Bhuj, Kutch and Mandvi

I must say, my trip this weekend to Bhuj was absolutely incredible; my best in India so far, and something utterly unforgettable. I should first explain that Bhuj is a relatively small town in Gujarat, situated beside the incredible salt desert of Kutch, while Mandvi is a coastal town a few hours from Bhuj with a massive ship building industry.

Saturday

Three of us foreigners took another sleeper bus on Friday evening, arriving at ‘City Guest House’ in Bhuj by 5am Saturday morning. We filled out the necessary paperwork and were shown to our room (nothing to write home about, but nice and cheap enough despite a lack of hot water) for a quick nap before breakfast (“butter toast jam?”). It was at the breakfast table at 9:30am that we first met our wonderful, knowledgeable and beautiful tour guide for the day: Kuldip, and our unbelievable adventure began.

Kuldip’s tiny black car (white by the end of the day) awaited us for the 280km round trip into Kutch, the desert and surrounding villages. This was where we started, inching into the desert land with stop overs in some local craft villages where we had demonstrations in pattered kitchen equipment and Rogan art; an ancient freehand, symmetrical art onto fabric using castor oil, now only created in Kutch. The skill these people possess is amazing.

We played crazy card and number games, ‘rocked out’ to the cheesy selection of music (everything from ABBA to Bony M, Bob Marley to Leona Lewis and of course some more traditional Indian songs), and with Kuldip’s sense of humour and unending energy, we had an amazing time just driving the straight Route 66-esk roads through a deserted but stunning land. We had chai stops, and at one point dared each other to stick our heads out of the windows of the moving car, for no other reason than “well, it’s what you do on a road trip right?”

One of the most enjoyable stops was when we went off-roading into the desert itself, kicking up dust and spinning the car faster and faster. We pulled over when we could no longer see anything in any direction and had some time playing sheep herder and angry desert man before spotting a wild boar running. We decided to have a little ‘safari’ and chase after it. The experience was made all the more special as the four of us stood toe to toe in the cracked, dried sand, and had a moment of silence for the world in a place where it felt the world no longer existed.

We were lucky enough to visit a tiny hamlet, miles into nowhere, where we experienced a glimpse of the reality of desert living. The people receive no education, not in a traditional sense anyway, they live in single roomed huts that need rebuilt or fixed after every monsoon season, and their only sources of income are the quilts the women make and embroider, and when a single man takes a month to travel to catch and sell fish in a town some hundred kilometres away. It was very humbling to learn of their lives which are undeniably difficult and a daily challenge, but to see them so joyous. Not a single child had a frown, and all were excited and desperate to make friends (this resulted in a competition of who can hold the poor lamb in as strange a way as possible). It puts life into perspective seeing how easy it can be to be truly happy.

The salt desert itself is the largest in the world and was mind boggling. ‘The Great Rann of Kutch’ fills with water every year during monsoon before draining again in winter, leaving behind a pure white land covered in salt. It was here that we watched the sunset which turned the white into pink, tried for another photo shoot, this time Kuldip making turbans from our scarves and played a little Marco-Polo.

The long drive home to the guest house was broken by a break in the desert again, the same place we spotted the boar. I have never felt as at peace as I did lying under the stars, hearing nothing but the natural silence of the land. We broke the moment only for storytelling and a little out-of-control rendition of ‘Stand by Me’.

It was a perfect day, made possible by our tour guide. The job title does nothing to show his commitment to the people and land, nor his passion, and I can guarantee the only way to see a desert and experience some of the world’s wonders is with Kuldip in Kutch.

Sunday

Our second and last day was spent half in Bhuj, wondering the Hilltop Garden, and half in Mandvi at the public beach. Here we met up with Kuldip again, and his Scottish friend Victor (whom I’m to meet for a curry with in Glasgow). We travelled by Government bus (to Europeans – normal bus) which was quite enjoyable after learning it looks worse from the outside, and hitched a lift back with Kuldip and Victor for our return sleeper bus. We had a fabulous time lounging on the overcrowded beach – remarkably similar to an English coast, except only in India does one face the problem of choosing 'camel or chai?' We enjoyed finding new ways to tell the locals ‘no’ to photographs, I think I’d do my nanny proud with my sass, and it was fun to teach the girls ‘I Spy’. Victor was loud and funny, outgoing and not afraid to give some Sottish charm to the Indians.

After dropping him off, the ever amazing Kuldip arranged dinner for us in our last hour. Despite jokes of kidnapping us, we had a lovely time at his friend’s farm where we ate some home cooking by the moonlight before saying goodbye. It was heart breaking to leave!

Block Printing

As a part of my printed textiles course, and with being where I am, it made sense to participate in a block printing workshop. This is one of the earliest and admittedly slowest methods of textile print, but it has origins in India and here there is a massive industry which creates gorgeous and unique effects.

