ASHAPURA MATA TEKRI : A BIRDS’S EYE VIEW

Kutch is an ancient island separated from mainland India and rest of Gujarat by the Rann of Kutch, a salty waste which is inundated by sea water for more than half the year. Owing to this Kutch has developed a unique culture and distinct traditions. Even the Kutchi dialect has shades of Sindhi and other languages over and above the mother language Gujarati.

The region was ruled for a long time by the Chandravanshi Rajput Jadeja clan. The revered mother Goddess of Kutch is Ashapura Mata, a form of Shakti and her prime seat is at Mata Na Madh located about 90 km West of Bhuj. Well, here we are not talking about Mata Na Madh, about which we’ll talk some other time but a lesser known temple for the same Goddess located atop a mountain, keeping in spirit of this blog of being off beat and less touristy.

Ashapura Mata has numerous temples located all over Kutch, but the temple we talk about here is unique in the sense that it is located on an imposing hillock over 1026 feet in height, jutting out from the plains and located just off NH 341 between Anjar and Bhuj near the Village of Kukma.

Signpost on NH 341 marking the turning

As I travel frequently from Anjar and Bhuj, the hill dominating the horizon towards the West between the villages of Ratnal and Kukma always mystified me. Finally, one day I decided to make an impromptu visit and explore the hill.

Cabbage Fields Enroute

To my surprise, there was a prominent sign on the highway showing the way to the Ashapura hill shrine. It is only then I realized that the structure seen from a distance was actually a temple.

The hillock is accessible through a dirt track which though narrow is well marked and cuts across quaint cauliflower and mustard fields. The track winds for about 3 km from the highway and you reach a clearing at the base of the hill. The base too has a temple and a small house where the priest and his family live.

Steep Steps leading to the Top

 The hill itself is very imposing and forms the massif of a small range which stretches from the South the North. The hill top is accessible through a steep yet well maintained flight of steps (519 badly designed steps in all), a trekker’s trail or a newly cut gypsum covered kuccha road leading to the top.

As I had a very capable Tata Xenon 4-wheel drive SUV, I decided to try the gypsum road leading to the top. The 1 ½ km or so of the climb is treacherous to say the least. The SUV in 4 wheel drive –low mode to had its hands full  pulling through the fine gypsum covering the track as the track was very slippery and had impossible gradients and rock falls at places. My co-passengers surly had some jitters but we made it very safely to the top.

Breathtaking View from the Summit

Goddess Ashapura

The Temple on Top

The top of the hill is actually quite small and houses a small well maintained temple. There is nothing historical about the architecture of the temple and it has been done up in concrete and tiles. However, the idol of the Goddess definitely  looked pretty ancient. The priest informed us that the idol was about 500 years old, but any specific history was unknown. The hillock itself is composed of ancient volcanic basalt and the spurs are composed of layers rock covered with cacti and other wild foliage. The priest also told us that a lot of wildlife existed in the scrub forest surrounding the range especially, nilgai, foxes, wild boar and an occasional leopard.

View of the Range from the Top

The view of the surroundings from the hill top was absolutely breathtaking to say the least. I believe on a clear day one could see as far as Bhuj and also the sea. But even on the day we visited (there was a bit of a haze) the view really was awesome, the hillock being the highest feature for many miles around. It was also very windy at the top.

We decided to take the steps while coming down. The steps are very well maintained with railings on both sides. But on the flip side, are badly designed with some steps  being almost ½ a metre tall. Therefore one has to be a little careful while walking down.

A visit to Ashapura Mata Tekri, Kukma is definitely worth it for its unspoilt and uncrowded ambiance, nice trek uphill, a breathtaking view and of course the blessings of Maa Ashapura- the guardian of Kutch!  

Coordinates:- https://goo.gl/maps/jXgk2TFDgco

THE LIMESTONE CAVES OF TAPKESHWARI

A 500 year old temple with not one but three perennial springs, surrounded on 3 sides by low hills and the hills dotted by some fantastically patterned limestone caves and all this not even properly sign posted, let alone figuring in some tourist glossy. This is Tapkeshwari located very close to the City of Bhuj in Kutch.

