Little Rann -> Bhuj (1.2.25)


Today we were going to vindicate our initial purpose of coming to Gujrat. A close friend’s daughter was getting married in Bhuj on 1st and 2nd Feb. The daughter had sternly admonished that under no condition were we to miss even a single function, wild ass or no wild ass. So we took stock of how to arrange a quick getaway from Little Rann.

Leaving Little Rann (6.30 am)

Yes, that is what it required in order to reach the haldi venue in Bhuj at 11.00 am. Morning starts late in the western states of India, and at 6.30 am it was pitch dark and decidedly chilly. The lady-boss had got up at 5.30 am to make theplas for us, and that, combined with fruits , made a heavy picnic bag. She took it nonchalantly, saying anyway morning safaris leave at 6.30 am, so she was used to it. But then, she did not send them off with a hot meal. Very decent of her.


Breakfast just anywhere (8.30 am)

As soon as it struck 8.30 am, we stopped the car near a ramshackle tea shop, plonked our breakfast bag on the trunk of the car and had a hearty breakfast. The tea shop actually did not deliver the goods, as their tea was cold, a phenomenon rarely observed in Gujrat. We continued our non-stop journey to Bhuj, arriving at our hotel at 11.00 sharp.


Hill View Resort, Bhuj (11.00 am)

Guests were distributed amongst three hotels and so were the functions, with the result that we had to fall back on the Travelling Salesman Algorithm, in order to maximise attendance. Haldi, Sangeet, Ashirwad and Wedding were spread across four time slots in these two days. We laid out the wedding dresses we had been carrying all through. “Apna time ayega”, they sang from the bedspread, happily.


At haldi ceremony 👆

So, we are all ready to be pampered these two days. No action required from our side except to sit around and look pretty. We shall resume our chronicle on the 3rd, when we get out of Bhuj and move to Dholavira.

Photo credits: Panna Rashmi Ray

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