When a horrifying earthquake in 2001 reduced large parts of the 16 century city of Bhuj to rubble, residents shook their heads with disbelief, awed at the prospect of reconstruction. Five years after that unforgettable morning, this book narrates the city’s story of urban development over 450 tumultuous years, revisiting the work of potentates and commoners as they went about shaping its charming, if idiosyncratic, outline. Illustrated with pictures and stories obtained from residents, museums, and local organizations in Bhuj, the book combines ethnography, a comment on the relationship between craft and city-building, and a thought-provoking critique of present-day development trends. Rare 19 – and 20 – century photographs complement the book’s narrative, which describes the fascinating economic role that the arts have played in city-building, and the prospects ahead to Marshall them as instruments of future development. It is a book for citizens and visitors wanting an unconventional introduction to Bhuj, and a portfolio of evidence for city planners, policy-makers, and investors in the city — disaster or no disaster.
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