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.
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| 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.
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| Tablet with Ancient Kutchi Script |
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The Estate's Entrance |
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.
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| The 'Blessing' Tree |
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| A colourful companion |
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| 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!
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| The Cave Entrance |
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| 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.
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| Signpost for the Temple |
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| Inside the Cave |
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| 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
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