In the state of Gujarat, Kutch is a bonanza of covert gems. From grasslands to wetlands, the surface has a hypnotic appeal. Along with the primary towns, 969 towns call Kutch their house– each rooted in its special culture and craft. Needless to state, tribal cottage industries flourish in the area. Traditional handicrafts by experienced craftsmens are trademarks here and factor enough to check out the unique craft villages of Kutch. Here are some that you definitely include on this craft-y trail.
Bhujodi Village
A little town simply 8 km southeast of Bhuj, Bhujodi (shopping market of Handicraft item) is a significant textile center of Kutch, with the vast majority of the 1200 occupants associated with fabric handicraft production. Here you can meet weavers, tie-dye artists and obstruct printers, most of whom belong to the Vankar neighborhood. Many will let you view them work; just ask around.
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About a kilometer from Bhujodi is the Ashapura Crafts Park, established by a business non-profit wing to assist craftsmens display and offer their work and organizes dance and music occasions on weekends. Shrujan is a regional non-profit set up 40 years ago to enable females to market their work better and earn a better living from it. The Shrujan School is a fascinating place to visit, with embroidery displays, a production center and exceptional examples of regional architecture with environmental awareness in mind.
Bhujodi is a significant textile center of Kutch with more than 1000 residents included in fabric handicraft production. The town hosts a handicraft mela all year long with unique dance and song efficiencies on weekend. All the handicrafts including embroidery, mud work, metal work, wood work, terra-cota pots with human faces, potteries, block printing, bandhani shawls and so on are common to Kutch location.
Ajrakhpur Village
Ajrakhpur is known around the world for the art of Ajrakh, block printing uses colors stemmed from nature, such as indigo, henna, turmeric, pomegranate, iron and mud. Sometimes, the materials are cleaned up to 20 times. The printing blocks are hand-carved. Ismail Mohammed Khatri’s traditional knowledge in block-printing and natural dyes was offered due acknowledgment when De Montfort University of Leicester provided this proficient craftsman with an honorary doctorate in textiles. The Khatris are a neighborhood of block-printers adept in the 3,000-year-old art of Ajrakh. The procedure is complicated and involves 16 different processes. Ismail Mohammed Khatri has gotten important praise for his innovative usage of natural dyes that consist of a mix of camel dung, soda ash and castor oil, waste iron, myrobalan, madder, indigo, pomegranate peel boiled in water, sprays of turmeric water and the root of rhubarb.
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Against the dull canvas of the Kachchh desert the abundant and vibrant colours of the fabrics are noticeably shown. The millennia old custom of weaving and coloring fabrics come from this Indus Valley region in the North West of India, and is still in abundance today.
For a normal Kachchhi man or lady, their cloth is a necessary daily product and decoration along with a sign of their identity. Whether woven, embroidered, printed or tie-dyed, the textiles used by an individual in this area can reveal a wide variety of details about their caste, gender, age, religious association, marital status and economic standing.
The highly competent and patterned ajrakh block-printing (learn more about the process here) concerned Kachchh from Sind 400 years ago when the Muslim Khatris (craftsmens who ‘use colour to fabric’) settled in the village of Dhamadka. In 2001 a terrible earthquake badly harmed Bhuj, Dhamadka and other villages and towns all over the Kachchh area. In the wake of this disaster, the Khatris were brought more detailed together and a brand-new village was developed to reconstruct their lives and their craft production, aptly named Ajrakhpur (‘ location of Ajrakh’). Today there are Khatris living and operating in both towns.
Kukma Village
Kukma or Kookma is a town near the Bhuj town, taluka in Kachchh District of Indian State of Gujarat. It lies at a range of 16 kilometers from Bhuj, the head office of Kachchh District. The kukma village is amoung the primary weaving centers fo kuchchh.
