Ultimate Encounter

Counting Colours in the Rann of Kutch

The region of Kutch in India brims with serenity and pops with Insta-gramable moments. By Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

We were trapped in a rural traffic snarl of around 250 bovines in Kutch, located in the heaving mercantile western state of Gujarat, India. It was around 9 p.m., and we were on the 30-km-long Road to Heaven—arrow-straight and flanked by the white salt desert called the Great Rann of Kutch, one of the largest salt deserts in the world.

A weary shepherd was steering his cattle in the cool night to graze in the rich Banni grassland that lay beyond. Our driver waited reverentially for the herd of prized Banni bovines, treasured for their thick rich milk, to pass.

The region of Kutch in India brims with serenity and pops with Insta-gramable moments. By Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

Legends and perspective-altering vignettes abound in this region of almost mono-chromatic beauty, slashed by the sight of the occasional camel caravan transporting nomadic herdsmen from one pasture to the next; burnt-green scrublands, the colourful garb of its people, and its rich tradition of handicrafts.

Thanks to its arid, unforgiving topography, Kutch is not a tourist honeypot but a destination where one can journey for miles and not meet anyone. Yes, this is a meeting place for memories and mirages.

This is where the legend of a Hindu sage who is said to have meditated in the ancient Than monastery in a headstand position for 12 years – undisturbed – seems entirely believable!  We visited this remote outpost on the fringe of the salt and sandy wastes of Great Rann of Kutch where the nimble yogi had accomplished his feat. It was deserted but for a wizened caretaker. The shrill cry of peacocks rent the still eerie air while the caretaker took us around the 14th-century monastery whose thick limestone walls shield exquisite wall paintings.

The region of Kutch in India brims with serenity and pops with Insta-gramable moments. By Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

We did not meet any devotees of the esoteric Slit Ears sect who live in the decrepit cloister and keep this monastic order alive. However, it is believed that they still practice their ancient magical rituals on a hilltop nearby (The sect is called Slit Ears because the devotees wear large earrings which slice through the hollow of their ears).

Kutch, we discovered, is a region where a wayfarer gets to encounter a living culture, especially in village homes that glow with the warmth of the residents and their rich arts and crafts. In the village of Hodka, a trusting hospitable matriarch ushered us into her simple immaculate home, essentially a colourfully decorated circular mud dwelling with a thatched conical roof. Her lined, weather-beaten face was partially veiled; her arms were smothered with white bangles, and her richly embroidered blouse and skirt rustled as she walked.

The region of Kutch in India brims with serenity and pops with Insta-gramable moments. By Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

We sat on the mud floor on which the matriarch had spread a colourful handmade quilt which she herself had stitched. She then started to pour cups of milk which she said was the sweet thick milk of a buffalo that had just given birth. As we sipped the warm lava-like liquid (laced with roasted fennel seeds), the elderly lady showed us the silver jewellery that she had worn as a young bride.

A heavy, carved silver neckpiece, thick anklets and intricately wrought quilts were a part of her dowry. The walls of her home were etched with geometric and floral patterns, painted with earth colours and embedded with mirror chips. The exterior too was brushed with earthy ochre, rust and yellow motifs. Her elderly husband and a miscellany of kids sat in a welcoming circle, their faces a mix of curiosity and pride. Indeed, in Kutch generally, the residents of a village hone their skills in a particular art or craft.

The region of Kutch in India brims with serenity and pops with Insta-gramable moments. By Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

Recently, we were in a Kutch village again, to experience the winter desert festival or the 100-day Rann Utsav 2024-25, an annual winter feature in the northern hamlet of Dhordo and an enchanting distillation of the culture, heritage and cuisine of the region. A hospitality brand, Evoke Experiences, creates a sustainable, luxurious tent city complete with a marketplace spilling with local art and craft, cultural programmes, restaurants and even a spa, which spring up from mid-November to mid-March every year. The city is dismantled overnight with only the hooting of the wind reminding one that ultimately the desert must triumph over the efforts of man, however, grandiose.

And like it has for centuries, the sun rises and sets on the white desert, the 7,500-sq-km Great Rann of Kutch, transforming that expanse of ethereal white into a jewel-toned carpet.

Its farthest reaches made us feel that we were in the loneliest inhabited place on earth!

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