Our workshop took place on a Saturday (we were informed of this less than 24 hours beforehand) with men from Kiran Bhulabhai Chitara, a block company, bringing us treated cotton fabrics as well as natural vegetable dyes and traditional blocks to learn with and use. After pinning and pulling the fabrics, we began slowly using bamboo quills to do some handwork and sketching into the fabrics, attempting to combine traditional Hindi Matani Pachedi (temple hangings, usually rectangular fabrics for behind an alter) with our own styles and designs from our personal print project. For me, this was particularly tricky as I was focusing on geometric shapes and lines within architecture.  But still, I welcomed the challenge, using circles and lines filled with the more traditional pattern to create something new whilst exploring a little of traditional India.

The hardest part was that the dyes, being natural, did not colour the fabric true to the final outcome. For example, the red dye produces a green colour as it is applied, and only turns red once it has been finished through boiling. This was both exciting and frustrating not knowing how the piece would really look.

Learning the art of actual block printing was interesting. I loved watching the ‘stamp pad’ be created through using the dyes with fabrics which creates an even base to coat the block with colour - different thicknesses of fabrics used within the ‘pad’ creates different effects of line when the block is printed. The wooden blocks were themselves beautiful, very intricate in the traditional fashion with cleverly carved handles. After several practices of stamping and pressing evenly then removing in a swift motion, I attempted to try matching up repeats as well as masking and stencilling with the blocks.

These methods can create such beautiful results; never quite producing the same print every time as the dye coats differently or a different pressure is applied. This works to produce a stunning human uniqueness to a printed textile. 

Natural Dye

When the opportunity to take a week-long natural dye workshop came up at university, I of course decided to take part and learn from some of the best. I did call into question my decision though when one of the first items we were required to ‘find’ was a large heap of (pardon the French) cow shit. Apparently the enzymes clean the fabric so it is better prepared to absorb the natural colours, although I personally feel it also had something to do with a crazy Indian having a laugh with the foreigners. So, after allowing some French exchange girls to very kindly take this task on, we went to the local flower market, vegetable market and fabric shop to collect the rest of our shopping list of “anything and everything natural”. So we showed up to the dye studio on day 2 with bags of beetroot, carrots, red grapes, pomegranate…as well as red onion skins confusedly donated by a nice veg man, and a whole collection of red and orange discarded flowers (the locals watched in amusement as we climbed and gathered from behind the market, being cheapskate students).

Buying fabrics in India was like a dream come true for me, and what a shame that I had to spend the afternoon looking at different silks for class! Hundreds of colours, weights and thread counts stacked the shelves on rolls. I was like a kid in a candy shop. It therefore broke me a little to take my meter of beautiful Indian silk and leave it to soak in cow dung all day and night while I prepared the dyes.

Making the dyes felt a little like being back in home economics in school or playing at witches and mixing potions. I stained my hands yellow picking all the petals off of the flowers, and made a mess chopping up beetroot. Boiling the different ingredients in water (five times the weight of the vegetable) made the whole studio smell like a very peculiar kitchen, but it was exciting to see how the different colours appeared - with some quite surprising results! Our lecturer, being the intelligent yet odd man we came to know him to be, informed us to taste and smell each dye, insisting that there is a strong link between the senses and the colours produced. This should help us in future when trying to create a specific colour.

Day 3 was when the fun started with cutting the silk and cotton into small sample pieces and testing how the dyes coloured the fabrics. It was a crazy organised mess of boiling the dyes, wetting the fabrics, soaking them, rinsing and hanging out to dry (in the melting sun might I add). We had colours of purple from red grapes, green from pomegranate fruit, but a dark yellow-orange from the skin, and brown from red onion skin. At this point, we were instructed to take the pH of each dye which would help indicate which would work at which wouldn't – generally anything over 7 won’t colour.

I really enjoyed using the mordents most, we used three different; Alum, Copper and Ferrous. Using chemicals took the feel of being in potion class to a whole new level! These help the colour fastness and can create a very interesting range of colours from one dye as the fabrics change when placed in each; alum generally makes the colour much brighter while ferrous makes it much darker, even black or navy in some cases. It was exciting and eye opening to see just how many colours can be extracted and created from just one plant, and how much the earth has to offer.  I love the idea of being able to fully create my own environmentally friendly dyes and fabrics in the future.

A Weekend in Udaipur

This weekend was my first out of Ahmedabad, and my first attempt at travel in India. It is a relatively small city north of Ahmedabad in the district of Rajasthan with a population close to that of Edinburgh.  Aptly named “The City of Lakes”, it was a stunning change to my Indian base with its hills and several lakes.

The central part of the city was filled with tourists which was both welcome and irritating for shopping as shop keepers refused to lower any prices. The streets were very narrow, rickety, and steep and should really be one way, but of course they might already have been. The shops are some of the best I’ve been to with beautiful shoes, dresses and fabrics; Udaipur is particularly known for its miniature art works done by hand on silk, often of camels for love or elephants for good luck, and I was told by many people of the amazing but cheap handmade leather bags and books. We were dragged into an art school where we were given a demonstration of these miniature paintings being done and offered cups of chai.

