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Bhunga huts of Kutch

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

My Bhuj trip was so crammed with different sights, sounds and artistry of different sorts that I had no idea of what awaited me as our jeep drove up to this village, but the colourfully painted and patterned compound wall should have told me.
We stepped into the spotless white compound and passed these really pretty young women giggling and chatting over embroidery and beadwork. In contrast to the white washed walls, between the 3 of them, they wore every colour in the rainbow.

We walked further in to see these beautifully painted cluster of round hut homes & it dawned on me that I was finally seeing the much awaited Bhunga's or circular mud homes of Bhuj. The lady of the house was a tall striking and confident woman who was very accustomed to welcoming many people into her home. She gladly showed us around and completely took in her stride the complete awe and nonstop photographing. The guys spoke to the men-folk & while I photographed, the girls oohed aahed and bought and bought.
These homes are called Bhunga huts and are designed to last long and protect against desert sandstorms and earthquakes. Incidentally these kind of homes are the only one that escaped the 2001 Gujarat earthquakes.I love how each window is treated completely differently.



This girl was really vivacious and we found out she was from a neighbouring hut & wanted to take us to her home - but time didn't permit
There's more coming up. This was just the exterior - it just wouldn't do it enough justice to cram it all in one post. This post is also blogged on Vogue.in. Those interested can hop across & read it there, it is slightly different.

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