Our Travels: 27 February 2026, End of our 4-day 3-night trip to Rann Utsav and time to check out of The Tent City.

27 February 2026,

End of our 4-day 3-night trip to Rann Utsav and time to check out of The Tent City.

Transports are arranged at staggered times, and depending on the train or flight timings, one has to work backwards and decide which transport to take to reach the railway station or the airport to catch their train/flight.

We were told that Bhuj City has the Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial to commemorate and immortalise thousands of people who died during the devastating earthquake of 2001. A must-see sight. The tour operators had offered to drop the passengers who wanted to visit the Smritivan Earthquake Memorial, pick them up later and drop them at the railway station or the airport, as the case may be. These arrangements seemed to be tailor-made for our requirements.

Our flight to Mumbai was around 4:30 PM, and we had to reach the airport by 2:30 PM. We planned to catch the bus leaving at 9:30 AM, get dropped off at the Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial by 11:30 AM, get picked up at 1:30 PM and be dropped off at the airport in time to catch our flight.

We had breakfast, checked out and caught a 9:30AM bus to the Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial.

Reached there in time, and by the time we had purchased the tickets, it was 1130AM.

At Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial, there are six levels, each level dealing with a single theme, such as Re-Birth, Re-Discover, Re-Store, Re-Build, Re-Think, Re-Live.

Entry and progress through successive levels are well organised and regulated. Each level has to be visited by the whole batch, in its own turn. Viewing the memorial from level one to level six generally takes two hours plus. Children below 5 years and pregnant ladies are not allowed at level six, Re-live, for reasons which will become clear later.

Turn of our batch came around 12:00 Noon.

Level one is Rebirth. At this level, the evolution of the Earth is explained by expert and knowledgeable guides with the help of models, large photographs and interactive models. The room is dominated by a huge cutaway model of the Earth showing various strata of Earth’s crust. By the time we were done with the Evolution of the Earth, it was around 12:35.

Having a flight to catch, it was clear that by following the normal routine, we would not finish going through various levels. After exiting from level one on the way to level two, we saw an elevator for the upper level, meant for senior citizens and people with physical disabilities. Being senior citizens, we caught the elevator for level two, and instead of entering to view level two, we rushed to the elevator for the next level, and so catching the next level elevator at each level, reached level six, Relive, in next to no time.

Level Six, Relive: At this level, with the use of technology, electronics, videography of 360-degree surround simulations and sound, they have created a live experience of how the tremors shook Gujarat, how buildings collapsed and how lives turned to fatalities. We felt the earth slip beneath our feet and experienced the tremors that people felt in the 2001 Earthquake in a realistic manner. And as it may scare the children or have unwanted effects on the unborn child, pregnant women are not allowed to be in level six.

We had just sufficient time to grab lunch at the Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial restaurant,

Caught the bus for the Airport. Flight to Mumbai and after a layover of 2 hours, caught the flight to Nagpur.

Home Sweet Home.

Thus ended our Rann Utsav Trip.

End of the holiday. Bye-bye Tent City.

Catching the E-Cart to Bus Parking.

End of the holiday. Bye-bye Tent City.

Catching the E-Cart to Bus Parking.

Smriti Van Earthquake Museum.

Modern art at Smriti Van, Earthquake Museum.

I was told that there is a Shiv temple at the top of the hill with Shesh Nag around the Shiva. This art is supposed to be representative of the Shesh Nag.

Modern art at Smriti Van, Earthquake Museum.

I was told that there is a Shiv temple at the top of the hill with Shesh Nag around the Shiva. This art is supposed to be representative of the Shesh Nag.

Modern art at Smriti Van, Earthquake Museum.

I was told that there is a Shiv temple at the top of the hill with Shesh Nag around the Shiva. This art is supposed to be representative of the Shesh Nag.

Relaxing at Smriti Van, Earthquake Museum.

A Sitar Player. Unfortunately did not hear him play.

At Smriti Van, Earthquake Museum.

One can see successive levels from One to Six.

At Level One: Rebirth.

The artwork depicts the dynamic landscape around us, along with the evolution of various life-forms. The art form of appliqué patches, together with various other elements, is used to weave a new story of perpetual rebirth and renewal.

Appliqué artwork created by Mukesh Bhanani, Kala Raksha.