In Bhuj

Our base in Bhuj was the wonderful Bhuj House, a traditional Parsi courtyard house.
Built in the late 1800’s, it has stayed in the family through seven generations of the Bhujwala family. It was damaged in the devastating Bhuj earthquake of 2001, but the family have lovingly restored the house, opening it as a delightful heritage homestay.

Courtyard of The Bhuj House with spiral staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms.

The open pantry kitchen in the middle of the courtyard

Guest rooms facing onto the courtyard

More guest rooms

My guests on the Cloth & Stone Tour enjoying some winter sunshine on the antique jhulla (swing) in the courtyard.

The kitchen where magic happens

Another jhulla in the living room positioned to catch breezes from the doors, plus a great spot for the cat.

These is still a lot of evidence of the 2001 earthquake when more than 20,000 people lost their lives.

Earthquake damaged pieces of the old palace waiting to be restored to their proper places.

The magnificent balconies on the damaged 17th century palace buildings are now roosts for pigeons

Bhuj was our base to explore the local market, the old city and some local artisans. It is also central to other villages where we visited more artisans, museums and  organisations supporting the traditional crafts of the area.

Kathy explores Ram Kund – the old stepwell hidden away between houses and temples.

Old embroidered textiles in a tiny shop in the Shroff bazaar, Bhuj

Naran Chauhan is a metal craftsman. Originally his family made swords for the royal family, but the patronage has gone and now he makes knives, jewellery and buttons of his own design and also to order from other designers

 

Master weaver Tejshi at Kukma village is an award winning craftsman. He weaves the history of his village into his rugs from camel and sheep wool.

Yarn dyed with natural dyes by Tejshi at Kukma village

Age old tool designs are still in use by the weavers at Kumar village