The Undiscovered Magic Of Kutch In The Monsoon: A Journey Through Terrain And Traditions

Mi ayo, mego ayo,Dharti tojo lado ayo“Clouds are coming, raindrops are coming,O Mother Earth, your groom is coming.”- a Kutchi proverbAnother Kutchi proverb—Son dij, mi ganij ("Give gold, buy rain")—echoed in my mind as I started my three-day trip across Kutch. Rains breathe life into Kutch’s barren landscape: flowers blossom, birds give birth, and beasts rear their young as water, the essence of life, falls for two months. While millions of tourists visit Kutch in the winter, the monsoon is the best time to explore the landscape and witness its diverse beauties. Many travellers search for Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni reflections in the Great White Rann, albeit in the wrong season.Beginning A Kutchi AdventureI drove out of Bhuj in the early hours just as the clouds gathered. My first destination was the little-known Chapredi Canyon. Situated in the heart of a rakhal (royal forest), it is hard to find for first-timers. The canyon walls twist and turn like Argentina’s finest tango dancers. I searched for red lapwing nests in the walls.For centuries, Kutchi nomads have been predicting monsoon rains based on the location of lapwing nests. Atop the canyon means abundant rainfall, and at the base equates to drought. I trekked for 20 minutes to reach the canyon’s pièce de résistance, a 200-year-old banyan tree with aerial roots hugging the canyon walls.After an hour in the canyon, I drove past Lodai, the 2001 earthquake’s epicentre, to Sumrasar village. I went straight to my favorite appliqué artist, Meghi Ben. She immortalises Kutchi folk tales and recent events on fabric. Her depiction of native trees, peacocks, crocodiles and leopards is an ode to Kutch’s diverse flora and fauna. Over chai and ganthiya, she showed me her recent designs. I noticed windmills and mines for the first time in her work.Birdwatching In KutchHaving visited Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni twice, I hold the White Rann close to my heart. Alas, it is getting overrun by tourists. Fortunately, it is crowd-free during the monsoon. There is a brief window after the first rains when the Rann is at its artistic best. A thin layer of water on salt creates a surreal painting where one cannot differentiate between land and sky. This is when the Great White Rann becomes an infinite mirror, a reflection of you, a figment of your imagination. After a solitary hour in the Rann, I was ready for my favourite activity—birdwatching.While winter is the best time to spot migratory birds in Kutch, the monsoons also host around 30 migratory birds. Charri Dhandh, a saucer-shaped brackish lake, is the best spot for birdwatching. Bird numbers are dropping dramatically due to windmills and mining activities in and around eco-sensitive areas. Still, with hope in my heart, I drove on dirt roads past endless stretches of gando bawad to Charri Dhandh. Kutch was once a wild Eden that attracted thousands of nomadic pastoralists from Sindh, Balochistan, Iran and Central Asia. Two events altered Kutch’s ecology: the 1819 earthquake changed the Indus River’s course away from Kutch, and the introduction of gando bawad (Prosopis juliflora) in the 1980s hampered native flora as it colonised vast tracts. I reached Charri Dhandh an hour before sunset and spotted red-backed shrikes, rosy starlings, reed warblers and Madagascar bee-eaters. Songs Of The SufisMonsoon is the scene of sedentary Jatts’ hijrat, a climate-driven seasonal migration from their submerged villages. Meetha Khan, the last Waai singer, resides in one such village. He is the last guardian of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s mystical songs and poems. Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai was a Sufi mystic and poet who wandered in Balochistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan in search of knowledge. He compiled his learnings into a thought-provoking collection of Sufi songs and poems.When I met Meetha Khan after many years, he hugged me joyously. He had worked as a labourer for two years to make ends meet. After exchanging recent happenings over chai, he cleared his throat and sang a song about how religion divides us but love unites us. He effortlessly switched from philosophical poems to Silk Road trade songs, his words and voice instantly transporting me to the minarets of Bukhara, the Kazakh steppe and the barren hills