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Khamir is a vibrant active school that is open to the public. We invite anyone who is interested to visit us and spend some time learning about exactly what we do. Khamir works to reinforce and promote the rich artisanal traditions of Kachchh district. Our name stands for Kachchh Heritage, Art, Music, Information and Resources. Khamir implies ‘intrinsic pride’ in Kachchhi, the regional language.
When to Come: Our campus is open from 10am-6pm, Monday-Saturday.
While open year round, our school is at its active finest in the winter season, in between October and March. Throughout these 6 months of the year, the harsh Kachchh environment cools considerably and it is the time when most visitors get here to sample what the district has to provide.
Dhamadka Village
A significant center of the ajrakh block-printing strategy, Dhamadka has to do with 50 km east of Bhuj. Some craftsmen’s have actually now transferred to Ajrakhpur, closer to the city, since the earthquake of 2001.
Kera Village
Simply 22 kms south of Bhuj on the roadway to Mandra, Kera houses the ruins of a Shiva Temple that dates to the period of the Solanki rulers. Just part of the temple remains, as much was damaged in the 1819 earthquake; however the inner sanctum is still there, along with half of the main spire. The Fort of Kapilkot, likewise in a rather rundown state, is beside the temple.
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Dhrang Village
This village hosts the Dhrang mela.
Dhrang is a small village in the severe north-west of Kutchh District in Gujarat. The town is on the border to Pakistan and has to do with 40 km from Bhuj. Dhrang is understood for the well-known Saint Mekaran Dada who served the neighborhood with commitment. As his Samadhi depend on this place, his big number of fans from various parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan come to Dhran to pay tribute and get involved in religious routines.
Born in 1720 ADVERTISEMENT, Saint Mekaran Dada established his Ashram in Dhrang. He spent all his life serving the reason for humankind. He preached versus untouchability and superstitions. Legend says that, Saint Mekaran Dada had actually a dog named motio and a donkey named Lalio with whom he utilized to wander into the Rann daily with water and food to satiate the thirst and show the direction to the lost tourists. Understood for his simple living and high thinking, Saint Mekaran Dada left behind a tradition of his preaching, which made him the regard and dedication of generations to come? Of the Tribals, the Ahir neighborhood considers Saint Mekaran Dada as God. A large fair is held every year on Magh Vad 14 (February-March).
Sumrasar Village
En route to banni to bhuj take a detour to Sumrasar Sheikh to visit Kala Raksha, non- earnings company that works with a variety of communities, intends to maintain and promote Kutch arts, and specializes in Suf, Rabari and Garasia Jat embroidery. The trust has a small museum, works with almost 600 craftsmen’s from 7 various neighborhoods and can organize visits to villages to satisfy artisans and see them at work.
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Bhirandiyara Village
Bhirandiyara- A Beautiful Kutch Village. This little village- Bhirandiyara on the way. It was a cluster of about 20 houses and every member of the town is an artisan in some method. The town is most famous for its fresh MAAVO, milk reduced to a thick fudge-like consistency & sweetened with suger– finest when eated hot. The regional meghwal community is known for its great embroidery & colorful mud bhungas.
Ludiya Village/ Gandhi nu Gam
Ludiya is undoubtedly one of the most lovely towns. Ludiya lies 70kms north of Bhuj in Banni districk of Kutch. It is 3 kms from Khawda. The total location of the town has to do with 5 square kilometers and the population is about 2000 people mainly Muslims and a few Harijan households. (Harijan, literally ‘child of God’ was a term coined by Gandhiji to describe the lowest caste people in the Hindu religious beliefs hierarchy). Gandhi nu Gam, inhabitated by the Meghwal Community, shows off perfectly painted circular huts arranged around the temple. In between the vibrant Kanjari Blouse of the women & the men stooped over the various corners carving wood. The town is a visual delight.
The main profession of the ladies folk in the village is making gorgeous embroidery work and tradional crafts while the guys make decorative furniture.
The town has no streets. The area in between two homes is utilized as a path. I was really looking for one when I entered the town.