Panoramic View of the area around

Quietly tucked away in the wilderness just behind the Bhuj Cantonment is the Tapkeshwari Temple. The temple is situated at the end of Tapkeshwari Road, which originates at the south side of Bhuj Town. To the West of the road is the small village of Haripar, and to the East is a compound of a BSF Unit. 

The Temple Complex

Unfortunately like a lot places in India, apart from the old idol, nothing much remains of the original shrine which has been replaced by an abomination of concrete and glazed tile structure. Luckily old structures with a lot of character still hug the hill sides.

The temple complex is located in the centre of a horse shoe shaped hill. An old lady who is also the pujarin of the temple told me that the shrine is over 500 years old. The name of the temple comes from the Gujarati word "tapakvu," which means "to drip". 

The main Aquifer below the Temple

Legend states that this used to be the site of a year-round spring which used to cause water to "drip" down the cliff walls (though we could not find any water as such dripping down from the hill side). As per the old lady, the Goddess dug her mighty trident into the ground which resulted in the three perennial springs located in the complex. The largest aquifer is located right below the temple, the smallest at the entrance and the third closer to the hill side to the North.    

Old Structures along the Hill side

Apart from the temple, the fantastic limestone caves overlooking the complex are worth a visit. They are accessible by stairs on the north side of the temple and then a scramble up a rough trail to the top of the overlying ridge. The caves are breathtaking and seem to have been eroded millions of years ago by water (probably when the whole region was sea bed). Unfortunately, they have been vandalized at a number of places by louts scribbling their names and other gibberish at a number of places. Still they are fantastically patterned and offer a beautiful view of Bhuj City from the top.

 A day’s visit is definitely worth it considering that the place is located very close to town, has some historical value and above all one can visit some beautiful limestone caves and have a great view. Just a word of caution is to look out for honeycombs when visiting the caves- there are quite a few of them in the higher reaches. 

Fantastic Patterns

Caves to the South

Treacherous Steps 

Dramatic View

Coordinates:- https://goo.gl/maps/s2iB7kfwF4L2

A SLICE OF NORWAY IN KUTCH: THE OSLO THEATRE

The most prominent road junction in the town of Gandhidham is the rather piquantly named 'Oslo' Circle. As the name seemed totally out of place, I inquired from a few old timers regarding its origin. It apparently owes its name to the now defunct Oslo Talkies located about half a km North of it.

This once grand theatre in the midst of Gandhidham town is strangely named after Norway's capital. The theatre belonged to the erstwhile Maharaja of Kutch Madan Sinhji Jadeja and was built by him in the late 1950s.

Oslo Theatre Today

Madan Singhji had spent considerable number of years as India's ambassador in Norway.His office was at Colbjrnsens Gate in Oslo.The theatre was a dedication by the king to this unique assignment.He had donated a huge chink of land for the Sindhi resettlement site on the insistence of Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Kriplani.

The Maharao of Kutch had a lady guest from Norway who inaugurated the theatre. A statue of a fisherman was also inaugurated which is now in the Kutch museum. Many here in Gandhidham remember the first film at the Oslo theatre in 1960 to be Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari starrer Kohinoor.This theatre has a nostalgic value for a number of Sindhi refugee families of Adipur and Gandhidham.

Sadly this theatre is likely to be demolished to either give way to a multiplex or a residential scheme.

Truely- India never fails to surprise!

CHADVA RAKHAL- OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

No mobile coverage, no proper signposting, a big lake infested with large crocodiles, dense jungle littered with ruins of ancient dwellings and a 3 km trek leading to an ancient Shiva Temple where the deity is in a subterranean cave and most importantly very little mention on the net and not listed in Wikipedia- does seem unreal and straight out of a horror movie set. But Chadva Rakhal- the hidden gem of Kutch is anything but that.

