KUTCH DESERT SOJOURN

Desert is a place which would not feature in many individual's tourism wishlist. A 'regular' individual would have his/her own vision and perception of its beauty, or rather lack of it. The general belief of a very dry, arid land with lots of hardships and no "modern" facilities, fosters an uninformed disillusionment of this geography. As for me, as you would have very well noticed in the various blogs that I have published, feel a distinct lure towards such "raw" form of nature, though not unexploited anymore. I have always felt a strong attraction towards the uninhibited, free, colorful (if one can visualize it) soul of the desert. The desert rears a distinct and unique spectrum of flora and fauna in its "womb".

Lately, Amitabh Bachhan has been instrumental in rejuvenating the interest in this far-off land through his tag-line, "Kuchchh nahi dekha, to kuch nahi dekha". Ranotsav being conducted from December to January too has been instrumental in driving the State bureaucracy to develop the infrastructure necessary to entertain domestic as well as foreign tourists. The road conditions have improved phenomenally. Though these events have been able to create an interest for this area, it is really unfortunate that all the newly installed infrastructure meant to cater to increased tourist influx during Ranotsav, is available only then. Before and after this event, these structures lie totally isolated and "deserted". The other glaring missing link is the lack of information. Kutch is globally known as the biggest breeding ground for the Lesser and the Greater Flamingos. More than 3-5 lac flamingos crowd the salty marshlands of the Greater Rann of Kutch during any breeding season. This breeding location has been christened "Flamingo city" or "Surkhab nagar" as the call it locally. There was not a soul in Bhuj, main town of Kutch/Kuchchh district, who knew about this unique occurrence.Only when we talked to a tourist vehicle driver, did he tell us the directions to the place where migratory birds gather. This place, though turned out to be Chhari-Dhand lake.

I started from Vadodara and drove to Kondh near Dhrangadhra. I took the Express highway to Ahmedabad and exited at the ring road. Continued till Sanathal circle and proceeded towards Bopal. Immediately after the toll naka, I took the first left towards Sanand at the first circle. Restaurant Safar at the corner of this circle is a noticeable landmark. Onwards to Sanand, Viramgam till Dhrangadhra. Dhrangadhra, 230km from Vadodara, falls right on the main highway connecting A'bad to Maliya. A detour of 25km from Dhrangadhra takes you to Kondh. My Masa saheb, descendant of the then Diwan saheb of the erstwhile Wadhwan state stays at Knodh. Stayed the night over and started early next morning to Bhuj. 206km to Bhuj. Roads, as stated earlier, are very good. Though, at some places like Bhachau, there is some new road construction work being done. Also the same work on the Bhachau-Bhuj stretch. However, in another 2 months time, they should be ready. We lodged in at the Mangalam Hotel near Sanskar nagar, Bhuj.
I personally had actually no idea about the whereabouts of the breeding grounds of the Flamingos. I had assumed that we can spot them if we reach the Desert. Whatever, I knew, was based on some of the blogs that I could find on the net. None of them gave the exact location of the desired destination, however they did mention a lot about the Kalo Dungar and the area beyond the Kalo Dungar where the actual Desert lies. None of these posts ever gave any details about how to reach that very location. Our inquiry at the our Hotel too did not get us any information. Floating in our blissfull ignorance, we started towards Kalo Dungar. Kalo Dungar is situated about 90kms from Bhuj. The road, though narrow, is in good condition. We drove straight towards Kalo Dungar. The terrain on both sides of the road, till the eyes can see, is a flat, barren land with soft brown mud like soil. The only plants growing in this soil is grass and 'Gando Baval'. 

