Lothal: Remains of our glorious past

Distance : Around 85 kilometers from IIM. Towards Rajkot.

Time to visit :  The remains are open to visit anytime. However, the museum opens from 10 AM-5PM.

Imagine life in 2500 BC.  Trade, a  port, a dockyard, planned houses, bead factory, sewage and drainage systems and cemetry. A totally planned city.  You can just stand here at Lothal and imagine the glory of Indian Harappan Civilization.

1.  This was a early morning bike trip planned just a few hours earlier. On the way we stopped at a dhaba where a sleepy boy was interested in us but was too shy to talk.

2. It was relaxing to see the entrance after a 85 kilometers drive.

3. A local tempo just goes behind the shrub as I try to capture it. It is an interesting vehicle with the driver having a seat like a motorcycle but with a carrier on the back.

4. The remains become visible from a distance. I took a Wikipedia printout on Lothal to relate the ruins to the information.

5.  A local woman taking out grass near the remains for their cattle as the birds wait to eat the worms that will be exposed.

6. You will not find any info explaining the parts of the remains near it. For me Wikipedia also did not help much. It was this painting in the museum (the only object you can click inside museum) that made me understand most of the remains.

You will notice a dockyard, a warehouse, a bead factory and the city in the painting. The river shown in the painting has changed its course and no longer flows here. And if you are wondering which river, it was Sabarmati.

7. The dockyard

A statue immersed in the dockyard water probably did not dissolve

Just experimenting with cracks on the ground

8. Remains of the warehouse

9. Well and the drainage system along it

10. Some no-idea-kya-hai structures (Update: found them now)

This one may be a wall inside a house with a drain flowing below it (Update: This is a cooking block)

This one may be either a structure for hot water or to segregate solid waste (Update : This is a pot furnace of the kitchen)

11. Remains of houses at the lower town

12. Imagine these bricks made in 2500 BC. So well made and so strong.. unlike what we make now

13. Some picturesque terrains

14.  The museum. We waited for it to open. I suggest to plan your trip such that you can see the museum. It’s small but really good.

Happy Travelling.. btw did u notice the Wikipedia printout?
Want to read more on Lothal? Here…

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