of Tajikistan. I thought about how easily ideas, poems and philosophies travelled when there were fewer borders. I bade farewell to Meetha Khan and headed to Hodka village for the night.The Evolving Crafts Of KutchWaking up early, I rushed to Kuran, India’s last village before Pakistan, to meet Ramesh Marwada. Ramesh and his family members are the last Kharad artisans. Kharad ("carpet in Sindhi) is an age-old bond between weavers and nomadic pastoralists. Pastoralists gave camel and sheep wool to Kharad artisans and received masterfully woven carpets and rugs for their long migrations. Nowadays, there is limited demand because few people know about the tradition. Some Kutchi crafts share an umbilical cord with pastoralists. I met Jaan Mohamad, a magnificent bell metal artist, in Zura village. He is a rare breed of a popular artist who patiently gives time to tourists even during the busy winter months. Over chai, he told me how his ancestors crafted unique bells for cows, buffaloes, goats and camels. (Sound therapy for animals, a story for another day.) The craft has since evolved, and Jaan bhai now proudly showcases wind chimes, musical instruments and decorative bells. His pieces are best-sellers in craft exhibitions in Europe and the US.Otherworldly Landscapes Shaped By Wind, Water And ColourThree years ago at a Kutch Travel Club meetup, I asked fellow Kutchi travellers, “What is it that Kutch doesn’t have?”They checked hills, sea, canyons, salt deserts, grasslands, jungles, islands, lakes and tabletop mountains. “Volcano and snow are missing,” a traveller pointed out. “We have Dhinodhar, an extinct volcano. Snow or climate change might bring it [about] soon.”So, Dhinodhar became my next destination. It was a toss-up between it and Khatlo Hill, a tabletop mountain, but I chose the former to document native flora. After Dhinodhar erupted, lava and volcanic ash turned the surroundings into Kutch’s most fertile area. It is the best place to spot rare and endangered medicinal trees such as pilu, hanju, gugal, lai, wild capers, asparagus and 40 other species. I reached the cloud-covered summit after two hours. On a clear day, you can see Kutch’s diverse landscapes from Mt Dhinodhar. My next otherworldly landscape was Kadiya Dhro, a place with which I have a bittersweet relationship. My efforts landed it on "The New York Times" 52 Best Places to Visit in the World list. I was initially delighted by its recognition, but the aftermath broke my heart. Irresponsible tourism, unchecked pre-wedding shoots, and illegal ad and movie shoots are wreaking havoc on this fragile landscape. The only shining light is that my efforts have given employment to around 44 people.Kadiya Dhro is a song of wind, water and colour. The wind and water have sculpted diverse rock formations and wavy canyons over thousands of years. But it is the colour that separates Kadiya Dhro from other canyons. The canyon walls showcase five or seven subsequent colours ranging from pink and yellow to red and indigo. I call them rainbows on rocks. These colours are brightest in the monsoon, when the spot becomes a waterfall and crocodile nursery. There's an intriguing mystical folk tale attached to it but that's a tale for another time.Kutch has so much more to offer, share and showcase: waterfalls, treks, hilltop palaces, leopard spotting, endangered crafts, untold stories, monsoon festivals and vivid cultures. So go in the moonsoon, where you can experience the best of Kutch minus the crowds.The Information | Kutch, GujaratHow To Reach Kutch?Kutch has two airports, Bhuj and Kandla. Bhuj receives direct flights from Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai. Kandla Airport (60 km from Bhuj) has direct flights from Ahmedabad and Mumbai.The nearest railway station to the Rann of Kutch is in Bhuj. There are direct trains from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara to it. There are also direct buses from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Udaipur to Bhuj.Where To Stay In Kutch?Bhuj is the place to stay for day trips. Hodka, Dholavira, Dhordo, Nakhatrana, Dayapar and Naliya have decent hotels.How To Travel Within Kutch?Public transportation is scanty and unreliable. To explore Kutch, you can either hire a taxi or rent a motorcycle or moped in Bhuj. There are no self-drive car rentals here, but Ahmedabad, the nearest city has them.Preserving Chadva Rakhal: Meet The Man Saving Kutch’s 150-Year-Old Thorn Forest