Just about 20 kms. out of Bhuj and we could see the Banni grass land stretched on all sides. While driving, we suddenly spotted a fairly sized flock of Common cranes about 300 mts. off the road. We parked our car by the road side. Though the space by the roadside is very less, we did find a spot nearby where we could park such that minimal part of the car would remain on the road. And ofcourse, the vehicles plying on that route was very very less. A water logged canal ran parallel to the road.
Hence we had to walk about 100mts. straight and then cross over to the other side of the canal. Unfortunately, the wind direction was not right for us. It was blowing from behind us towards where the cranes were located. By the time we crossed about 150mts. the birds started moving restlessly. We stopped for couple of minutes and changed direction. However, by then, they had sensed us and started taking flight. We could not get any good snaps.

However, having seen them, our belief was further strengthened that we are definitely in for something real good (read "flamingos") further on towards the desert. Little did we know that it was not to be.

We continued towards the desert. Further, we came across a police checkpost for the route towards Dhordo, the famed 'White Rann'. Dhordo is the place where Amitabh Bachhan is shown walking on white salt desert on a full moon night and telling the world, Kuchchh nahi dekha, to kuch nahi dekha (if you have not seen Kuchchh, you have not seen anything). For tourists who want to visit, Dhordo, need to pay a fee at this check post. It is about 35 kms. from this point towards West. However, we continued on our straight route towards our illusive desert. The road was almost deserted, except for the sparsely populated villages. Further ahead, about 10 kms before Kalo Dungar, the road totally empty, we were doing about 90 km/hr. Suddenly, about 1/2 km ahead, we saw a human figure standing right in the middle of the road. I honked my horn, but to no avail. I slowed down, but did not stop as I am always skeptical of such incidents. It was a boy of about 13-15 years, signalling us to stop and asking for money. Instantly, I thought, if I stopped, probably, a couple of goons may pounce upon us from the thicket lining the road and loot us. So just as we reached near enough, I suddenly skirted him and drove away at high speed.

We crossed the turn for Kalo Dungar and went further. A little ahead, we came across a stone plaque erected in memory of some of the soldiers who had lost their lives in an accident during patrolling at that spot. This plaque was at a little elevated level from the road. We got down and climbed to the spot, and what we saw after that was one of the most breath-taking view I have seen.




To our left and to the right, till our sight could stretch its vision, was the white swampy desert. With beautiful hues of light blue, white, grey, it seemed like a giant size painting on a never-ending canvas. This area was actually part of a huge estuary which encompasses the Khadir bet and the Kuvar bet. 

Having seen this scene, our expectation of what lay beyond was heightened further more and we proceeded ahead. Just about 2-3 kms ahead, we were stopped at a checkpost by the BSF guards. This is the last point of access for civilians. We asked them about the famed "Flamingo city" or the "Surkhab nagar". The blank stare that they gave as if we were looking for some fantasy land, conveyed to us more than we wanted to know.
We had to unwillingly turn back from this point. On our way back, having come all the way this far, we decided to go to Kalo Dungar. Kalo Dungar is the highest point in this region. Strategically located, it serves as the military base too. The army has a full artillery unit stationed here. So well and fully camouflaged are the guns that my cousin could not spot them till we started back down. We gave lift to 2 of the army jawans who had come down to do some "shopping". The drive to the top of Kalo Dungar is quite steep and the road broken at many places and very narrow. At some points the climb is angled quite precariously. But believe me, the effort to climb, albeit in a vehicle, did bear fruit at the top of the 'Dungar'. The view of the white expanse on 2 sides and the Banni grassland on other 2 cannot be fully described by words alone.

If God's brush is dipped in the colours of nature and let loose on earth, it would probably create something similar.

