Most of us have read about Indus Valley and
Harappan valley Civilization in our school days. Truly, it is one of the most
interesting places to be found in North-West of India in Gujarat.
Dholavira-Kutchh, the name sounded so
musical to my ears when we decided a trip to this magical place as part of the
culmination to our history unit Civilizations. Dholivara
is at a distance of 235 km from Bhuj. Dholavira’s location is on the Tropic of
Cancer.
This 50 hectare site, the largest in India,
has been excavated only in the last decade and is attracting the attention of
archaeologists from all over the world.
My journey
from Bhuj to Dholavira
Dholavira is quite a remote village and very
difficult to visit by public transport. Dholavira
is where the remains of a part of the Harappan civilization exist. The city is
located on an island called Khadir Bet.
To avoid hard travelling by public
transport, we hired Swit Dezire taxi from Bhuj to Dholivara, @Rs 5000.00 to and
fro. We left early morning (6.00 AM) by hired taxi.
We reached Rapar, a village in between, at
9.00 AM Rapar is the largest town in the eastern side of Kutchh. With no other
major town in its vicinity.That’s the reason hundreds of people from nearby
villages visit Rapar every day. There are just 2-3 basic hotels in Rapar and
all are cheap and nasty.
This journey to Dholavira took us very close
to the life of tribes and communities in this side of Kutchh. Their outfits,
ornaments, eating habits.
On either side of the road, lies the Great
Rann of Kutchh. The topography of the land is unforgiving. People adopt various
kinds of vehicles for mobility, the discomfort surmounted with a stoic smile
and the super white of their clothes.
Finally we
reached to the village of Shiranivadh which is the last village before the
island of Khadir, where excavated site of Dholavira is located. A bridge over
the white desert of Great Rann connects the island to Shiranivadh. It’s a vast
terrain of salt marsh and exquisitely fascinating.
I felt like as if I reached to the other
shore after a voyage. Finally we reached Dholavira which lies on the edge of
island overlooking the Great Rann. Driver parked taxi in parking area.
Dholivara (an ancient city) Archaeological excavation
site.
The site was discovered in 1967-68 by J. P.
Joshi, of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and is the fifth largest of
eight major Harappan sites. It has been under excavation since 1990 by the ASI.
First,
you have to visit a small museum situated near to this ancient site. This
museum gives information on the city planning and its features. Do you want to
gain some knowledge about History? Then it will certainly happen after your
visit to Dholavira museum.
We headed to the excavation site with our
guide.Now there is nothing, except those memories buried under the ground. And
we are digging their past.
Step wells, citadel, castle, bailey, and ceremonial
grounds narrate their glory in a slow fashion. The best part of the Island is
its serenity and awe-inspiring settings in the middle of Great Rann.
In 1967,
when the ASI stumbled upon Dholavira, it found the largest Harappan city yet
that preserved seven distinct cultural phases spanning a period of 2,000 years.
Not even Harappa and Mohenjodaro can claim to have material remains from all
the distinct phases that made up the historical extent of the Indus Valley
Civilization.
Dholavira
acted as a link in the trade routes from the Harappan cities in the Indus
Valley to the port of Lothal. Situated in the salt flats of Kutchh, Dholavira
was built in three tiers:
One of the most important discoveries in
Dholavira was the town plan, which incorporated a sophisticated network of
storm water drains connecting to a main artery, which in turn fed a reservoir.
Ten
Indus characters from the northern gate of Dholavira, dubbed the Dholavira
Signboard.
The most significant discoveries at
Dholavira were made in one of the side rooms of the northern gateway of the
city, and are generally known as the Dholavira Signboard.
The Harappans had arranged and set pieces of
the mineral gypsum to form ten large symbols or letters on a big wooden board.
This
‘signboard’ containing ten large Harappan pictorial letters,the civilisation’s
script continues to be a mystery, these remain of great value.
Apparently the site is overrun with
scorpions, bats, snakes and assorted nocturnal creatures once the sun goes down.
According to the archaeological records,
Dholavira was known for excellent water storage system and town planning.
Hence, the big water reservoirs are a big attraction. In one of the recent
excavations, a 5000- year water reservoir was excavated here. This is said to
be the biggest water tank when compared with baths of all Harappan Cities.
Harappan
civilization is said to have come to an abrupt end.
The following reasons are put forward for
its abrupt end:
(1).The
neighboring desert encroached on the fertile area and made it infertile.
(2).Regular
floods destroyed the area.
(3).Aryan
invaders killed people and destroyed the Indus Valley Civilization.
The Harappan people were peace loving. They
did not have weapons to attack others or to defend themselves. They had
implements for hunting or farming.
So they could not defend themselves against
the invaders. The destruction of these people by Aryans was a sad event in
history. The Aryans lived in villages and knew nothing of urban life. Thus it
took hundred of years again for India to have beautiful cities like
Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa.
(4).The
end was partly caused by changing river patterns.
These changes included the drying up of the
Hakra River and changes in the course of the Indus River. The river changes
disrupted agricultural and economic systems, and many people left the cities of
the Indus Valley region.
(5)Earthquakes
and Epidemics caused destruction.
By 1700 B.C., the Indus civilization had
gradually broken up into smaller cultures, called late Harappan cultures and
post-Harappan cultures. However, some aspects of Indus art, agriculture, and
possibly social organization continued in the smaller cultures.
Some of these aspects became incorporated
into a unified urban civilization that began developing throughout the region
about 600 B.C
Finally we returned back to the parking lot
and started our incessant effort for getting a ride back to Bhuj. Tourist
inflow is thin in Dholavira.
The next appeasing side of this journey was
a short stop for a meal at Rapar; we had in the Punjabi restaurant. There is
couple of eating options in Rapar and all offers delectable meals. Gujarati
Thali is the best deal and economical as well.I sauntered in the streets, chit
chatted with Pan Walas.
Each place has been a theater of actions
for centuries.Come, lets discover the ideas that shaped our multiple identities.
The End
.
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