Guru Kharet is a picture of confidence as he talks to his customers, even those from foreign shores. The 21-year-old from Hodka, a small village in Gujarat’s Kachchh district, is one among hundreds of artisans who do brisk business, especially in winter.
Until a few years ago, artisans like him travelled to various parts of the country, year-round, to earn a living by selling their craft. Now, because of the famed Tent City in Dhordo, near the Rann of Kachchh, they are happy at home. “We did not even know how to speak properly. Now, we handle foreigners, too,” said Kharet, in the same breath showering praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tent City was set up in 2005, but took its current form in 2012, state tourism secretary Hareet Shukla told THE WEEK. The brainchild of then chief minister Modi, the city is a semi-permanent structure that works on a public-private partnership model. It is spread over five lakh square metres and has tents to house visitors. These are dismantled every year. It also hosts the wildly popular Rann Utsav, which is held when the winter sets in and the desert turns white.
Unlike Karet, 23-year-old Nanji Marwada does not have the capital to set up shop in Tent City. But, he has also benefited from the tourism boom and sells his wares just outside the city. There are many others like him, who sell anything from art to food in a cluster of stalls. “Our income has definitely increased,” he said. “Earlier, we were dependent on cattle rearing. Now, even our small restaurants and bhungas (traditional round huts) do good business.”
Over the years, several small “resorts” with bhungas and tents have come up on the sides of the 70km stretch between Bhuj and Dhordo.
People even come from Ahmedabad to do business here. Raj Bhatt’s family, from there, are puppet makers. Six of them operate in the Rann, and each earns around Rs1.5 lakh during the four months of tourist season, he said. They charge Rs200 per person for a photo-shoot in traditional outfits and also earn by playing the dhol. As the ninth-pass Bhatt, 25, begins playing the famous song ‘Vagyo Re Dhol’ from the Gujarati movie Hellaro, young and old start doing the garba. Incidentally, the movie, which focused on women empowerment, was also shot in Kachchh.
“Tent City has helped in exponential growth,” said Shukla, who first came here as the district development officer. “Otherwise, because of the Banni grassland, the villagers could rely only on cattle rearing to some extent.”
Shukla pointed out the increase in khoya shops to indicate the growth and reminisced about the times he used to accompany the sarpanch of Dhordo to where Tent City now stands.
The latest feather in its cap is that Tent City was chosen to host the first Tourism Working Group meeting of the G20 between February 7 and 9. As more than a hundred delegates debated on themes of green tourism, MSMEs and destination management, India showcased one of its best landscapes, thereby also hinting at the unlimited variety that the country offers.
Inside, the city offers a fulfilling stay in suites and cottages, depending on the tourist’s purse. From the Darbari and Rajwadi suites to the non-AC cottages, there are several options to choose from. In the Darbari suite, you even get a private dining area.
For recreation, there are bicycle tours within the city and outside, camel rides, cultural programmes, 360-degree photography and what not. But, you have to pay separately for each.
Outside the city, you can visit places like Dholavira and Mata No Madh, which are a couple of hours by car.
Another brainchild of Modi―the Smriti Van Memorial and Museum atop the Bhujiyo Dungar (hill) in the middle of Bhuj―has also put the region on the world map. Built in the memory of the 2001 earthquake victims, Smriti Van is divided into two parts: the van (forest) and the museum, both powered by a solar plant. These are spread over 170 acres.
The memorial is said to have the world’s largest Miyawaki (a method of afforestation) forest, with more than 2.2 lakh plants. These are watered by 50 check-dams on the hill.
The museum is spread over 11,500sqm and gives insights into the earth’s surface, the fault-lines, how nature works on stones and so on. Sections are dedicated to the 2001 earthquake and its aftermath, and there is also a simulation of a quake.
Suganya Pradeep, 33, from Puducherry, visited the memorial with her husband, Pradeep, and son, Pragdeesh. She said they could now relate with what happened in 2001, and Pragdeesh said he would be able to visualise concepts when his teacher talks of earthquakes and other disasters.
Smriti Van is a project of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority; KPMG manages it. While the exteriors have been done by Vastu Shilpa Consultants, founded by the late architect B.V. Doshi, Design Factory India has done the interiors.
Smriti Van also provides jobs to the locals. Savita Chavda, an MBA from Bhuj, gave up a career in management to become a guide at the museum. Arjun Barda, a library manager, said he enjoys his work a lot as he gets to meet people from different walks of life.
A source closely working with the project said that it is one of the first to be built in memory of those who had died in a natural disaster.
Sources said the second phase of the project has been approved, and it will be developed in such a manner that visitors will require about one and a half days to look around. It is also expected to use learnings from other countries.
With India hosting the G20 summit later this year, more eyes from around the world are bound to discover several such gems all over the country.