UNESCO World Heritage Site in Gujarat - Dholavira the Harappan city in Kutch

Dholavira

Dholavira in Kutch is one of the five largest Harappan sites in the world and the biggest in India. Recently it was also recognised as UNESCO World Heritage site. The other prominent site in India is Lothal, which is close to Ahmedabad. Its located in the the Kutch region of Gujarat, in a monsoon island called Khadir island. During monsoon, sea comes in and the entire Khadir region is cut off from the rest of the world by surrounding water, as the water flows back it leaves behind a pure white sheet of salt which covers the region around till the next monsoon spell.

The area has seen successive settlements over 1500 years, and the fourteen excavations here over the past few decades have revealed much about the people and their lives here. The most recent has been the discovery of a 5000 years step-well here which is a matter of great pride for us all.

"This is almost three times bigger than the Great Bath of Mohenjo Daro that's 12m in length, 7m in width, and 2.4m in depth," said V N Prabhakar, visiting faculty at IIT and superintending archaeologist, ASI. 



The famed white sand of Kutch

Road Trip to Dholavira...

I visited this excavation site purely by chance, as we sat one evening discussing the plan for visiting the various PHCs in Kutch, at the house of the local Health Officer in Bhuj. He had a CD about Dholavira and I was completely mesmerized by it. The plan was quickly made and it was decided that we would leave the next morning. He was busy the next day and so the car picked me and Muzayun, my project partner, from the Circuit House.

It was April and the day was very very hot already by the time we left Bhuj and it kept getting hotter by the minute. The car wasn't air conditioned and we were forced to stop often on the way to buy more and more water and refreshments. Our driver was a nice guy and told us a lot about the area and the rarely found flora.

I think it took about five hours to reach Dholavira. The last leg of the journey was the most interesting part of the drive, its road that connects Khadir island with the rest of the Kutch landmass. It was the first time I saw the famed white sand of Kutch (salt left behind when the sea retreats after monsoon) spread all around for kilometers and kilometers. Its a view which is impossible to describe in words, its just plain poetry on the earth.

On the way to Khadir Island

On the way to Khadir Island

Clicking the white salt, our car in the background

The wet drought land

Collected sea water on the side of the road, water pipeline supplying fresh water to Khadir also seen

Exploring the ruins

As soon as as we were done with the project work, I was ready to explore the famous mounds. Dholavira right now is a very very small town, barely a few houses and an almost empty PHC. Quite a far cry from the huge town that once stood here. There is a small museum at the beginning of the entry to the excavation side and one can get in by paying a small entrance fee, too tiny to be of any possible significance!

Enthusiastically we all walked into the site with just a rough map in our mind. I completely loved the space, it was phenomenally huge with stunning town planning. Our driver and Muzayun were soon exhausted and showed little inclination in following my wild chase under such a strong sun (it was almost mid-day and the overhead sun was punishing). However, I continued on and went further beyond, trying to picture the town in its heydays; I am convinced my imagination was far from the truth but it was fun nevertheless. 

I walked and walked and didn't stop till I disappeared from everyone's view and people started calling out my name out as they were worried! It was nice to be alone with the ruins, but had to head back as the sun was punishing and I didn't have enough ware left with me. I also promised myself that I would come back here again to explore the site more in future, and I do hope that happens.

The museum building

Yet to be deciphered sign board

The excavated site

What all to see?

There is little you can figure out by yourself unless you are an architect if you just walk int he ruins by yourself. Its best to visit the museum earlier and arm yourself with information and a map of the ruins to better understand the town planning and the history of each of the excavated sites. The museum is small but quite beautiful in itself. If there is no one else, the caretaker can also come along with you and that would be the best case scenario :)

So amongst the things to be seen, the following are prominent:

1. Water reservoirs - there are reservoirs to store water as well as to park the ships!
2. Workshops for seal making - the town was famous for these and some workshops have been identified where the seals were constructed
3. Sign-Board - its quite famous and the language is yet to be deciphered (check out the image above)
4. Granaries - these huge structures stored the food for the town
5. Water-ways - the town had excellent water and solid-waste management systems
6. Burial grounds - no bodies now, but these are impressive sites nevertheless 

The excavated site

The excavated site

The excavated site

Lunch at Dholavira

I was finally called back by these guys as we were getting late and also because we needed some food to survive the day. Lunch was at the Bhunga on the edge of the town and it was cooked right in front of us. Muzayun got access to the kitchen to interview the women while I could chit-chat with the men in the house. The house was beautiful (a typical circular bhunga) and even had a local fridge inside to keep things cool. The food was, of course, very tasty and all three of us ate quite a bit. The hosts were most gracious.

A village woman

House where we ate lunch

Our hostess

Inside the house

The local fridge!

It was already late afternoon by the time we bid goodbye to out historic town. I was excited to have visited the place and was very keen on sharing our experience of the place with people I knew, Muzayun was simply tired and happy to be going back. It was only late in the night when we reached the Circuit House.

How to travel?

Its best to go using your own car, or in a taxi. Dholavira is just a one day trip from Bhuj (though you will spend most the day traveling). You can also stay back in the village, but for that you need to request a villager to host you. We had lunch with one of them and they were extremely helpful and nice and would have easily hosted us for the night, had we requested them.

Make sure you carry enough water when you go there - summers or winters, it the place gets very hot and the road from Bhuj to Dholavira is not very populated and its not very easy to finds water everywhere. Most of the are has salty water, if there is any at all.

Best time to visit?

Without a doubt, its winters! Anytime between November to mid-February, the place would be quite comfortable. I went in April, and it was already very hot. However, if you are in Gujarat and its already summers, do not stay back just for that reason. Dholavria is amazing at all times of the year and weather should not play spoil-sport :)


-- Siddhartha Joshi