages.
Kutch artefacts are popular across the globe. The main handicrafts of the place are copper bells, Rogan art, seashell toys and dolls, ethnic embroidery, patchwork, terracotta etc. Also the houses in the Banni area are living museums of beautiful paintings by Rabari and Harijan women.
