By Amanpreet Singh
Hey, Cloggers! We have wound through mountains and crossed seas, but nothing prepared us for the unreal, radiant expanse of the Rann of Kutch. This visit to Gujarat was not like any other–it was a journey into a white flat nothingness that showed the best sceneries to be the bleakest. It was a huge adventure in a huge horizon, rich culture, and complete fun with friends.
The Drive to the Void (The Epic Start)
The process of arriving at the Rann is an Epic psychological transition. The landscape makes the place drier, flatter, and much bigger over the hours. We had all been quietened by the sight of the first sign of white on the horizon, which the car gave a deafening silence. We had a sense of coming to a huge crystalline sea.
It feels like landing on another planet when one steps out on the White Rann itself, the salt marsh drying into an immensely bright expanse. The scale is impossible. And you can walk miles, and the horizon is the same. The first hour was devoted to running and jumping, and to trying to get the apprehension of the immensity of it all. The salt crystals broke under our feet, and they produced a particular sound which turned into the sound of our journey.
Here, our games with friends included orchestrated tries to make the scenery look small in comparison to us, which made the photos of perspective taken with friends really laughable. We quickly also discovered that there is absolutely no bargain when it comes to the use of sunglasses because the sun is very strong when it bounces off the salt!
The Moonlit Magic (The Lovely Moment)
The Rann is spectacular in the daylight, but it is even more fantastic with the moonlight turning it into a fairy tale when the sun goes down. It was the loveliest establishment of the whole journey.
One day, we were late one night back to the desert under a full moon. The salt desert was not white; it glowed like silver. Silence was total, with the desert wind being the only break. We were trudging lazily, and dispersed through the quiet scene, and sat down to simply lie upon the cool salt.
It was an ecstatic, lovely time. With the stars shining above, and the ground shining down, as it was reflecting the light above us, we were really suspended between the earth and the sky. The most restful and memorable experience in the Rann was to have shared with my crew that inexhaustible and noiseless space, of which I know we were all the more or less smitten with the sense of wonder.
Color, Culture, and Chaos
We spent our time in the colorful Rann Utsa, which adds color to the otherwise dull landscape. We camped in the customary tents (bhungas), got absorbed in the local Kutchi handicrafts, and feasted on the wonderful Gujarati and Kutchi food.
Evenings were spent watching the cultural show, the lively folk dances, and the melodious music, which was an impressive contrast with the silent desert. We even went on a camel ride to a sunset location, weaving through the huge masses of people with our trademark style of good-natured disorder. The Rann is the land of extremes: empty sublimity by day, beautiful silence by night, and color and culture in between, brilliant. It showed us that life and friendship are coming out of a barren land most spectacularly.
What’s the most surreal landscape you’ve ever seen? Drop your stories below!
Stay vast, Amanpreet Singh clogtheblog.com
