Nothing prepared me for the inside of a Bhunga hut. I had seen the painstakingly painted outer walls, the beautifully dressed women, and yet the 1st sight of the mud-mirror work or Lippan kaam left me speechless. I had wanted to see this wonder first hand for so long. The shelves were built onto the walls and were decorated with inlayed mirrors. And everything was neatly arranged and displayed. Like a doll house.

The circular thatched roof rose high & had a fan right at the centre, talk of tradition & modernity co-existing

More tradition meets modernity.

I was busy photographing the outsides, while my friends shopped like there was no tomorrow - shooting inside was tough due to bad light conditions. Piled on the right of the photograph are patchworked and mirror worked quilts of mindboggling intricacy.

They had stools, tables and even trays. I bought one of those. Weighed a ton, but looked gorgeous.

The Rabari people are and extraordinarily artistic community. Traditionally nomadic, the family I met had clearly settled down to a more commercial way of life and made their living from selling their exquisitely embroidered ware (clothes, quilts, cushions, bags, you name it) and wooden furniture.