artnlight

Continuing from the last post, more 'pirate ship adventures' from Mandvi, Bhuj. After we climbed across the river onto the boat across a think plank, I really thought - wow! what a day! but clearly there was more adventure in store for us. Sharing with you pictures of the next port we walked into. Here there were real 'ships', far larger, being made & after walking around, we suddenly figured we could actually get 'into' these huge wooden guys. Taking you through ships we climbed into and the unforgettable sights we saw.

The many square wooden pegs make for unlikely yet effective design embellishments. Form & function :)

The ship rose above us intimidatingly

This is the sight that met me as soon as I got in. The side walls of the ship.

I cannot describe what it felt like to stand inside here. To see the men dwarfed by the huge ship they were creating all around them, peacefully and quietly working.

Do check out the huge nails that hold the plank on which the man sits.

Stepping out was as tricky as climbing in was.

Whats a port without its life gaurds & anchors. But true to its location, everything here was weathered rusted & looked like it had survived a century and seen sights which it would probably never see again.

This post is nostalgia. I'm missing travel. Badly. And this place was so special to me that I had saved it - thought I will post it when I have time, lovingly. But time is quicksilver and not something to be had in abundance, so here is the post. I am hoping that the longing with which I post it will augur another trip if not as adventurous, then as filled with surprise & fun. Bhuj apart from its beautiful fabric work is also famous for its port, Mandvi, which is a 400 year old ship building centre. Long ago, in the heyday of maritime trade, before the arrival of steamboats, Mandvi was a rich and prosperous town, earning four times more revenue from export than import. It was a profit-making center of the Kutch state, surpassing the capital city of Bhuj in terms of wealth. Even today, master carpenters build fishing boats by traditional techniques, for the eclectic connoisseur whose whim runs into owning such.

Here's the chai walla fixing us our tea :)

As I walked around the crumbling buildings, this caught my eye.

And here's where the excitement begins.

Docked at the port was this 3/4th built ship

And we decided to go aboard it!! this is the plank I walked to climb onto the ship

Behind the barrels is the space where there is a ladder that goes into the ships belly

So we stepped down this makeshift ladder and this is how it looked

These workmen were really amused to see city slickers balancing on a rickety ladder and trying to click pictures

Had to share this with you, just long the bank, was this miniature ship modelling shop.

Written in Gujarati, the local language. In the stacked plastic containers are nails and tiny ship accessories.

Around 60 kms from Bhuj is a beautiful deserted Hindu monastry called THAN. There is a stillness and calm that hangs in the air which is strangely in contrast with the brightly painted peeling walls, some of them almost theatrical. Most of the chandeliers are now nests for birds and you see a few old keepers of the place going about their life with a manner that suggests a calmness about the state of affairs. This place really had me wondering about how it must have been buzzing with devotees, lights and flowers. And how quiet it is now.

We actually had to squeeze through the gates and these guys. They just wouldn't budge :)

Poojas are still performed in this temple

After all the white washed walls inside, the minute you stepped in, the colours took over.

And to our complete surprise, the 1st floor rooms were painted intricately and there was a nest inside every chandelier :) :)

We can try and try and never acheive this effect

It was a hot hot day & we were literally jumping on the roasted terrace as we shot this (its a temple, so our shoes were out). Job done, we quickly ran down to the shade.
Catch an abbreviated version of this post on Vogue.in.