Today it is exactly a month since I found myself on the Rann of Kutch . A nasty cough that lingered for three weeks prevented me from recording my trip.

Mr Mitul insisted we stop at one of the street stalls in Khavda, famous for its Rabdi like milk sweet – thick, caramelised and granular .

On our way to the Rann of Kutch, we passed through vast stretches of scrubland called the Banni Grassland which is the largest grassland in the subcontinent. The 1819 earthquake of the Rann of Kutch caused the Indus River that once flowed here to change its course, converting this once fertile land to scrubland. Despite its barren appearance it has a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna . It is still used for grazing and you can see sheep and cattle.

Nirona village is famous for Rogan Art and beaten copper bells. Rogan art which is a traditional form of printing with oil based vegetable dyes has been revived by Abdul Gaffar Khatri who has been awarded the Padmashri for his efforts. And we were fortunate to visit him at his home and see how the intricate patterns were drawn out with a fine stylus .

We still had another artisan to visit: the Laquer craftsman with his brightly coloured wooden spatulas, spoons and rolling pins .

Our final halt on the handicraft trail was the village of Ramdevpir Nagar a settlement of Megvad Marvadas famed for their embroidery. Even today, the women were dressed in colourful elaborate garments intricately embroidered. The traditional circular mud house or bhunga was beautifully decorated both inside and outside.

Welcome to Dhordo

Did you think that the Rann of Kutch was a roast leg of lamb kutchi style ?
Or did you think that the Rann of Kutch was a forest where raan meant forest ?

While I knew that the Rann was neither a forest nor a leg of lamb, I didn’t know it was a salt desert !

Yes, the famous Rann is actually a salt marsh. There are many ways to get to the Rann but we chose to access it through Dordo, a village close to the Tent City Village put up by Gujarat Tourism. This tent city and other spin offs come up for the Rann of Kutch festival from January to March every year.

We stayed in a tent city closest to the BSF post and were amazed that beyond the great whiteness lay the country of Pakistan. Luckily our guide had bought our tickets to enter the Rann and after settling down into our allotted tents we prepared to watch the sunset .

The winds became chillier as the sun went down and we decided to spend sometime at the handicraft stalls set up as part of the Festival of the Rann. The stalls are a great place to shop for block printed and Ajrakh fabrics, different embroideries of Kutch, leather work and other local handicrafts. It also had great food stalls where we enjoyed some interesting variations on Pizza and sipped on hot tea in Khullars.

We were dead tired by the time we went to bed, determined to wake up early the next morning before we set off on the next leg of our journey.

Ciao