Little Rann of Kutch

This 2nd October, being a Friday, afforded me a chance to plan a trip to a distant place. Being a lazy bum, and the fact that my brother knows that, made him proactively plan the trip to Little Rann of Kutch in Gujrat. (cant really think of a better place to celebrate Baapu's birthday)..

So, having booked an Air Conditioned (much needed during this season) cottage in a resort run by the Rann Riders, we had set off on our journey from Mumbai. The train- Bhavnagar express, started from Bandra at around 9 in the evening . The train, quite unexpectedly, did not have a pantry and the Thepla and Aloo Bhaaji carried by us (read Runa) proved to be a life saver. Not to mention the pain inflicted upon us by the random and shrill rambling's of the Gujju Aunty sitting beside us (no racist remarks intended). Having travelled/suffered a distance of around 600 kms, the train reached Viraangam, Gujrat at 530 in the morning. A cab came to the station to pick us up and took us to the resort, 20kms away from the station.

A grand welcome at the resort awaited us. No, it was not the staff at the resort. It was the group, which apparently worked with an NGO but didn't really care if other people at the resort were in the mood to relax. Quite a paradox, isnt it. So, as the social workers pestered us with the loud music, we somehow slept for a while and were ready for our trip to the Salt pans.

An open jeep took us to a place called Patdi in Rann (meaning Salt marshes), around 20 kms from the resort. The Rann is usually filled with water during the monsoons and dries up completely because of the intense summer heat, leaving salt and cracks in the surface. The salt is processed and sold by the factories set up in the nearby areas. The area, being close to the coast, also experiences a large number of migratory birds, flying in and out of India. With the sun slowly setting down, the Flamingoes and Wild ass, found in abundance in Rann, offer a magnificent spectacle.

Day 2 started quite early with Bird Watching at the Rann. A huge gamut of birds ranging from the ubiquitous green bee eater, jungle and common babbler, wagged tail drongo, indian roller, red wattled lapwing, ashy prenia, egrets, cranes etc were spotted. We and Shiamak, our guide/driver, were ecstatic when we spotted the rare desert fox. On our way back to the resort we (read Shiamak) spotted a few storks, which flew away as soon as we decided to go close to them..:)..In the evening we decided to visit the local village to get acquainted with the local flavours. The ride to the village on a camel cart is the only moment worth remembering during the entire activity.

Day 3, our final day at the Rann was a bit hectic and surely one of the most exciting day of the entire trip, for me. We decided to leave early and reach a place called Visatpura to search search for/click the elusive blackbucks. It took us around 3 hrs to reach the place. With some help from Mori Seth, the local villager, and Shiamak, we were able to spot the blackbucks as soon as we entered the area. The magnificent animal, once found in huge numbers (6000 approx) in the area, has been the victim of poaching in the recent past and hence the blackbuck population in the area has considerably gone down to around 1000. The blackbuck, sensing danger, had escaped but it surely left a long lasting memory captured through the view finder of my camera. An hour more spent in the field and we tasted success again. Next stop was the famous Step well at Patan. The erotic sculptures of gods/goddesses inscribed on the walls of the well, definitely made the visit to Patan worth the effort. With little time left, we rushed to the station in time and made our way back home remembering the moments that we had enjoyed over the past three days.