Bhuj, Gujarat, India

City: Bhuj 

District: Kutch

State: Gujarat

Country: INDIA

Population: 136,500

Kutch, an expanse of land whose shape resembles a ‘kachbo,’ meaning tortoise in Gujarati, is known as India’s wild west… and is where I will be living, working, and engraining into the rhythm for the next undefined chapter of my life. 

Although Kutch has faced many natural disasters, the most recent being the devastating earthquake of 2001, the Kutchi spirit remains vibrant and alive.  Bhuj, set against the beautiful and seemingly endless backdrop of the Bhujio Hill, is a colorful city not only by its local textiles and crafts, but also by the character of the people, and by the deep sunset one can be assured to experience on a daily basis.  The sunset is a stunning deep gold that I’ve not experienced in any other place.

I am in Bhuj working with Hunnarshala Foundation for Building Technologies and Innovations (www.hunnar.org).  My role is to be project coordinator for the urban poor initiatives started 2 years ago, which is being implemented through a partnership between the urban poor communities, local NGO’s, the government, financial institutions, and other stakeholders.  The initiative is called HOMES IN THE CITY (http://www.homesinthecity.in/HIC/Home.html), as we all work together to bring about change in the cities we call home.

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RHYTHM: "a movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions."  Oxford English Dictionary

As we experience various environments, we notice each one has its indigenous way of operating; we notice a flow, a beat, a rhythm, some moving gracefully along a path, some diverting into a scattered way forward… but there is a rhythm.  As I’ve spent the past 5 years of my life obsessing over travel and experiencing the varied rhythms of different lands, I’ve just now decided to start compiling my observations.