Chhota Udaipur District Guide: Pithora and Palaces

Chhota Udaipur is a small district in eastern Gujarat on the Madhya Pradesh border, predominantly Adivasi — largely Rathwa, with Bhil and other communities — hilly, forested in patches and almost entirely outside the tourist economy. It has no monument that will appear on a list of things to see in India.

What it has is three things of real substance: Pithora, the ritual wall painting tradition of the Rathwa, which is among the most striking folk art forms in the country; the lacquered turned-wood furniture of Sankheda, a craft with its own distinctive vocabulary; and a weekly market culture that is the social and economic engine of the whole region. Add two unexpectedly grand palaces in the district town and you have a rewarding two days for anyone who prefers craft and everyday life to ruins.

Why visit Chhota Udaipur district

For Pithora, understood properly. These are not decorative pictures but ritual undertakings — paintings made on the interior wall of a house, usually to discharge a vow made in a time of illness or crisis, executed by a specialist called a lakhara while a badva recites the associated narratives. The imagery is dominated by ranked rows of horses, the mounts of the Rathwa deities with Pithoro Dev at the centre, and filled out with the sun, moon, cultivators, animals, and contemporary objects — a bus, a bicycle, an aeroplane — without any sense of contradiction.

And for Sankheda. The town gives its name to a distinctive style of lacquered furniture — turned wood, usually teak, coloured in maroon and gold with tin-foil and lacquer ornament, made into swings, cradles, tables and chairs — that has been produced here for generations and is instantly recognisable across Gujarat. Both crafts are living, both are under commercial pressure, and both are best encountered by buying directly from the people who make them.

Ritual wall painting, lacquered furniture and weekly markets — none of it arranged for visitors.

How to approach the district

1. Start in Vadodara's museumsSee Pithora work in a collection first, with interpretation, before going anywhere near a village. It makes everything afterwards legible.
2. Arrange Pithora access through a guide or craft organisationThe ritual paintings are on interior walls of homes and are not on display. Go through someone who already has relationships there; do not walk into villages unannounced.
3. Buy canvas and paper work directly from artistsA genuine adaptation that provides income without commodifying the ritual paintings. Several lakharas have received state and national craft recognition.
4. Go to a weekly haatMarket days vary by village, so the essential first question is which day falls where. Silver ornaments worn as everyday dress, livestock, grain, tools and a great deal of talking.
5. Visit Sankheda for the furnitureWorkshops turning and lacquering the district's signature maroon-and-gold furniture. Weekday mornings; ask before photographing; buy direct.
6. Look at the palaces in Chhota Udaipur townPrem Bhavan and the Kusum Vilas Palace are handsome early-twentieth-century buildings from the princely state. Not always open; worth an enquiry and a walk past.

How to get there

Vadodara is the gateway and the only sensible base — an airport with domestic flights, a major station on the Mumbai–Delhi railway line, and the museum collections that give the crafts context. Chhota Udaipur is about 120 km east, roughly three hours by road via Bodeli; Sankheda is closer to Vadodara, around 60 km.

There is a railway line to Chhota Udaipur and buses run from Vadodara and Bodeli, but a hired car is close to essential for reaching villages, markets and workshops. Roads in the interior are variable and get difficult in the monsoon. If you are continuing east you cross into Madhya Pradesh; west takes you to Jambughoda's forest and Champaner-Pavagadh.

Where to stay

Accommodation in the district is very basic — simple hotels in Chhota Udaipur town and Bodeli, adequate for a night and no more. There is nothing comfortable, and no heritage or resort option worth planning around.

The practical answer is to base in Vadodara, which has the full range from budget to comfortable, excellent food, and Laxmi Vilas Palace and the museums as attractions in their own right, and to make one or two long day trips east. Anyone wanting to spend real time in the villages should overnight simply in the district and accept the conditions, ideally with a guide or organisation making the arrangements.

Best time to visit

October to March. This is hilly eastern Gujarat with limited shade and long drives, and the cool months make both comfortable. November to February is the pick, with pleasant days and cold mornings in the hills.

The monsoon is agriculturally the most interesting time — this is a farming district and the rains are when everything happens — and the hills are green, but interior roads become difficult and some villages hard to reach. April to June is hot. One timing note: the Kawant fair, held in the district shortly after Holi in spring, is a large Adivasi gathering with dance, dress and markets, and is worth planning around if your dates can accommodate it. Craft workshops of all kinds close on Sundays and public holidays.

Practical tips

• See Pithora in a Vadodara collection first; context transforms the village visits.
• Never photograph the interior of a house or a Pithora without explicit permission, and never assume access.
• Ask which day the haat falls in which village — it shapes the entire itinerary.
• Visit Sankheda's furniture workshops on a weekday morning and buy directly from the makers.
• Base in Vadodara for comfort and food; the district's own accommodation is very basic.

Frequently asked questions

Chhota Udaipur is the district that asks most of a visitor and rewards it. Start with the Pithora collections in Vadodara so you know what you are looking at, arrange village access through someone with relationships there, buy canvases directly from the lakharas, find out which day the haat falls in which village, and stop at Sankheda for a lacquered swing on the way back. Then sleep in Vadodara.