Kalo Dungar is also famous for the temple of Lord Dattatray located at the top of the hill. The folklore about this temple is quite interesting. It says, many years past, this region was very fertile, with forest wild animals. The deity if this temple used to regularly feed the jackals that lived in nearby vicinity.The jackals became very friendly and habituated to the food offered by the deity, so much so, that they stopped hunting. As time passed, the region fell into the grasp of a very long and dry spell. No food was available either for humans or animals. The deity, however felt his responsibility to continue feeding the jackals, more so because they as well as their offspring had forgotten the art of hunting. Hence, he started cutting off parts of his own body to feed the jackals. Everyday, he used to cut off a small part and offer it to the animals. It is believed that even today, jackals can be seen visiting this temple in the evening. Yes, I myself saw them.
There were some foreigners too visiting the temple. I talked to the driver of their cab about the "Flamingo city" location. He made a show of being highly knowledgeable about the topography of the region. He started describing the place where there are many "big" "videshi pakshi" (migratory birds). He even tried to explain to us a short route via Hodko village to reach the place. Little did we know that he was describing Chari-Dhand to us. We, however, feeling elated, having been "enlightened", thanked the driver and started to drive down the hill. At one spot we noticed that a deep river gorge was passing next to the narrow road. We tried to park our car as much out of the main pathway as possible and climbed down the gorge. This mountain is fossil rock structure.

The stone structure here is totally not typical of this land composition. This makes it believable that this area sure had a different topography in the past ages. We got some good snaps here and then started our drive down. We still had more than an hour of daylight. We actually wanted to get down the mountain before dark. On our return journey, about 10 kms after Kalo Dungar turn, we again encountered that lone boy in the middle of the road trying to stop us. This time, he was not asking for money, but had a big scorn on his face. While driving back to Bhuj, we came at the Check post of Dhordo. We had just enough fuel to reach Bhuj. We had initially decided to visit Dhordo the next day, because today was specifically for "Flamingo sighting". However, because we could not spot them, we realised that we may need more time tomorrow; and more so because the route indicated by the driver 'guide' at Kalo Dungar would take us in a different direction and we may not come here again. Hence we decided to visit Dhordo today itself. However, we would be travelling about 70 kms. to go and return at this spot. So we enquired for a fuel/Petrol station in the area. We were told that we would get Petrol at Bhirandiyara, a small town enroute to Bhuj. Little did we realise that what they meant was,we can get petrol there, not the Petrol station. Locals here store Petrol in barrels and sell it loose. The check post here issues the last permit at 6:00. We started towards Bhirandiyara, 25 kms, at 5.10 pm; just 40 minutes to cover 50 kms. on a narrow stretch of road. Anyway, we went to Bhirandiyara, 25kms and returned with enough fuel to return from Dhordo and reach Bhuj, a total of about 125 kms. We reached back just in time to get the last permit issued. That done, we were at 'peace'. I would like to caution every traveller that there are no Petrol stations on this route. The only fuel you can get is from shops like I told. However, the Petrol quality is fairly good.

Walkway to the observation point

We started towards Dhordo. Enroute, we crossed Hodko village. There is a good resort viz. Shaam-e-Sarhad, developed at Hodko. This resort offers very comfortable tents and Bhungas (traditional Kutchi hut dwellings). The resort is managed by the village residents. I would recommend this place if  you want to enjoy and experience the real Kutchi lifestyle from close proximity. Just before the last check post at Dhordo, there are good accomodation facilities developed by the State Govt. Though deserted at this time. We reached Dhordo, parked our vehicle and walked towards the famed "White Rann". I would like to offer a word of caution to visitors to this place. Please make sure to park your vehicles on firm ground. The soil is very soft and visually deceptive. Your vehicle may get grounded in the soft ground. A narrow walkway stretches from the parking point to the point where we can stand and gaze at the desert. The actual white stretch can be best seen on a full moon night. Also, there are cycles of high tide and low tide. During or just after high tide period, very shallow water layer covers the ground and it looks watery and then the White effect disappears. Only after it dries up, does it form the hard White salt layer on the ground which actually dazzles in the moon light. A small circular patch of soft soil is made a little further ahead of the parking space where we can stand whenever there is water due to high tide.

