I didn’t wait or trust the alarm this morning after yesterday’s mishap and decided to try a more natural device. A device I had read or perhaps picked up from either my Father or through practice on my own. Before hitting the bed you tell your brain in a somewhat authoritative tone - ” Tomorrow morning I need to get up at 7 AM !! “. And wonder of wonders, the brain wakes you up at 6:45 !! If you are not waking up for an important meeting, try this. It works, trust me. Sleeping pilled and alcohol induced individuals are strongly advised against it. For them I would recommend the clock tower at the Prag Mahal in Bhuj, a most extraordinary structure and our first port of call this morning.

Exquisite ! Even in its ruinous condition, worsened by the devastating earth quake that destroyed the entire city of Bhuj. The grandeur, elegance and sheer magnitude of the royals, or the MahaRao as they are called here, now just a sad shadow of the glorious past. I spoke to the Secretary Tourism, Mr Vipul Mitrra who accompanies us throughout, if something could be done to preserve this elegance. Thankfully he informs me that the Government has taken it upon itself to restore the palace and has sanctioned some funds too for it. Staff that has remained through the ages at the palace still works here and graciously welcomes all. A wonder then to find such architectural finesse in an area which gets primarily identified as arid and dry.

As the heat builds up and the enthusiastic but disciplined crowds fade away from the palace gates, we drive up towards KalaDungar - black hills -  and to the temple there of DattaTreya, the three headed incarnation of Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv in the same body. Legend has it that when DattaTreya walked the earth he stopped at the Black Hills and found a band of starving jackals. Being a God he offered them his body to eat and as they ate his body regenerated continually. Because of this the priest at the temple for the last four centuries has been offering ‘prasad’ after the ‘arti’ in the evening and the jackals come and eat it. I found this a bit strange, but waited for the phenomena to occur. Sure enough as the priest took the offering to a designated spot, within minutes bands of jackal appeared almost from nowhere and devoured the prasad. They seemed a little hesitant today because of the crowds that had gathered due to my visit, but i did get a few shots in. Here they are -

That raised platform in the distance is where the prasad is laid, beyond the looped gate, and if you will observe carefully you will be able to make out a few of the jackals biting in.

The rocks as we approach the peak are strange in their appearance. It is as though they have been carved out into blocks ready to be used for building an edifice. Temple formalities done and environment care taken through the planting of a tree, we walk a little further on the rise towards another astonishing site.

What you see in the distance is the bed of a river, meandering its way across. There is no water now there. It is the remains of the Indus River that flowed along here, till a massive earth quake in the 1800’s shifted the course of this historic body of water further West. After the Partition of the country, the Indus now flows through Pakistan. This entire region is Sindh and was part of India earlier. Sindh I believe derived its name form the Sindhu River, the original name for the Indus. The great Indus Valley civilization existed on these shores and we shall be visiting those Harrapan remains during our trip later. The civilization almost 5000 years old and perhaps the earliest in the world. The remains of the architecture demonstrate how well planned and organized those cities were.

I looked through powerful binoculars across the vast area of emptiness. Nothing in sight except a white desert, soft salt laden and spongy. The border security force informed me that the soil was their natural barrier. No vehicle or personnel could walk across into it for fear of getting sucked in to the earth due to its porous nature. The width of this Rann is about 100 kms and for those that dared to cross over, illegally it must be an exercise in extreme physical endurance.

A priest at the site tells me that the first city across the river used to be a place called Ram Ka Bazaar. Now after the formation of Pakistan, its been changed to Rahim Ka Bazaar, commonly referred to as RK Bazaar. Tales abound ! I cannot say that they remained authentic. Man has this ability to make convenient ‘changes’ !!

Change reminds me of those self propelled sms’s that keep filling up my mobile uninvited. here is a gem -

” Umra bhar yahi bhool karte rahe..

Dhool thi chehere pe, aur aaina saaf karte rahe ” !!

Be the change you want to see in others.

The day ended at the Shyam-e-Sarhad restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Amid all the dry and endless expanse of wild shrubs called ‘ganda bawal’ the only food for the cattle, a small insignificant but most interesting concept has taken shape. A self appointed community system has built eco friendly ‘bungas’, or typical round walled huts with mud and cow dung, where a large amount of foreign tourists are descending yearly during the winter. These huts are hand made using local mud materials for its structures, are cool inside during the oppressive heat and warm when the temperatures drop during December. I noticed the men in this region all wear colorful ‘pathanies’ the ’salwar kameez’ combination that I wear most of the time with a colorful scarf draped across their shoulders and the women - well take a look …

So much ingenuity, culture and art handicraft. Is it any wonder then why we lament the fact that this great country of ours has so much to offer and not enough being done to channel it in an efficient manner.

Mr Modi the Chief Minister of the state has appealed to all during the golden jubilee of Gujarat, 50 years of its formation, for Swarnim Gujarat to individually devote 100 hours of their time towards social service. If what I am doing in the promotion of tourism in the state can be termed as social service I am happy that I shall be devoting more than a hundred hours towards this cause.

While on the topic of the Indus river, let me also tell you of another great city, Lakhpat. This is where the Sikh Guru,  GuruNanak Dev ji spent some time before going across to Sindh. Indeed in the city even now they have his ‘khadaun’ or wooden slippers preserved for posterity and for worship.

What an immensely rich land those that invaded it encountered. Attack upon attack the ravaged inhabitants and the land, fought for its sovereignty, its dignity and its survival. Each invasion left us bereft of our heritage our wealth and our unique culture. But never did we turn back or bend or submit. We were ruled by others, exploited and subordinated into servility, but we fought back. We are an independent nation today that has rebuilt its strengths and its presence in todays world. It is the moral duty of us all to maintain the level of commitment towards this cause. May we rid ourselves of all those elements that weakened us in front of our foes. May we admire and respect and honor what providence and nature and our ancestors left behind for us. May we fill ourselves with pride in our possessions - the possessions of this the most beautiful land in the universe !!

Amitabh Bachchan