A few differences I noticed between Udaipur and Ahmedabad were firstly the rickshaws are generally black and yellow instead of the green and yellow I’m used to, and in Udaipur they’re more often called tuk tuks. Also, everyone says ‘Namaste’ (meaning literally “I bow to you”, but also hello or goodbye etc.); something I’d hoped and expected to hear constantly in India.

Hotel

Going on a recommendation from other exchange students, and the read on Lonely Planet, we chose to spend our one night at the Palace View Guest House. It was a small house up a very narrow street and a painful amount of steps, but it was all we could have asked for being clean, safe and with a real working hot water shower (bearing in mind I have been using a bucket at home)!!! The woman running the guest house was very welcoming, even bringing me a cup of tea in the evening which made my night! Her husband was also very nice, a doctor who was just about to head up to Jaipur, but took the time to give us a map and tell us some of the best places to visit during our short stay. We had lovely Dutch neighbours who I met the first evening and then again in the morning on the hotel’s namesake – the roof terrace. This was the perfect place to sit, rest and take in the absolutely amazing views of the city, and the City Palace up on the hill. It was so incredibly warm, but with there being so many lakes, there was an actual cool breeze which was so welcome! The only downside was that the toilet was a hole in the ground, but to be fair there was toilet paper, and it was a very clean hole in the ground.

City Palace

City Palace is a huge Palace which was built over a period of 400 years. It has stunning views over the entire city being perched on top of a hill, as well as tiny glimpses of its lake views through elaborately carved windows. I had to pay extra to take my camera around which I found a little ridiculous being that it’s a tourist trap. It was like a maze, but thankfully there were signs leading you round everywhere, and when in doubt we followed a tour group. There was a combination of tiny staircases, big open gardens and courtyards, stained glass windows and beautiful tiles. All you could want from an Indian palace really.

Ropeway

The ropeway was the best way to see the entire city, lakes, hills and all. We chose to take the cable cart up to be at the top of the hill and at the viewing point in time to watch the sunset, before taking the steep steps all the way down again (no mean feat I assure you!). The views were absolutely incredible, the lake and City Palace to one side where the sun set behind the hills and the entire city to the other. We spent ages just standing, watching as the sun sank and the city lit up one light at a time. Going on Valentine’s Day, I was only missing a little company to complete my enjoyment of being at the top of the world.

Getting a tuk tuk back to the hotel was easier said than done though. We shared with an Indian couple, but were held up in copious amounts of traffic. With it being wedding season here, we waited as the groom on his decorated horse preceded by his entire family worked their way across the town. I didn't mind the wait one bit!

Craft Village

We chose to visit a small craft village outside of the city to get a feel of different areas of Udaipur. As this was quite far out, we found a tuk tuk driver who would take us there, wait and then drive back to the city, for 350rs (£4). He was very good to us, pointing out landmarks and telling us stories about the lakes. The village itself was small and quiet as we went on a Sunday. We chose to have a joint camel ride round for 100rs each and so met Raju the camel who was our tour guide. He was wobbly and couldn't go downhill well and went too fast uphill, but we loved him. As we rode round, there were several groups of men who played us some traditional music and sang which created a nice atmosphere. I also saw a gorgeous little girl attempting to walk round in what looked like men’s flip flops.

After our village trip, the tuk tuk driver took us down by the lakeside and kindly offered to wait while we took a short speedboat ride around the lake. Of course we jumped at the chance to see one of the lakes up close so donned our life jackets and sped away. The water was so cooling splashing us as the boat turned and gave us a stunning view of the hills, and I must admit I screamed a little!

Food

Because Rajasthan isn't a majorly vegetarian state unlike Gujarat, we had the option of trying slightly different Indian food (meat!). I found it a little spicier than I’d had already, but not too overpowering. It was mostly just incredibly flavoursome. We chose to start and end our journey at ‘The Whistling Teal’. It was more of a garden with lounge chairs and individual gazeebos that conveniently served food and drink than a restaurant which was perfect! We lay out on the sofas while we waited for our orders of mango shakes, palak paneer, chicken curry, masala tea, butter naan… and of course everything was delicious. My favourite was when we chose an Indian version of tapas where we were served a tray of eight small dishes and naan to share as I never can choose what to order.

Another wonderful experience was to visit the Lotus Café where we spent an evening on the roof top sipping cold Indian Kingfisher beer and enjoying the lit up palace. I had another curry which was served with apple chunks on top, strange but also amazing. There we got chatting to a Scottish girl (seriously, they sniff me out), Jenny, who was here for the second time, choosing Udaipur over Jaipur after she fell in love with the small city the first time.