Dried Salt particles

Here I would like to caution all visitors not to wander beyond this point. 
Behind us, was the vast expanse with lights of Solaris Chemtech at Khavda blinking on the distant horizon.
We experienced a strange phenomena here. In front of us, there was no horizon. All we could see was white mist. It felt as if a white curtain was spread before us across the horizon. The dark blue colour above was the only effect which gave away the presence of sky. Otherwise, rising from the ground, right till the sky above us, there was no break in the grey "curtain". The mist felt so dense, as if we can actually touch the "curtain". As our vision shifts from the ground toward the sky, the "curtain" changed shades from white to grey to dark blue. It was as if a different 'dimension' lay beyond that "curtain". The feeling was very frightening. I did step into the grey mist and went about 20 ft. inside the water. Believe me, when I looked back, all I could see was white-grey mist. I was actually engulfed by the white "curtain". The silence was deafening. Fortunately I was very near the dry ground and could trace my steps back to that spot. I have never in my life, seen anything like this before.

No Horizon behind

The post dusk sky reflected various hues of pink and purple in the water. They could be captured fairly well on the camera. We stayed there for almost an hour, taking in the striking play of colours around us on the ground water as well as the vast expanse of the dark sky.
Finally we started our journey back towards Bhuj. By the time we retired in the room after a hearty dinner, we were dead tired and hit the bed instantly, wishfully looking forward to and dreaming of colourful Flamingos that we are "going to see" tomorrow.

The next day started at 8.00. 'Broke our fast' with a tummy-full breakfast. Loaded our car and set off.
Today, we travelled towards Nakhatrana. Nakhatrana is about 51 kms. Halfway through the town, a small nondescript sign board points to the North saying, "Pakshi Abhyaranya", meaning Bird Sanctuary. It is about 30 kms. to the Chhari lake from Nakhatrana.

The road is fairly well paved, albeit with too many slopes and climbs, making the drive a literal roller coaster. Small rivulets and ponds by the road side made the drive a very refreshing experience. There is still a very big chunk of population who live in their traditional houses called Bhungas, made of mud and thatched roof to retain heat during winter and keep cool during summer.

Bhunga

One thing we noticed in this geography is relatively high number of buffaloes as compared cows.

We did stop at some of spots to snap some pics. The regular ones, generally found alongside the road viz. Black winged kite, White breasted Kingfisher, Blue Jay, Red wattled lapwing, Black winged stilt.

Asking directions, we were instructed to take the last exit at Fuley village. On the way, we talked to some of the local boys. As soon as we asked them about Chhari lake, immediately their eyes sparkled wide and instantly mentioned about the lake with big hordes of "Videshi pakshi".  

Red Wattled Lapwing

Every element of nature on this part of geography "conspired" in falsely bolstering our hope of finding some real spectacular collection of 'Flamingos'.

However, the children were not too further from the truth, as for them, every big or new bird is a 'Videshi pakshi'. It is only we, the so-called amateur ornithologists, who like to categorise them into common, uncommon or rare species. And true to their word, just about 2-3 kms prior to Fuley village, we spotted a huge flock of Rosy Pelicans circling the sky, slowly drifting away from the direction of the lake. This sealed the fate of our "dreams". We could almost visualise the colourful and gracefully feminine Flamingos waiting for us at the Chhari lake. Upon reaching Fuley, we enquired for further directions. We were told to proceed on the dirt path towards the Forest guest house and should take the extreme right most "kedi" (dirt walkway) and continue on it and we shall reach Chhari lake. The distance he mentioned was 20 kms from that spot. This came as a shock to me. Crossing 20 kms in a grassland type desert topography itself is a challenge. Further, I was also a little sceptical of the way he was describing the directions, as if he was unsure whether we will be able to find the right path or not. Also, because he insisted on keeping to the right most path, it meant that there must be many more such paths on the way which we should not take. And this can be potentially dangerous. Diverting from our correct path is a high-potential possibility.

Little did we know that we were actually going to face our unspoken predicament in its full "glory".

