DAZZLING white salt marshes, mesmerising sunrises and the colourful hues of Gujarati culture are drawing hordes of visitors from India and abroad to Rann Utsav being held at the Indo-Pak border.
The two-month long festival that commenced on Tuesday (December 17) has wowed people the young and old, first-timers as well as frequent visitors who flock to the seasonal salty marsh year after year.
The festival showcases Kutch district’s natural and cultural heritage and the fair offers an opportunity to witness the shining salty desert in its full glory, from sunrise to sunset to moonrise.
During the summer monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflats which is located close to the Indo-Pak border in Kutch district in Gujarat, fills with standing waters.
It dries up from late December, thus offering a breathtaking view of a ‘white desert’ under the open sky, a major hook for visitors during the festival.
Gujarat tourism ambassador and Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan’s campaign Kutch nahin dekha to kutch nahin dekha (If you haven’t seen Kutch, you have seen nothing) has increased the footfalls at the festival.
Last year, around eight lakh visitors had participated in the festival, a state tourism official said.
Anju Katarmal, an engineering student from Bhuj district, has brought her friends from Surat to the festival this year.
“We have come from Surat and we are amazed and completely spellbound. Watching the sunset on the white desert was a very unique experience. We are going to come again next year,” said Jigna, a student.
Foreigners and non-resident Indian have also turned up to experience the white wilderness.
Sarah, a US resident, and her Indian-origin friend Kushal Harjani from Nepal hitchhiked their way to the festival from Bhuj along with a group of local Gujaratis.
“We saw the white desert in the day time. It is absolutely beautiful. Looking forward to see it at night,” Sarah said.
Rohit Solanki, 26, a pilot from Bhuj who lives in Nairobi, came to see the white desert for the first-time along with his father and his newly-wed wife and was blown away by its beauty.
“I have been living in Kenya for the last 16 years or so, and I have seen the beauty of that country. But, coming back home and seeing something like this was really amazing. It was nice watching the sun go down so splendidly against the great white expanse,” Rohit said.
Mumbai-born Gujarati Deepa Patel, a food technologist, said a barefoot walk into the White Rann and seeing the sunset over the horizon, left a “salty and sweet” taste.
Rann Utsav, which a began few years ago on a small-scale, has now become the biggest festival of Gujarat in terms of area and the two months of festivities also put on display Kutch’s hallmark handicraft, traditional Bandhani sarees, folk music and food.
Savita Kejriwal, 39, from Surat, who took part in motor-driven parasailing as part of adventure sports at the fair, said, “At night the desert sparkles with beauty. We are all so thrilled and proud of our Rann.”
The 350 luxury tents laid out in several clusters has also been a crowd-puller for the "White Rann-seekers" to stay and enjoy the ride, the sights and the sounds of a truly unique festival, organised this year on a public-private-partnership model.
“The tents are just lovely with the little prints on them. And, full marks to the government for making this fair so big,” Deepa, who is staying in one of the clusters, said.
The tents have been set up in Dhordo village, the last village in the area, before the Great Rann of Kutch dissolves into the Indo-Pak border, and has canopied pavilions and swings with bonfire facilities.
