An Archaeologist's Guide to Gujarat, India: Bhuj

Bhuj is the capital city of the Kutch district, located about eight hours northwest from Vadodara, south of the Rann of Kutch. The historical city was established in the 16th century, and contains many medieval and early modern buildings, mosques and temples throughout its old city.

Google Maps

Aina Mahal and Prag Mahal

One of the main attractions in Bhuj is the Aina Mahal and Prag Mahal palaces, located side by side in the winding streets of Darbargadh Chowk, historic Bhuj. I can attest to the maze of streets in the old city as my driver and I repeated the loop around the palaces a few times before finally asking a local who directed us to the indiscreet entry archway.

Aina Mahal, translating to "Palace of Mirrors", is an 18th century palace built in the local style, but incorporating European glass and decoration. The exterior of the palace is no longer in good shape, but the interior has been converted into a museum displaying "Europeanerie", which is the collection of European objects by Indian nobles. A range of coins and paintings both foreign and local to the region, as well as furniture, are also on show. Visitors are required to remove their shoes, which gives the place a more homely feel. The palace is open daily, except for Thursday, and the entry fee is 20 rupees (about 40c AUD or 30c USD). For an additional cost photos can be taken inside.

Damaged exterior of Aina Mahal Place in Bhuj

Next to Aina Mahal is Prag Mahal, a 19th century palace built in an architectural combination of the Romanesque and Indo-Saracenic revival styles. Entry to the palace is 100 rupees (about 2 AUD or 1.40 USD) for foreigners, providing visitors with access to some of the richly decorated halls in the palace. In addition to palace entry, visitors can climb the narrow winding stone staircase up to the top of the belltower, which provides a panoramic view over the city of Bhuj that is well worth the climb. The palace is open daily, and for an additional cost photos can be taken inside.

Oddly, in a cabinet in the Prag Mahal palace containing items collected by royalty I found one object that did not quite fit with the other ornaments and decorations on display. It was an Australian Bunnings Warehouse green broad-brimmed hat. I didn't buy the photography pass so I don't have any photos of my own, but here is a link to their iconic straw hat as well as a newer cap version.

Stone exterior of Prag Mahal Palace with arched doorways and windows in Bhuj
Elevated view of Bhuj from belltower of Prag Mahal Palace

Kutch Museum

The Kutch Museum is located on the east end of the Harmirsar Lake in the centre of Bhuj. This is the oldest museum in Gujarat, initially established in 1877 under the name Fergusson Museum. Entry to the museum is only 5 rupees, and inside you can find chronological displays covering the prehistoric neolithic period, Indus Valley civilisation, Asokan inscriptions, and more. There is also a considerable collection of historical coinage from around India, along with textiles, and decorative arts. Of particular note are exhibits showing people from different regions of Gujarat, displaying their traditional dress and activities. The museum is open daily, except for Wednesday. 

Historic Kutch museum building in Bhuj

In Summary

As it is quite a small city, there are not too many sites to explore in Bhuj. Tourists can visit some of the temples around the town, and wandering around the Darbargadh Chowk area and exploring the local markets and stores is a good way to spend an afternoon. Due to the somewhat remote location of Bhuj in the west of Gujarat, it is not convenient to reach if you are not already in the area, but it makes a good place to stop for a day or two if you find yourself in the Kutch region. 


Location: Bhuj, Gujarat, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Timeline of Humankind

Image
It is part of human nature to differentiate between "us" and "them", and it is through this differentiation that humans define the groups that they belong to, including cultural, ethnic and language groups. This is how we form aspects of our identity.  But if we take a moment to search beyond the differences between us and look into the past, we can see that we all have common origins. The timeline below is a brief summary of some key moments since the evolution of humans that have defined how we have developed as a species.  This timeline is definitely not to scale, but rather an approximate representation of the history of humans. The left side of the timeline starts about 200 000 BCE when homo sapiens evolved, and as we progress towards the right, the scale becomes smaller and smaller, meaning that the distance between two events in human history are closer together in time. What is BCE and CE?  BCE = Before Common Era CE = Common Era BCE and CE
Read more

Digital Archaeology: for some fun while you're stuck inside

Image
In this time of uncertainty, in the midst of a global health crisis, and with the critical need for social distancing, it is not possible to travel to archaeological sites around the world, or even within your own city as we are all urged to #staysafestayhome . I had some exciting travel planned to share with you that unfortunately could not go ahead and am among many thousands of people who have had to cancel travel plans. Even though we find ourselves at home at the moment and into at least the short term future, archaeological exploration can still be done digitally from your couch, bed or garden. I touched on this briefly in my Accessibility in Archaeology article . Here are some websites that you can explore for a bit of entertainment and learning from the comfort of your own home. Virtual Excavations There are a few virtual excavation games or activities that I came across online. The age range they are targetted towards does vary, but they cover some of the basic archaeol
Read more

The New Year: the organisation of time

Image
The concept of the New Year is something that exists cross-culturally, originating in ancient and possibly even prehistoric times, and continuing into the present day where the first day of the year is celebrated around the world. The new year is observed through the tracking of time in calendars, which can be organised by different principles. Given the passing of days as marked by sunrise and sunset, ancient practices of timekeeping were based on this regular occurrence.   Lunar Calendar Lunar calendars are based on the cycle of the Moon, measured by lunar (also known as synodic) months which cover the phases of the Moon including new, full, gibbous and crescent moons. The appearance of the Moon from Earth is determined by the position of the Moon in relation to the Sun and Earth, with the naming of the Moon phases referring to the portion of the Moon that is illuminated by the Sun at a point in time. This cycle covers about 29.5 days with small variations. Eight phases of the Moon,
Read more