The
rest of the group on tour from left, Anju, Justin, Jenny and Corinne.
Justin was an honoury member of the club during the visit whilst traveling with
Mum, Jenny and going on to other areas of India when the rest of us headed home.Home Indian Trips <<Previous Gujarat Next >>
Emma's trip to Gujarat was with other members of the Delhi Patchwork and Quilting club that she belongs to. The trip lasted for ten days with four based in Ahmedabad, four in Bhuj and one night on the beach at Mandvi. It incorporated a mixture of standard sightseeing spots, textile specific visits and shopping.
The
rest of the group on tour from left, Anju, Justin, Jenny and Corinne.
Justin was an honoury member of the club during the visit whilst traveling with
Mum, Jenny and going on to other areas of India when the rest of us headed home.
His patience was very good with the rest of us examining fabrics etc on our shopping trips, though at one point he was caught stroking the fabric - an early sign of potential textile addiction.
The state of Gujarat is to the West of India, with borders to Pakistan and the Arabian Sea. The city of Ahmedabad is about 880 km (550 miles) from Delhi and was the state capital until 1970 when government institutions were transferred to the new city of Ghandinagar. This was named after the state's most famous son Ghandi The city was founded during the 15th century Sultan Ahmed Shah. The Old City is a tight network of buildings and narrow streets and alleys, which we had the chance to explore on a guided walk. While in Ahmedabad we also visited a number of historic sight in the region, including Patan, the Modhera Sun Temple and a couple of fascinating step wells.
From Ahmedabad we traveled to Bhuj, the principle town of the region of Kutch. Once a state in its own right it is now part of Gujarat but has some distinctive features. The area is renowned for the textile skills of the tribal people, each group having their own distinct patterns and techniques. We were able to visit a number of villages to see their work in situ. To do this we first had to obtain traveling permits from the police in Bhuj due to the proximity of Pakistan, but whilst traveling we encountered no problems and were never asked for them. It is always best to be prepared though. The northern areas of Kutch are predominately dessert with some areas barren due to salt deposits, so life here is difficult and demanding, many of the people are nomadic.
In 2001 the region suffered a devastating earthquake that measured 7.7 on the Richter scale, much of Bhuj was destroyed along with over 400 villages and over 20,000 people lost their lives. A lot of regeneration work could be seen in the town and villages, but evidence of the quake was also still visible and it will probably still take many years work to recover if ever.
Southern Kutch is a more fertile region and we drove through the area to reach Mandvi, a town famous for boat building, on the coast where we spent one night relaxing at a beach resort before heading home again.
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