We
had a first class non-ac sleeper compartment for four people, this was the view
from our window in the morning, we were probably about two thirds along the
train.Home Indian Trips <<Previous Gujarat Next>>
We left Ahmedabad at Midnight taking a sleeper train to Bhuj, which arrived at 8am. Bhuj is the principal town of Kutch, a district at the far east of Gujarat that borders Pakistan. The town has a population of about 120,000. The River Indus used to flow through Kutch until a massive earthquake in 1819 diverted its path away from the area leaving behind a salt dessert known as the Rann of Kutch. This is in the North of Kutch and is a sparely populated, mainly barren area. The southern region is more fertile and its coast is on the Arabian sea and was in past centuries was part of prosperous trading routes with East Africa and Persian ports.
The region has many tribal people living in its villages. The men are often herders, roaming with their animals, while women, children and elders stay in the villages. The people have developed many crafts skills as a means of trade and individual expression. Each tribe and village has its own particular styles distinguishable to the trained eye. While some crafts such as Rogan Painting are specific to particular villages others like embroidery are carried out in nearly all villages. Other crafts include silverwork, woodwork, leatherwork, pottery and mudwork.
While based in Bhuj we visited a number of villages to see the work being done in situ. First though we had to gain permits to travel to the villages because we were so close to the border with Pakistan.
We
had a first class non-ac sleeper compartment for four people, this was the view
from our window in the morning, we were probably about two thirds along the
train.
Indian trains tend to have lots of coaches and therefore travel quite slowly, it took 8 hours to travel the 135 miles from Ahmedabad.
Much of the region is quite flat.
The
round mud hut is a traditional design in the region.
