THE LOST WORLD: BALASINOR BECKONS
I opened the car window to take in the sights and smells, and promptly closed it. I had forgotten that I was in India. Weary bullocks hitched to wooden carts plodded alongside us, and those smells I could do without. I was in a four wheel drive aptly named ‘Toofan’, translated as cyclone in the local language. It usually takes one and a half hours to get from Ahmedabad to Balasinor in Gujarat, but the Toofan made short work of it.
The car stormed through a local market, scattering goats and scrawny chickens. We stopped several times to ask for directions to the Nawab’s Palace. I was booked at the Garden Palace Hotel, a heritage property run by the rulers of Balasinor, the Babi family. As the Toofan screeched to a halt in the royal courtyard, four mustached men in uniforms and turbans began to beat and toot animatedly on their musical instruments, to herald my arrival. A woman in a traditional sari gently rubbed a red tikka on my forehead, as another garlanded me. The princess of Balasinor swept out to greet me.
Princess Aaliya Sultana Babi is very jovial, friendly and the most down-to-earth princess I have met (not that I’ve met any others!) Her Brother, Prince Salauddin, was also most gracious and welcoming, and showed me around their homestay hotel. If you don’t fancy staying in one of the 8 elegantly furnished guest rooms, you have the option of staying in the luxury tents on the palace grounds, for that regal, yet rustic experience.
Now having survived the terrible Toofan, I can disclose the reason for the journey.
Nestled in the tiny, nondescript town of Balasinor in Gujarat, is what is known as India’s Jurassic Park. A local village called Raiyoli is home to the one of the largest dinosaur fossils sites in the world! The Raiyoli site is 20 minutes away from the palace hotel, and Princess Aaliya is the enthusiastic promoter and protector of the dinosaur legacy. Known as ‘the Dinosaur Princess’, she conducts tours to the site, as she is the only English-speaking guide around, who knows all about the history of the fossils.
On our ride to the excavation site (Thankfully, the Toofan had been replaced by a trustier breed), the princess gave me a quick background. The site was discovered accidentally in 1981 when geologists were conducting a mineral survey of the area. Since then, researchers have uncovered fossils of about 1,000 dinosaur eggs, making Raiyoli the third largest hatchery in the world. Paleontologists believe that at least 7 species of dinosaur lived here.
We drove over bumpy dirt roads and entered a barren rocky stretch of land, enclosed by a neglected fence. The princess, now sporting a safari hat, pointed out various rocks. I could see part of a limb embedded in a rock surface, in another-supposed fossilized remains of skin and other bones. She showed me fossilized egg rings, which looked like little round engravings on the surface of the rocks.
Back at the palace, she let me examine her personal collection – pieces of bone fossils and a 65-million year old dinosaur egg fossil, which I held in my hands. It was basically a heavy egg shaped rock, worn in places where you could see the eggshell underneath. For someone who grew up watching Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, this was the defining moment of my trip.
Raiyoli is a gold mine for those interested in experiencing a slice of history. It is the only site in the world where tourists can actually touch the dinosaur remains, and hold fossils in their hands. From relics to royalty, Balasinor is one of the undiscovered, unexploited wonders that is India.