Turning for Pragsar

Off the beaten track, this hunting ground of the erstwhile ruler of Kutch State still remains a private property of the Jadeja Royal Family of Kutch.   Just about 18 km from Bhuj, the headquarters and biggest town in the Kutch District of Gujarat, Chadva Rakhal which literally means ‘Chadva’s Estate’ can be reached by following the Bhuj –Mata Na Madh highway and turning left at Samatra Village (about 8 km from Bhuj) and thereafter travelling on the single metalled road for about 5 km before taking a diversion to the left after about 5 km where an old marking on a stone mentions ‘Pragsar’ in Gujarati.

Tablet with Ancient Kutchi Script

The Estate's Entrance

Pragsar Lake

A short drive through a rutted track and through mustard fields in full bloom brought us to the entrance to the estate which is through an ancient gate with pillars which looked like made of slate slabs. Another ½ km inside the estate takes us to the Pragsar Lake which reportedly is habitat of numerous fishes and hold your breath…..about 300 crocodiles. The Lake Side bund is an old structure made of stone on one end of which is a slab with inscriptions in an ancient Kutchi script. There is nothing else there barring a dense forest and a 100% unspoilt natural habitat.

The jungle surrounding it is dense with ancient teak, banyan, babool and numerous other trees and herbs. The forest is pretty spooky even during day with a number of ruins of structures of an undated past.

The 'Blessing' Tree

A colourful companion

Along the trail

A short but reasonably difficult trek (as a cute old sign post warned us) out of the forest towards the low hills leads us to an ancient Maheshwar Shiva temple which is tucked in beyond a ridge. We encountered an interesting shaped dried tree en route- the gnarled old behemoth was in the shape of a hand raised in a mudra or a blessing stance. Mandatory photo ops there and we were off towards the temple. The temple is interesting with a lot of modern day restoration, but its raison-d-etre was the subterranean cave where the swyambu pindis of the deity reachable after a tight squeeze through the rocks give a primordial feel to the place. The lone priest (who stays there through the night on some of the days, and leaves for Samatra after dusk aarthi on others) shared that the temple was over 700 years old and Deshalji I who was the Maharaja of Kutch from 1718-1752 used to regularly visit the place and worship the deity in the cave.

The walk back along the gentle down slope is a breeze. But walking there after sunset is not advised as the area is home to leopards (a quaint sign post on the track marked a ‘leopard crossing’ and the priest too had told us of 3-4 leopards frequenting the area at night). As it was getting quite dark, we hastened our steps to reach the location of the forest and back to the parking lot. By the time we reached back it was quite dark and the brooding forest with its melancholic ruins looked straight out of a scary movie!

The Cave Entrance

Leopards Beware!

We did not get to see any leopards but were lucky to spot 3-4 huge crocs earlier in the day, lazily floating around the placid Pragsar Lake with their snouts out of the water. Local told us that they stalk Nilgais and other game which came to the lake for the drink and also thrive on the abundant fish in the lake.

Signpost for the Temple

Inside the Cave

Entrance to the Temple Complex

The place is still pristine with a rough edge and time seems to have stood still. An unlisted place with no modern trappings seems a luxury in today’s plastic times, but at only about 18 km from Bhuj and about 70 km from Gandhidham, it definitely begets a day’s outing- if not for anything else but for the free oxygen and the joy of seeing such a dense jungle in the heart of the arid Kutch, images of which are generally associated with the great salt desert and sparse greenery.

Permission is required from Vijay Vilas Palace, Mandvi if you plan to visit as a big group. A few visitors coming for a casual trip need not bother even for that.

Coordinates:- https://goo.gl/maps/AEhgPo5L9z32

BIKING THE UNTRAVELLED KUTCH

“You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. On a cycle the frame is gone. You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it’s right there, so blurred you can’t focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness.”

