Lothal - A historic site that takes you back in time

The Harappan remains of Lothal is the only other (apart from Dholavira) Indus valley civilization archaeological site in India (as of 2018) leaving everything else with Pakistan. This is the motivation I had, to visit this site during my one-day stay in Ahmedabad while waiting for the train to Bhuj. This is probably the only thing that will urge me to visit Pakistan someday, if ever.

The six of us had two options: Local sightseeing in the city or drive to Lothal. One couple chose the former and the other two couples chose the latter. Obviously, it was my decision to go to Lothal. The driver kept insisting that it was not worth the drive there but once I made my mind and prepared the itinerary, that was the way to go.

The drive was two-hour long and the driver was grumpy about our choice. We were all excited as this was our first time in an excavated land. The place was a bit interior from the national highway and there was no one in sight. With hot air blowing in my face from the car window, I was eagerly sticking my head out to see the place where our ancestors flourished centuries ago.

As soon as we got in, we realized that we were the only enthusiasts to have set foot there on a sunny weekday. I heard that there were guides around to show you the place and explain the excavation, the civilization etc., but I didn't see anyone let alone a guide.

Lothal: The place where time stands still

Dating back to 3700 BCE, Lothal, a bronze age port, is the southernmost cities of the ancient Indus Valley civilization. Lothal was home to lot of traders who pioneered in making beads, gems, jewelry and in metallurgy. The traders used the dock on the Sabarmati river for exports and imports.

The river dockyard

We went in, wandered around the bricks and excavated houses and what looked like a river dock. I felt like a character out of James Rollins' book. This was in the middle of a desert and wild trees with no one in vicinity. To think that people lived here, people from the famous and the most sophisticated civilization lived and sustained here gave me an eerie feeling. I was standing in the land of an old city which was buried under the earth due to natural calamities and time, of course. I was probably walking on what was once someone's kitchen or bedroom or a shop. This was a ghost town with ghosts never to walk on the face of earth again, leaving tools and ornaments and livelihood behind.

Looks like an oven or a chimney

I am guessing... a toilet?

We clicked some photos of the unearthed bricks, half-survived pottery, what we thought might have been an oven of some sort, bathroom-toilet structures and whatever we could infer from the Harappan ruins. I fondly remembered all the history lessons I took during my school days while loitering around the site and wished I had paid more attention back then to enjoy Lothal even better. This would have been a perfect place for a field trip for school kids. We saw a family or two enter the site as we were leaving to the museum.

The museum, in my opinion, was not well-maintained. The staff was indifferent. The excavated ruins of the civilization were held proudly behind the glass slides but it looked like the staff did not understand the worth of the valuables in the museum.

Way to go: The public transport to Lothal is poor or almost non-existent. Hire a taxi/auto for round trip from Ahmedabad which is 75 km from Lothal. Bargain the rate so that you don't get cheated.

Eat Out: We tried Gujarati fafda with daal and mirchi (chilli) which tastes similar to pappad, in a local restaurant on our way back to Ahmedabad.

fafda

Pav Bhaji

Cheese pav bhaji

Tip from the trip: Takes one day to visit Lothal and get back to the city. In the evening, we visited the local tourist spots in Ahmedabad. Start to Lothal around 9 a.m. and plan your day accordingly. From the highway to Lothal site, we saw a large bed of yellow flowers in the middle of nowhere. The whole place was a desert and this was in the middle of it. It was pleasing to the otherwise sore eyes so we stopped to take pictures of it. Apparently, there are snakes there. We learnt that from the driver who told us after we got back in the car. He probably hoped we'd all get bitten by a snake for choosing to drag him so far out of the city. So, beware of snakes and grumpy drivers in Lothal.

Photo Credits: Srivathsan Ravi, Kalaiselvan & Me
Visit: 24.01.2018