Kutch: Triumph of the Spirit

This book is not about the earthquake that wrecked the region of Kutch in 2001. Nor is it an activist’s investigation into what happened after the disaster. Kutchi history is fraught with unimaginable disasters. . .earthquakes, droughts, famines, invasions by rats, locusts, giant black ants, floods, the plague, invasions by warlords and oppression under successive rulers. The recent earthquake was just another occurrence of disaster that the people have had to bear with. Instead, this is the story of people living in a region that is perpetually in a state of flux and change, with patience, inventiveness, inclusiveness and a courageous openness to life. These are the people who we only see as population counts but never get to know as human beings. This is their story. . .alive with their memories, their disasters, their triumphs. . .and the timelessness of mutating land. Written as a travel narrative, accompanied by photographs, the book eloquently captures the true-life stories of ship builders, mariners, potters, craftsmen and craftswomen, musicians, nomadic herdsmen and people from all walks of life. Myth, legend, popular history and everyday colour weave the past and present into a magical tapestry of Kutchi tradition. This is a tribute to the resilient spirit of the people of Kutch, a spirit that has time and again risen from the ashes like the phoenix.