- Robert M. Pirsig  in “Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance”

The present day District of Kutch in Gujarat was known as Cutch State during the Colonial era and was a largish princely state with its Jadeja Ruler entitled to a 17 Gun Salute (highest was 21 guns for the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maharaja of Jammu &Kashmir). The state was merged with the Union of India and the state of Gujarat in 1956. Since then, it has been the largest district of India in terms of area with a total expanse of  45,652 sq km i.e. exactly 1 ½ times the size of Belgium. 

Long wide roads in most part with a plethora of heritage locales varying from Harappan sites, religious places, monuments and the unique Rann of Kutch make Kutch a biker’s paradise. In fact the Ahmedabad-White Rann route has consistently featured in the top five motor cycling routes in India by all the major biker forums. 

2016 being my fourth year in Kutch- I have already biked and motored most parts of this  exotic land. But I always had this burning desire to go a little off the usual biker trails of Dhordo, Mandvi, Lakhpat etc which I have already done.  With my daughter in town on her first vacation from College , I thought that the time and company was now right to hit the road if not for anything else, but for a short one day trip to explore the parts of the Rann which I was yet  to visit. I also firmly believe that a nice long bike trip is definitely a rejuvenating tonic for the soul.  

Our  journey started from Welspun City Anjar on my trusty ol’ Royal Enfield Bullet. Once we cleared the squalor of Anjar town we hit the Bhuj Highway (NH 341) which is a pleasure to ride on. Crossing Bhuj we hit the Road to north towards the White Rann (a continuation of the same highway) passing by the Bhuj Air force Base. After a short break at  the Rudramata Dam Bridge, about 65 km from our starting point we headed straight towards the Rann.

About 40 km further and after a drive through some really stark landscape we reached Bhirandiyara post, where the left turn takes you to Dhordo and the tent city whereas the highway leads straight to Khavda and beyond  to India Bridge. Khavda is the last civilian inhabited village on the Indian side and is about 90 km from the International Border. This is the last place you can buy bottled water, eatables, find a mechanic and of course fuel for your machine.

About 20 km from Khavda is the famous India Bridge-the last place till which ‘civilians’ are permitted and beyond which a permit is required from BSF. Also, no photography is permitted beyond this as it is a sensitive border zone. As I had already taken the requisite permissions from the BSF, all it took me was an entry in the register and we moved on towards the border- our initial destination being Dharamshala Chowky, about 12 km down the road. The beautiful sand stone war memorial at Dharamshala is truly worth a visit (though it looks somewhat incomplete). The quietness and desolation of the place too added to its aura.

War Memorial at Dharamshala

After a cup of tea and a glass of water provided by our BSF friends at the post at Dharamshala we set course to our next destination- Bedia Bet the BSF out Post very close to the border fence which was 27 km away. Bedia Bet is also famous for a small Hanuman Temple which is revered quite a bit in these parts. However, I was warned that after a few kilometers, the road condition was not good.

Indeed after crossing Chidiya More or Eagle Chowk (where we had to make another register entry) the road which was reasonably good so far, deteriorated to a small one way road which was rutted and broken at a number of places. I realized that the road had been created by filling up soil through the Rann and in fact is not even shown on the map. It is here that we could actually see the stark beauty of the Rann of Kutch with only a few  military trucks and dumpers and the famed wild asses for company.

The Rann of Kutch is a unique land mass. It features in the world list of “Most Alien Looking Places on Earth”. Unending salt flats broken only by bets –islands or raised grounds with some shrubs growing on them and greenish  pools of cupric brine.  The landscape we encountered on our way to Bedia Bet was stark, surreal and on the whole overwhelming, the bad road and our sore posteriors notwithstanding!

Green Brine Ponds

After a lot of bump and grind we reached Bedia Bet – a tiny Bet which has a BOP and a small BSF camp. The Hanuman Temple is actually quite small and numerous bells of all shapes and sizes adorn its compound. Apparently devotees hang bells there after their prayers and wishes are fulfilled. 

Local legend says that during the 1965 war, the Indian soldiers established the idol in Dhara Bani in Pakistan (which had been occupied by India) but brought it back to India after the war as the location was reverted to Pakistan after the 1966 Tashkent Agreement.