Your houses of the village have a typical structure called bhunga with intricate designs both within and outside. While the outside is embellished with dynamic motifs, the inside has clay styles with mirror work. These homes are actually an architecture marvel. The thick walls keep your home cool even when the temperature reaches near 50 degrees centigrade in summer season. I could feel it when I went into among your homes. Some of these houses are as old as 100 years however look like new.
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Navavas Village
Positioned just before Ludiya, the village of Navavas also consists of the Meghwal community & is another fantastic location to discover magnificently crafted embroidery & woodwork. Meet Hirabhai Marwara, who heads the village work shed, to see fascinating try outs wood styles.
Khavda Village
For those heading northwards, Khavda, 66 kms along the primary roadway going north of Bhuj, is a significant stop and the last location to obtain bottled water and fruits before going to other locations. The center of town likewise has Kutchi food offered. The town has exceptional potters and leather artisans (suggesting a heavy Muslim existence, as Hindus do not use leather), and ajrakh block-printing at khatrivas. The KMVS workplace in Khavda offers embroidered handmade dolls and other fabric items and is run by regional females. Khavda is also the departure point to visit the world’s biggest flamingo colony, at a lake in the desert out past Jamkundaliya, where a half million flamingos stop over on their migrations every year. The flamingo nest can only be reached by camel and is best checked out in the winter season.
Khavda is likewise the departure indicate visit the world’s largest flamingo colony, at a lake in the desert out previous Jamkundaliya, where a half million flamingos stop over on their migrations every year. The flamingo colony can only be reached by camel and is best visited in the winter season (Oct. to Mar).
Hodka Village
This cultural village lies in the Banni Grassland, right on the edge of the excellent salt desert– the Rann. The town is a cluster of homes positioned near each other. 7 to 8 households live in a cluster. The village is popular for its craft like decorative mirrors, lights, hand fans, letter boxes, wall hanging, lather, clay, wood, metal and mud work specifically the charming silver jewellery. The craftsmens sell their items directly from their creative huts which are commonly understood as Bhungas.
The Hodka town is thought to have been established by the Halepotra clan. ‘Halepotra’ actually suggests the ‘boy or the descendant of Halaji’, who is thought to have immigrated from Sindh.
Along with the Halepotra, who are Muslims, the Hindu Meghwals have also settled in Hodka.
The Halepotras– belonging to the bigger group called Maldharis, or livestock breeders– believe their forefathers originated from Saudi Arabia and reached Kutch through Iran, Baghdad and Sindh looking for pastures for their cattle.
The Meghwals- also referred to as Marwada Meghwals- think their forefathers originated from Marwar, Rajasthan. They are traditionally leather craftsmen and settled in Banni which was rich in livestock. Today there are 8 nokhs (sub castes) of the Meghwal community living in Hodka.
Dhordo Village
Dhordo is 80 KM for Bhuj which has plenty of banni hospitality & rich culture. Dhordo is primarily occupies by the mutwa neighborhood, who hail from Sindh. The ladies are ingenious with needle & thread, developing an incredibly fine style of embroidery called Mutwa that is patterned around tiny mirror. Check out the hospitable Miyabhai Hussein Mutwa or Mehmoodbhai Elias Mutwa to see & discover more about their charming mud craft, generally found along interior walls, & Mutwa embroidery.
Jura and Nirona Village
On the method to Bhuj drop in Jura & Nirona to fulfill master craftsmen Elias Lohar or Haji Vali Mohammad to learn about the skill-intensive process of tuning the well-known copper bells of Jura. Nirona, about 6 KM from Jura, is the home of about half a dozen unique craft kinds. See Abdul Gafur Khatri, who comes from the last staying family of Rogan artisans, & view him use a metal stick and some castor-oil based colors to create brilliant compositions. Observe Sugar Saya or Mala Khamisa in Vadavas as they transform wood with intense lacquer colors.
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