We proceeded in the direction indicated by the villager. This path was fairly wide and flat. We could drive quite comfortably. This prompted us to harbor an unfounded expectation of being presented a similar path right upto our destination. After about 6-7 kms, we spotted the Forest Guest house on our extreme right. A small but well planned settlement of about 7-8 concrete cottages and surprisingly a keeper too. The guest house keeper welcomed us heartily and insisted that we spend some time there. He ran to the far end of the compound and from behind somewhere, believe me, brought a bottle full of chilled water. The cold water tasted like 'amrit' in the arid, "deserted" place. We filled our water bottles to take us through the whole day. We again asked directions to the house keeper. He showed us 2 mountains, one in front named Kiro and the other behind us named Dhinodhar. I took that bearing and remembered that orientation. He too reiterated the fact that we should keep to the extreme right 'kedi'. However, he very bluntly cautioned us not to divert from the right most path; mentioned that we can expect atleast 10-12 such more paths alongside. This actually sent a chill down my spine as I realised the seriousness of his tone. However, having reached this far, we proceeded further on towards our "promised land".
When we are trying to find or locate a new place, we generally try various directions, ask various individuals we meet on our way. And in this process, we tend to forget the no. of turns we take and the no. of tracks we changed. In this vast expanse of dry grass land, where ever we see, we find a new 'kedi'. Keeping to the right most path was actually not possible. However, we tried to maintain our direction. I knew at this moment that it is going to be forbiddingly difficult to find the right track during our return journey.
In spite of all the apprehensions that we harbored in our mind, the drive through this grass land was absolutely amazing. The new topography was totally mesmerizing with small birds flying around. We could see and also "capture" some real good snaps of the local feathered species, which made all the effort seem like cake walk.

Further ahead, we came across 2 cattle breeders belonging to Fuley village grazing their cattle who directed us further. After a drive of more than an hour, wherein we crossed only 15 kms, we caught our first glimpse of the Chhari lake and the watch tower. We got down and scored the area around. However, to our utter dismay, we could not spot anything except 1-2 Pelicans and some Gadwal. We felt real dejected. However, we reasoned that if those boys have told us about hordes of migratory birds, they ought to be here somewhere. So we decided to foray further in our quest of some exotic migratory 'feathers'. We went another about 3 kms. Enroute, we spotted a small camp of the local Jat community camel breeder. They also had a Force 'Jeep' with them. There were only 4-5 males camping by the lakeside. They were suspiciously watching us, however, beyond that, they ignored us. It they would have opted to stop us and loot us, and then cut us to pieces, believe me, we could not have done anything.

There was not a soul around who would have seen or heard anything. And we, in our small Maruti Alto, would have been sitting ducks against their rugged Force vehicle. Well, I am only voicing one of the chain of thoughts that cropped up from somewhere in my fried brain. One of the reason being proximity of this region to Pakistan. Anyway, no logic of thinking all this.
Further ahead, we spotted another watch tower. We parked our vehicle and unloaded our camera equipment. As we were proceeding towards the tower, a little far off right ahead of us we spotted a group of common cranes ideally feeding in the shrubs and grass.

However, we wanted to get to the tower and advanced in that direction. A little ahead we realised that reaching the tower is going to be a difficult task. Just beyond where we were standing, hard ground changed into swampy grass land. There was no way we could walk past the swampy stretch and reach the tower steps almost 150 ft. away. Also, we had no idea about the depth of the water and also whether there were any crocodiles populating those waters. Also, the water was full of waist high grass preventing us from being able to see what lay at water level. But on the other hand, having come all the way here, we did not want to miss the chance to stand atop the tower and scan the lake perimeter. Actually, one more reason and the more pinching one at that, was that we had not found any "big hordes" of any "migratory birds" as yet and we wanted to get on the tower with a hope of finding something worthwhile to at-least give us some consolation of having driven all the way to this place. So we tried to find some ground hard enough to step on it and wade through the water. While doing so, I saw that the water was covered with thick layer of green algae intertwined between the tall grass. The layer of algae, with time, had become quite hard. I tried to test it. I side stepped on a clump of grass, pushing them down on the algae. This formed a double layer of grass and algae and, surprisingly it sustained my weight. Next step.......... survived. Further on............survived. We had to keep a sharp lookout for any possible crocodiles around. Fortunately, they had gone on a 'stroll' that day and spared us. Somehow, we reached the tower. One more challenge lay ahead. Upon closer inspection, we found that 3 alternate steps of the tower were missing. Whatever were remaining, were highly corroded and doubtful whether they could sustain our weight. Again, logic took the back seat, and we justified to ourselves, having come so far, we very cautiously took one step at a time. The tower was actually swaying as we climbed to the top. However, at the top we felt somewhat safe. We kept ourselves near the edge of the tower, because the base too was highly corroded and could cave-in anytime. Now, we started our bird "finding" activity in earnest. From here, the view was totally different and we could never fathom the enormity and beauty of the lake from ground level. The grass on the outer periphery of the lake was almost 5 ft. long and very dense.

