Going to Kutch to cover the annual Rann Utsav, even though it meant getting up at 4 am in a temperature below 5 degrees Celsius, rushing to the airport, gulping down three cups of coffee while cursing the airline for a delayed flight, travelling around 1,000 km and meeting a brigade of six other reporters whom I knew nothing about, was an exhilarating experience.
From Ahmedabad, it was a long bus journey of nine hours to the Rann of Kutch?the only white desert in the world. By this time, courtesy the long ride and the lunch and tea breaks at dhabas en route, the ice was broken among the fellow travellers. It was close to 11 pm when we reached the venue, and half of us were already asleep. At first glimpse, the site looked like a wedding ground. There were rows of decorated tents, fully lighted with red carpets?far from any definition of a desert. After a good
Gujarati meal, we hit the beds in our VIP tents, which were actually a luxury in the desert, with western-style bathrooms, room heaters and air conditioners.
The only sign that a vast salt marsh was close by was our driver?s suggestion to get up early (yes, second day in a row) to see the sun rise.
Seeing the sunrise in Kutch was one of the major attractions of the Rann Utsav, which also includes camel safari, hot air ballooning, desert car rally, food court, bicycling and kite flying. Tourists are taken to the salt marsh early morning (in our case, we left at 5 am) to see the dawn breaking. As expected, it was a picture perfect moment: the sun seemed to emerge from the white ground, slowly taking on hues of pink, orange, red and yellow.
The vibrant colours were not limited to the sunrise alone; they were everywhere?in the clothes the Kutchis wore, huts that were hand designed and painted with mirror work, the handlooms and handicrafts and the food.
After a sumptuous Gujarati breakfast, we entered the craft bazaar, where several local artisans displayed the exquisite handicrafts of Kutch. This included bell art,
Rogan painting, hand embroideries, etc. During our two-day stay at Kutch, we also visited nearby villages, the birthplace of this unique art form.
It was quite impressive to see that most artisans have a tie-up with agencies?government or private?to take their products to the market. In this regard, the Gujarat administration has made a major headway over its counterparts. What could be a better example than the Rann Utsav, where it has managed to attract international and national tourists by creating a gala event in the middle of a vast desert.
Though I have to admit that during our stay we did not see too many tourists, the tourism department maintains that the occupancy rate, which hovers around 75% normally, touched 100% on Christmas and New Year?s eve. After exploring the possibilities in the desert, the
Gujarat government is now planning to move on to water. Since the state has the longest coastline in the country of 1,600 km, the government is trying to come out with a policy to boost cruise tourism.
The Rann Utsav, a 38-day-long cultural festival is organised by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat every year. This time it started from December 9, 2011, and will go on till January 15.
Though we stayed there for just two days, I realised that the Rann festival was a perfect platform for people to come together and celebrate the mystical magic of Kutch and its diversity. There was a lot more to be discovered and experienced and we left, promising to visit again.
