enchanting gujarat countryside

yay!! sean and i finally got into the countryside a couple of days ago. we hired a driver from the tourist office in bhuj, wildly expensive, but worth it, and set off into the gujarati countryside surrounding bhuj. i told the driver that i wanted to see some people and handicrafts, but i mostly wanted to see nature and wildlife. there are flamingos in the area and i thought it would be neat to see them in their natural habitat. the driver heard me, i guess, but didn't listen because we went in the opposite direction. he told us that it was monday and there is a market in anjar on mondays and all of the desert tribal people come. this sounded amazing, so i will leave the flamingos for another trip.

the driver took us to the homes of local people so we could see the handicrafts of kutch. we saw block printing, silk weaving, woodworking, and the most amazing embroidery ever. it was neat to see the people working, most of the work was done out of private homes and we got to sit and chat with the people, mostly tribal rabaris, and have tea with them and ask them about their work. it was a really neat experience, and i am now obsessed with block printing. when we were traveling in nepal there were carved wood blocks everywhere. duff encouraged me to buy some but i couldn't really see any use for them and i didn't want to carry them so i didn't. now i wish i had, i would love to make my own blockprints. i am keeping an eye out for the blocks.

the villages that we visited were so quiet and peaceful, and remarkably clean. many homes were destroyed by the earthquake and we visited a group of houses built by the government, one or two rooms to each one story home. we went into one where there were more than 10 women leaning up against the walls in a room with concrete floors and no furniture. they spend their days sitting there embroidering the most amazing stuff. mostly saris. one girl showed us how she sews the tiny mirrors they use onto the cloth. sean and i ended up getting some amazing embroidery to use as wall hangings. all the places we visited showed the crafts they wanted to sell. i hate this because i always feel forced or guilted into to buying something and the prices are generally really high, but when we saw the embroidering we were both eager to get to the part where they would try to sell us stuff. we were ready to buy.

as we were driving towards anjar and the market the driver stopped and proclaimed that we were very lucky tourists because we could see gypsies. having had not all together positive experiences with gypsies in ireland, i was a little wary, but we went and talked to the people. finally, people who were willing to stare at us as openly as we wanted to stare at them! they were fascinated by my watch, as everyone we met that day was, and i got a lot of questions about it. these families are nomadic and move everyday, according to our guide. they were rabari and each day pack all their belongings onto camels and move on. they belongings include a huge wooden bed, which we assumed collapsed, but doesn't. the camel walks around with a huge platform on its back and the children ride on it, oh, and lambs. later in the day we saw another group of nomads on the move. in the camp there are only elders, women, and children. the men herd sheep and goats and they are off wandering with their flocks. the rabari are beautiful and striking people. the women wear all black and sport huge gold jewelry and amazing tatoos, especially on their feet and ankles, arms and necks. i am wary of tatoos as it is and the thought of getting a home tatoo on my neck gives me the chills. still, they are very beautiful. we saw one older woman who had giant gold bars as earrings, her earlobes stretched out so far the bottoms of the holes in her ears were brushing the tops of her shoulders.

when we got to the market in anjar we were emboldened, having visited a few small villages of rabari and anhir people. i think it is anhir, i couldn't really understand the guide. the anhir women wore these very beautiful shirts with open backs, completely open backs. they were long sleeves and full coverage in the front, but there was no back to the shirt. it was a really beautiful effect and they wore a long piece of cloth over their head which fell down their backs, covering them for the most part, all the way to the ground. they also wore long embroidered skirts. at the market we saw all manner of people selling all kinds of stuff. at one point we wandered into a vegetable market and i was shocked at how empty the stalls were. vegetable markets in china are overflowing with really healthy looking food, but here it seemed that there was very little, and what there was didn't look very good.

at the market we also saw men, and boys in red turbans. our guide told us that those in red turbans will get married within ten days. they wore white (as rabari men do) and had high-heeled leather shoes in addition to the bright turbans. some of the boys were amazingly young. we asked the guide about it and he said people get married at all ages, as young as 10 or 11. the bride is generally the same age as the groom. wow.

in the afternoon, we stopped at a bird sanctuary to try and satisfy my craving for nature. there weren't any birds, apparently migration isn't until next month, but we got to relax for a while near a lake that comes just from monsoon. the waters were light brown and we were told that in a month all the sediment will settle to the bottom and the water is a brilliant blue. nearby sean and i visited a tomb, which struck us as a really neat place to hang out as a teenager and the caretaker gave us a blue plastic bag of sugar. this we were to eat, or to give away to children.

after our short visit to bhuj we caught the overnight train back to ahmedabad to get our stuff from the tailors. it all came out beautifully, but we were in a huge rush and didn't have any time for alterations and it is all too big. how this happens, i have no idea. they take our measurements!! sean had a dashing navy blue suit made and even though we got it taken in it is still too big. my tailor didn't even want to deal with my alterations so we will try to find someone in amritsar who can take my kurtas in. the fabric is mostly gujarati block prints and it is so beautiful.

we are now in jodhpur and will be here for a few days resting and healing (i fell down the steps at the train station yesterday morning) and then we move on to the punjab. to amritsar to see the golden temple, and to batala where my opa's sister lived and taught school.