Amble in Rann of Kuchchh to Explore the Mystery of Timelessness

A geographical phenomenon of India’s Wild West slumbers in the historical limbo, beneath the endless horizon of the white desert. Now, the world's largest salt desert, still living in the ancient traditions of Indian antiquities, resides in Kutch district of Gujarat, India, which used to be a very different region, during 7000 BC. The arid landscape of mystery and mysticism was once a great wilderness of the eastern Saraswat Civilization. Located at the Gulf of Kuchchh, this flat low land, used to harbour a marshy shallow water body. A confluence of natural reliefs at the erstwhile Indus delta - which witnessed the transcendence of the holy waters of River Saraswati with the endless horizon of Arabian Sea - was the dense morass of mangroves of the west. Once a lush green floating woods, which has been the habitat of both the humans and animals, in time, lost the living gift from the River Saraswati to eventually, be transformed to a vast desert at the western fringe of India, rather known as the (white and black) Rann of Kachchh.

Kachchh, the name of the place has evolved from the native practice of calling it as Kachbo, which literally means tortoise in Gujarati language. True to its name, this flat land is a tortoise-shaped seasonal island, which becomes a vast expanse of hard and dry mud during the months of summer, and during monsoon, it gets flooded, first by sea water, and then by the fresh river water. The salt that stays back makes the land completely barren and unique. However, in this barren land, you can explore the treasures of one of the richest civilizations of the world. The history of this land is indeed very old, as the traces of the Indus Valley Civilization can be seen here in varied locations. The land, which bears the Indus-Saraswati Civilization, will reveal its history of 3000 BC to 1500 BC, where rests the futuristic metropolis of the ancient past - Dholavira. In 325 BC, when Alexander the Great treaded this part of land, Rann was not an arm of the sea. Through the pages of history, both the geographical and demographical fabrics of this place have changed dramatically.

By and large Kuchchh, which remained refreshingly pristine and rustic through its times, has been under the sovereignty of the Mauryan Empire, which passed on to the reign of the Greeks from Bactria, then to the Sakas, until, Samudragupta took over the power. Further, the Arabs entered through Sindh, and eventually replaced by the Samma Rajputs, who settled in Kuchchh. Rann of Kuchchh, a land of mystery, which has failed many to comprehend it in entirety over the ages, is vast and refuses the travellers to scale it easily, in its length and breadth. An area, which is greater than some of the Indian states, is dotted by the jigsaws of tribal groups, who are travelling from the lineages of the various rulers and the people of their lands, who came, settled, ruled, flourished and eventually, faded in the sands of time, here in Kuchchh and in its surrounding areas.

Although, the traces of the bygone settlements of their heydays, give us the mute reminder of legacies of our civilizations, but the finest handicrafts and glittering textile, adorned in exquisite embroidery and mirror work are the living marvels and the bequests from the past, which still live in the pristine rustics of the land. Explore the territory, where the Harappans settled systematically, with remarkable speed and strength, with their detailed culture and lived almost a full life before their culture dwindled and disjointed, causing an epic movement from Kutch to the surroundings of Gujarat. Explore the territory, where the Harappan Civilization added this new territory to the Indus Empire.

Around this desert, you may stray away a little; to visit the other places in its proximity.  Bhuj, Mandvi, Jamnagar, Dwarka, Porbandar and Somnath are some of the destinations worth visiting, while you absorb the historical and spiritual essence of it. If you are in time, do spend some time at Dhordo to explore the splendour of Kuchchh - the Rann Utsav. Spread over an area of 45,652 sq. km., Kutch occupies almost one-fourth (24%) of the geographical area of Gujarat State. It has a vast coastline of 352 kilometers with Arabian Sea that binds the district on the south-west. Here, experience the extremes, as the temperature reaches up to 40 and often touches 50 degrees Celsius during the summer (April-June), while dropping to as low as below 1 degree during winter (January) in the interior parts of the district.

Are you interested to know more about the living legends of Kuchchh?

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