The idol was to be installed in Khavda but during an overnight stay at Bedia bet, the idol stuck itself firmly to the ground and couldn’t be budged. The temple was built soon after. Such legends persist in all inhospitable border areas be it the remote mountains of the North East  or the barren desert lands of Rajasthan and Gujarat. I had the good fortune to visit many such places during my military career- but those will make different stories!

Hanuman Temple at Bedia Bet

The International Border is just 3 km from Bedia Bet. A short bumpy ride took us there and we could now see the formidable border fence and Pakistan beyond it firsthand. The boundary pillar lies somewhat ahead of the fence since as per the Geneva Conventions there is supposed to be no construction on either side within 150 yards (the normal range of small arms).

The ride back to Chidiya More and subsequently to the Dharamshala checkpoint was a lovely one. However ahead of Dharamshala we had our first (and only) hiccup  as my trusty steed suddenly stopped. A quick check by me revealed that there had been an electrical failure and unlike smaller bikes, there was no way one could start the large engine of a Royal Enfield without power emanating from the battery. The battery had also spewed acid out which I realized once my fingers started burning. After such an excellent trip so far…Lo behold! We were now struck in the middle of nowhere (hardly any civilian traffic on the road as we were still ahead of India Bridge). It was getting mighty warm too as it was 1:00 PM in the afternoon. Finally I located the fault  to a busted fuse which was replaced with a spare one available with the bike and we were again on our way again.

Our Only Breakdown

Our next halt was the Border Out Post (BOP) at Dhordo, near the tent city. We took the brand new road connecting Khavda to tent city and saved some distance as we would otherwise have had to go to Bhirandiyara and then do to Dhordo. The new road, though narrow is very good and literally cuts across the White Rann. I have heard that there is an extension now planned to connect Khavda directly to Dholavira, the Harappan site which presently is not reachable from this direction and can only be approached tom the East from Rapar (waiting for that to happen so that I could plan my next rip to Dholavira through the exciting new rout which will cut through yet uncharted areas of the Rann!).

We are at Dhordo BOP in about 40 minutes time as the road was open and the Bullet was able to cruise at a good speed without too many gear changes. The Dhordo BSF company commander (who was also very knowledgeable on the history and geography of the area) kindly offered us lunch which we most graciously accepted (as it was 3:00 PM by now and both of us were quite famished after the bump and grind since morning). After wolfing down a simple yet tasty lunch we set course for a round of the tent city.

Harley Carnival at Tent City

I have been visiting the tent city every year during the Rann Utsav since 2013, but it never ceases to surprise.  This year, the surprise was that the Tent City was full of Harleys (Harley Davidson motorbikes for those not very familiar with bike parlance!) of all shapes and sizes. It emerged that the entire city had been booked by the famous Harley Club, HOG (Harley Owners Group) for the day. This also explained the few packs of Harley riders heading towards Dhordo while we were coming in from Anjar in the morning). The Western India Annual HOG Camp had been planned in Tent City on that particular day. Samyukta especially had a field day photographing herself with some fabulously beautiful Harley Davidsons!

It was 4:30 PM now and unfortunately it was time for us to head back home after this quick fire trip to the Rann.

The ride back was long and the only break we took was at Budhia’s Shop near Bhujodi Railway Crossing. The shop is unique in the sense that he sells a lot of organic products including exotic juices like raw dates, watermelon, grape, musk melon and also a wide range of pickles (you must try the shop at least once if you are passing by that way). After a quick bite of dabeli and some yummy raw dates juice we hit the road again.

We got back home by 7:00 PM with tired limbs and sore posteriors, having burnt rubber for about 412 km since morning! But surely the batteries of our mind and soul were fully charged. The trip would definitely not have been so enjoyable but for the BSF friends we met all along our journey.

Meanwhile, my daughter is already in the process of planning the next trip albeit a little longer and a little less rushed, so that we could absorb all the Zen of our surroundings in an even more profound manner.