Life is a Vacation

It is nearly a year since my trip to Kutch and I am still writing about the place and have a long way to go. Most of the times the experiences that leave a lasting impression are the interactions and conversations with the people we meet or simply a conversation with our inner self. While driving back from Kala Dungar (highest point in Kutch) and India Bridge that leads to the LOC with Pakistan on the Rann we stopped by in a small village near Khavda for a quick break.

The local women were sitting around in front of their homes, displaying some of their embroidery and other handicrafts. An older lady dressed in traditional garb was rattling off in English with the Japanese tourists and refused to be photographed. The young girl with deep set eyes looked at me expectantly while I admired her embroidery on red. She was pleased to be photographed and even more when I opted to buy her work. For me it is a memory from Kutch but for her it was a drop in her wedding trousseau.

The homes were beautifully painted and decorated with mud mirror work on the outside. I peeped into a few homes when I was being offered tea and the neat pile of embroidered, patch work blankets and rugs inside along side the line of utensils caught my eye. I cherished my one hour sitting around the courtyard in the middle of village homes, the warmth of the sun seemed to be faded compared to the warmth from the local community who were mostly semi nomadic and religion hardly came in the way of their harmony. Sometimes, an hour is enough to connect with people and many a times a life time may fall short to understand people around us !!

Related Posts:

• Where Embroidery is Wealth
• Scenes from the Great Rann of Kutch
• Mud Mirror Art from India
• Rogan Art from India