Steer India 2015; Day 7
Rann of Kutch and Utsav Festival
We checked into Shaam E Sarhad in the evening the previous night and were greeted with awe at the architecture and design of the place. The place we stayed in was striking because it was the first time some of us were staying in tents. Each tent which housed 3 people was well furnished and decorated with furniture unique to the North Indian culture.
This resort was built by Hunnarshala Foundation and had a traditional circular architectural design and were called bhungas. Bhungas had a historical significance since the 1819 Bhuj earthquake. Due to the lack of joints, bhungas were able to withstand the magnitude of destruction of the buildings during earthquakes. The buildings were made of mud and cement mixtures for stability and mud houses were one of the oldest building material of the world because it is a bad conductor of heat which insulates the bhunga during winter and cools the bhunga during summer. Moreover, the use of these natural resources leaves a small carbon footprint which is environmentally friendly.
Having come from Singapore where light pollution is extremely pervasive and seeing stars in the sky is a rather rare sight, we were amazed and fascinated to be able to lie under a sky full of stars in Kutch.
In the morning, we were able to eat the breakfast prepared over stone pots instead of electrical pans we are used to back home. The staff who prepared the breakfast for us all had individual stories to share with us.
We were able to interact with them and discover the origins of the creation of the resort. We were surprised to hear that the staff we talked to named Gyani and Natha were only 20 and 22 years old respectively. Both came from the nearby village called Hodka Village and heard about the availability of jobs in the resort. The resort was a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a Government of India initiative to help provide employment for the locals and boost tourism in the area. Since then, the resort has been community owned and managed. We felt that empowering communities with a sense of ownership is an important factor to the success of ensuring the sustainability of rebuilding efforts throughout the organisations we visited on this trip. By giving the ownership and responsibility of the projects to the community themselves, there is an equailising effect on the power dynamics among the different stakeholders involved, mainly the organisations and the community. Instead of being told what to do, the community itself takes leadership and since they are on the ground, it gives them an added advantage of being equipped with the knowledge of the cultural practices and networks in the community as well, giving the resort project an increased chance of sustainability. We feel that from this trip, it is crucial for us to keep this concept of empowerment and ownership in mind, especially with regards to the varying projects that we may undertake from now onwards.
The Rann of Kutch (or White Desert) was definitely a different sight from the land-scarce scenery of Singapore. The Rann is located near the border of India and Pakistan and this area remains sensitive due to historical and political conflicts between India and Pakistan. Initially, the Rann resembled the beach with its yellowish-brown sand, but as we walked further in, we saw a change in scenery when the ground was covered in white salt across the Rann. We enjoyed our time there as we managed to catch the sunset and take photographs at the Rann.
The Rann Utsav-Festival at the Rann reminded us of the Night Festival in Singapore with the white tentage, fairy lights and music at the festival. It was interesting to be able to visit the stalls which resembled a carnival-style layout (or pasar malam in Singapore) and see the handmade items the artisans sold at the festival. Even though we may see ourselves as culturally different from the Indian nationals, it was fascinating to see how music and art are universal forms of expression for people across cultures and ethnicities.