Cranes hidden in the long grass

Hence, even if there may be large no. of birds sitting in the grass, none are visible. Only at some spots, due to the height of the Common cranes could we know of their presence. Slowly as we scored the surrounding, we could realise that there actually were 'hordes' of birds around us, especially Common Cranes.

The Pelicans, as stated earlier, had taken off before we could reach the lake. Hence only some isolated ones could be spotted. In the patches around the tower, we could also spot a good collection of Green Shank, Wood Sandpiper, Common Teal, Spoonbill, Gadwall, Black winged stilts, Curlew, Snipe, Godwits and the likes.

Black winged stilt, Curlew sandpiper

We stayed perched atop the tower for almost 3 hours and snapped as many pic as possible. And then slowly climbed down.When we reached hard ground, we looked back and then realised what high risk we took by climbing that ramshackle tower, and we heaved a sigh of relief.

We freshened up and slowly started our journey back.

This time around, we had to make sure that we keep to the left most track (we kept to the right most track while arriving). We tried to do that. We went about 6-7 kms. Some of the patches were very rough. Almost like driving in a dried field. Could not do more than 20km/hr. We consciously tried to remember whatever little 'landmarks' that we could recognise. Believe me, it is just not possible. Everything everywhere seems the same. Everything seemed so familiar and still so unknown. After about 8-9 kms, we saw a "small mountain" in front of us, just a little to the left. This piece of 'nugget' created hell for us. We mistook it to be Kiro. We kept going straight. Saw a clearing with wired fence. We did not remember seeing this while going. We came back to the earlier junction, changed track and went in a different direction. After about 2 kms, we thought, it was taking us in the wrong direction. We came back to the earlier junction. We did this 6 times. Everytime going ahead 2-3 kms and coming back to the spot, which we thought was our "junction". Only later did we realise that this "junction" too was changing every time we came back. The fact then dawned on us that we were LOST. We knew that one wrong track and we would be doomed. We were literally perspiring due to fear and desperation, not knowing what to do and where to go. Not a soul was in sight. This was not a place where anyone would come for days together. Ultimately, we decided to just sit back, relax and calm our minds. We sat back, closed our eyes for some time. Then we got out and stretched ourselves. Then with a clear mind, we tried to take the bearing of the place and get some orientation of our whereabouts. After almost 2 & half hour of this hell, we fortunately saw a cloud of dust rising in the distant far left direction. We knew, it can only be due to cattle or some vehicle. We did not want to loose whatever it was and floored the accelerator. We could somehow cut across, our car literally bouncing on the uneven hard ground. As the dust cloud cleared a little, we could see a jeep. We frantically flashed our head lights and waved our hands from the car window and prayed that they see us and stop. Fortunately they did. They were literally god send for us. They directed us towards the Forest guest house that we had stopped by while coming here. And that direction was at 90 degs. from the one we had been trying for the last more than 2 hours. We ultimately saw the glimpse of the forest guest house and sighed a heave of relief and thanked god with all our heart for sending those people to show us the way.
The journey back to Bhuj was fairly uneventful. Not that we needed any more of it after all that we had been through..................

Thus ends our trip to the Banni grass land, Rann of Kutch, Chhari lake.