Kutch

The government of Gujarat sponsored all 15 exchange students to go the Rann of Kutch Desert Festival last week.  It was a great way to kick off the New  Year! Unfortunately I was recovering from a wicked virus, but as long as I am with other exchange students everything is perfect! The government of Gujarat only allows for people to come to this specific part of the desert once a year. The culture of this place is rich and beautiful. It is still very primitive but since the earthquake in 2000 it is slowly developing.  By far the most captivating thing I saw was the “White” Desert. It is located very close to the boarder of Pakistan and India (very unfriendly neighbors). It was the most peculiar sight to be driving down a stretch of hot sandy desert and then drive into what appeared to be Antarctica. Under this desert lies what once were the shores of the Arabian Sea. Because of this a centimeter layer of pure salt rises to the top and forms a crust that despite the heat can easily be mistaken for ice. At night when the sun is softly setting and the white glow of the moon takes its place the desert looks like heaven.  A soft peaceful white abyss is the only thing for kilometers around you. The sky and earth are completely obscured. It looks as if one followed the light from the sun he would stumble upon the Pearly Gates of Heaven.  Or maybe it is purgatory….. In the morning it is the opposite. When the fiery deep orange sun clashes against the faux icy surface it looks like hell. I could have only imagined such a landscape in a painting by Salvador Dali.  In Man in the Landscape Paul Shepard wrote:

“The desert is the environment of revelation, genetically and physiologically alien, sensorily austere, esthetically abstract, historically inimical…..To the desert go prophets and  hermits;  through deserts go pilgrims and exiles. Here the leaders of the great religions have sought the therapeutic and spiritual values of retreat, not to escape but to find reality.”

The power of this desert is undeniable. I regret not having the opportunity to spend more time in it. I would have relished a whole day in that desert to walk and journal my thoughts. I am luckier than most to at least have a glimpse. However we did other fun things. We visited a few small villages where they displayed their traditional crafts. We visited a modern Indian palace. We went to the Arabian Sea where we rode on camels and horses then drank coconuts. Both nights we were at this festival there were special performances done by locals. I never mentioned it in my blog but for the district conference on Christmas the IYE students gave a big performance for all the Rotarians. In this performance were two dances; one traditional and one Bollywood. Even though we were not scheduled or asked to we gave a performance of both of these dances to the other tourists in Kutch. Indian people really appreciate when foreigners embrace their culture, and the dance is so fun! We are making a music video of our Bollywood dance.  We spontaneously perform this dance in strange places for example the desert and the Taj Mahal and at the end of our journey we will compress the best clips into one video.  I think this video will be epic! I promise to show you all as soon as it is finished ^^  In a few days is a kite festival known as Uttarayan.  The origin of the festival is based in astrology. On January 14^th and 15^th the sun starts to move north which marks the start of Indian “winter”. It is celebrated by everyone coming outside to eat, fly kites and have kite “wars”. A kite war is when one person tries to cut another person’s kite down with their kite string. This does not seem plausible with American kites but in India the string is actually made from stretched glass……that’s pretty hardcore! I cut my hands just trying to fly the kite! I will tell you more about the festival after I have celebrated. Until  then. Namaste.