| |
Bhuj the main town of Kutch, is best described as a charming and highly entrepreneurial city. It used to be an old walled city. In the past, its gates were locked each night from dusk till dawn. Today, the city extends well beyond the walls of Bhujia Fort and yet retains all of its glory. You can wander for hours in the intricate maze-like streets and alleyways of this fascinating town. There are walls within walls, attractive gateways, old palaces with intricately carved wooden pavilions, and striking, brightly decorated Hindu temples. And more often than not, you'll run into the unfaltering hospitality that perfectly describes the people of Bhuj.
Infrastructure:
Quaint as it might look, Bhuj is a fully developed city that has all the necessary amenities for a comfortable life. There's Gujarat's biggest and among the most advanced hospitals. Convent schools providing quality education. An active Civic body that makes sure all daily needs and comforts are well taken care of. Airport. Railway station. Gardens. Parks. Good restaurants. Entertainment. Shopping. Sports. And many other things that make life convenient and pleasurable.
How to get there.
Bhuj is generally connected via Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Rajkot.
By Air :
Kingfisher Airways has daily flights from Mumbai to Bhuj
Kingfisher Airways operates daily flights from Mumbai to Kandla. Kandla is a 30 minute drive from Bhuj
By Road :
State transport buses and private luxury coaches connect various centres of Gujarat to Bhuj.
By Rail :
There are direct trains between Bhuj-Ahmedabad and to Mumbai from Gandhidham Road. There is a daily super-fast train from Mumbai to Gandhidham via Ahmedabad.
Place around bhuj.
There are a number of villages around Bhuj, which offer a cultural fiesta to the traveller. Special permits have to be obtained from the local government offices in Bhuj to visit these villages. Some of the important villages near Bhuj are Bhujjodi, which is famous for weaving. Padhar and Dhaneti are famous for traditional Ahir embroidery. Dhamanka is known for block printing. Lilpur is known for its embroidery while the village of Anjar is famous for block printing, tie and dye items and traditional betel nut crackers. Items obtained from these villages make good souvenirs as well as items of daily use. The village of Dholavira is an ancient site associated with the Indus Valley Civilization. Than Monastery (60 km) and the sea resort at Mandvi (60 km southeast) are important places to visit. Anjal Wild Ass Sanctuary and the town of Gandhidham are other places worth visiting near Bhuj.
Sri swamynathan temple.
Shri Swaminarayan Temple is one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in Bhuj. This temple belongs to the oldest of three divisions of the Hindu culture that the Hindus call the 'God Supreme'. In 1781, a 21 year old man became a spiritual Guru, reproving, the caste system and surrounding the poor and needy people. He was born in Chhapaiya in Uttar Pradesh. He wrote the text Vachanamritam. His sayings were collected in an advanced volume named Shikshapatri. He settled at Gadhada near Sarangpur in Gujarat. He was more supportive of Gujarat than any other state. He taught chastity, scarcity, freedom from addiction, knowledge of the Vedas and a lifetime of 49 years. He inspired the building of six temples and began many educational centres planned to support Hinduism through a chain of command of progressive Gurus, each appointed by his precursor.
Acharya Tejendraprasad is the present head of the Kalupur Swaminarayan Gadi at Bhuj and Acharya Ajendraprasad is the head of the Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple Gadi. The third one is the largest and most powerful monument called Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Faith, whose current Guru is Pramukh Swami Maharaj.
The Swaminarayan Temple of Bhuj is on two levels: Downstairs, devotees level themselves to the ground, pray and worship before brightly lit locked and bejeweled shrines. There are fine and beautiful paintings in the temple. An inner courtyard gives way to an upper area where sadhus and saints live, teach, study and meet the realistic.
The temple is open daily, from early morning to noon and from 4 pm to 8 pm. The Swaminarayan Temple was damaged in the earthquake of 2001 and its renewal construction is still going on.
Ania mahal.
Bhuj has one of the historical monuments named Aina Mahal, which is also known as Madansinhji Museum. On 1st January, 1977 Maharao Madansinhji, the last ruler of Kutch, founded "Maharao of Kutch Aina Mahal Trust". Madansinhji Museum was made under this trust. This museum has two parts. One part is the Kala Atari Picture Gallery and another part is a marvellous old palace called Aina Mahal.
