In a few years, the silence of the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat could be replaced by the sound of progress. In the Union Budget FY27, the finance minister announced plans to develop Dholavira, a Harappan-era site, into a world-class, experiential cultural destination. Before the tourists arrive, we decided to ‘arrive’ in Dholavira in the most unimaginable way – on a racing motorcycle.
From Dhordo to Dholavira
The journey begins at the Dhordo Tent City, the gateway to the white desert. While a proper expedition to this remote outpost would have been in the luxury of a car, a bike connects you with nature in a unique manner – the smell of sand, salt, and water, and the cool breeze.
Enter the TVS Apache RR 310.
Positioned as track motorcycle, the RR 310 is a tech-heavy bike that doesn’t feel suited for the salt-laden stretches of Kutch. But the place has good roads, and the bike’s 312.2-cc engine, producing 38 PS and 29 Nm, provides the punch needed to conquer the straight tarmac. What helps is the cruise control – you set it at any speed, and let the electronics do the job. What doesn’t help is a bad stretch of road – when the ride becomes extremely uncomfortable.
The Road to Heaven
The highlight of this 100-km ride is the Road to Heaven – a 30-km stretch of asphalt cutting through the White Rann, which during the monsoon and winters gathers a few feet of water, and looks like an endless ocean on both sides, inviting thousands of migratory birds such as flamingos, cranes, pelicans, and raptors.
On a bike like the RR 310, the Road to Heaven becomes a symphony of stability and precision, and its bidirectional quickshifter allows for seamless gear changes.
The Harappan city
If the RR 310 is a marvel of modern engineering, Dholavira shows you the scale of ancient engineering. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, and during 3000-1500 BCE it was a masterclass in urban planning and water management – as proven by its still-existing stone reservoirs and sophisticated drainage systems.
A unique thing about Dholavira is that most of the artifacts excavated here are kept at the Archaeological Museum Dholavira, located near the excavation site – including pottery, tools, beads, and seals. This is unlike the famous Harappan sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, whose artifacts are kept at the British Museum in London, the National Museum of India in New Delhi (the famous Dancing Girl figurine is kept here), and the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi (the Priest-King sculpture can be found here).
With the new Budget initiatives, the visitor experience at Dholavira will likely change – and we hope that this change would be for the better, making the world better understand the engineering might of old India, as machines like the RR 310 – starting at Rs 2.94 lakh, on-road – are making the world understand the engineering might of new India.
