Book on Kutch wins prestigious PATA Gold Award

'The White Rann', a book published by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) and written by Hemang Desai has won the prestigious PATA Gold award for the year 2012. The judging panel awarded the book the Marketing - Secondary Government Destination (SG) category of the 2012 PATA Gold Awards. This year's awards attracted 180 entries from 79 countries worldwide.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Awards recognizes exceptional achievement in a variety of endeavors, acknowledging and rewarding the very best that the Asia Pacific travel industry has to offer. The winning projects set industry standards for excellence and innovation, serving as examples for others to follow. PATA will present up to four Grand Awards for best of show entries in the following broad categories: Environment, Education and Training, Heritage and Culture, and Marketing Campaign. The award recipients will be honoured during a special luncheon at the PATA Annual Meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

'The White Rann' is a lyrical telescoping of the history of the vibrant and colourful land of Kutch, Gujarat. The limitless expanse of the white desert in Kutch as well as many of its monuments are described in this book. Also, cities and people of this unique region are given life in the book, which highlights its ecological and archeological aspects. The book will be a useful guide to tourists and serve as a starting point to researchers who want to explore the vastness of the Kutch region.

Kutch is a gateway to the ancient Indus Valley civilization, with its important site Dholavira located in the region. Also, traces of the ancient maritime civilization of India can be found all over the long coastline of Kutch, which is dotted with many ports - both ancient and modern. The arts and crafts and the traditional architecture and textiles traditions of Kutch are celebrated in the book. But 'The White Rann' featuring some of the finest photographers of Gujarat, mainly focuses on the silence and serenity of the white desert that is also a call of spirituality. With 'The White Rann' bagging the award, Gujarat is now firmly placed on the global travel and tourism scene.