Aina Mahal means a palace of mirrors. It is a creation of the 18th century. Ramsinh and Gaidhar Devshi created this amazing palace in the period of Maharao Lakhpatji (1752-1761). Maharao Lakhpatji was very fond of music and culture.
The great masterpiece of Ramsinh in Aina Mahal is the Hall of Mirrors situated on the second floor. The white marbled walls of Aina Mahal are covered with mirrors separated by gilded ornaments. The Hall of Mirrors is full of a precious collection of objects: A dutch clock, english and french globes, many antique pictures, mechanical toys, etc. The centre floor of the palace has a pleasure pool and lined tiles with a platform above it. Aina Mahal is surrounded by a series of fountains, operated by an elaborated system of pumps below a Venation chandelier. Aina Mahal's Art Gallery has many photographs of Bhuj city and the portraits of its rulers.
Aina Mahal is open daily (except Saturday) from 9 am to 12 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm.
Rao pragmalji's palace.
Rao Pragmalji's Palace is across the courtyard of Bhuj. It was designed by the British engineer Col. Wilkins, but some people believe that he was an Italian. This palace was officially started in 1865 to replace stables and small buildings. It has a wide and large Darbar Hall(25 m x 12 m) that is 12 m high with verandahs, corner towers and zenanas decorated with carving, gilding, Minton tiles and marbles. Good views of surrounding countryside from the tall clock tower are connected to the palace by covered galleries.
This palace was built for Rao Pragmalji II (1860-75) by the British architects and the Kutchi builders. Darbar Hall is a museum of Victorian-Edwardian taste with tigerskins and mounted trophies on the walls, stuffed lions and Art Deco figurines. On one side of the palace, the Logge in Emilia or Romagna and on the second side, the ample terrace are situated. Both these places give us the way to a treeline on the horizon, casting shadows into the limpid lake.
jigsaw of red tiled roofs and trees (still deep green, months after the monsoon ended) is in the third side of the palace. The fourth side has distant prospective bungalows and offices and the fifth side has panorama which presents a higgledy-piggledy mass of closefitting buildings in the market (bazaar). A munificent cornucopia of fantastic carved wooden balconies and window screen that enlivens walls lies on the opposite side of the palace.
Bharatheeya sanskruthi foundation
The museum of Bharatiya Sanskriti Darshan was created by a very famous Kutchi scholar of the folk art, Ramsinhji K. Rathod. He was the winner of many state government awards. His collection of artifacts and similar objects are excellent. He also founded a trust and a society to run this museum.
This museum has now become the ideal symbolic place for the occasional inquisitive tourists. Almost 1500 rare books on the art and culture of Kutch, which are to be 'Campus for Kutchiyat', from the main collection in the museum. The museum has mainly five sections. An Ethnological section, which has Sahitya Chitra, is in the central hall. In the museum, we can find the rare books on literature. In other sections, there are interesting artifacts like leather embroidery, woodwork, wood carvings, terra cotta, wall paintings, beadwork, stone carvings, musical instruments, knives, swords and silverwork.
Bharatiya Sanskriti Darshan has countless objects of essential architectural and historical interest on display. On the outside of the museum, some well-prepared traditional huts are made that show the unsophisticated way of life in Kutch. An intricately designed "Kothala" is inside one of the huts.
The museum is open daily (except Tuesday) from 9 am to 12 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm.
Sharadh baug place.
The last Maharao of Kutch, Maharao Madansinhji Jadeja, died in the United Kingdom in 1991. After his death, his palace which was situated in the east of the beautiful lake 'Hamirsar' of Bhuj was turned into a small museum. This palace was built in 1867 A.D. Sharad Baug Palace has airy and beautiful gardens, a drawing room downstairs and a bedroom upstairs. The dining room is in a separate building. On the display of the palace, there are many of the Maharao's personal processions.
The beautiful gardens of the palace have nurseries for a range of plants and grass to which leading tennis players were commonly invited. This palace is open for the visitors who want to buy plants from its nursery. This is the most relaxing and luxuriant palace in Bhuj.
Sharad Baug Palace opens daily (except Friday) from 9 am to 12 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm. |
|
|
