A Lion Hunt and a Visit to Junagadh: Gujarat Part 9

Gujarat: The What, Where, When and Who

India

Gujarat

This post covers day 9 of a 14-day journey around Gujarat, following our circuit of Rajasthan last year. Smaller than Rajasthan, Gujarat is about the size of the Island of Great Britain and has much the same population.

5,000 years ago, Gujarat was a centre of the Indus Valley civilization and subsequently played its part in most of the major north Indian empires. When Islamic invaders reached northern India in the 9th century Gujarat held out until 1300 when it became part of the Delhi Sultanate.

This day starts in Sasan Gir in the south of the Kathiawar Peninsular. We then travel to Gondal via Junagadh (not the straight line on the map!)

An independent Muslim sultan seized power in 1391and Gujarat maintained its independence until becoming part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century and later the British Empire, though local rulers of a patchwork of Princely States retained considerable autonomy. At independence in 1947 Gujarat was part of the State of Bombay, becoming a state in its own right in 1960.

With a long coast line facing the Arabian sea, Gujaratis have been seafarers and international traders for millennia.

Gujarat is the home state of both Mahatma Gandhi and the current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

-o0o0o-

Lion Hunting in the Gir National Park

For the second day running we were up and out when the day was still dark and cool. When Vijay met us in the lobby he asked if we had seen the sign on the hotel’s long drive. We hadn’t, so he informed us that guests are advised not to walk along the drive at night as there are many leopards in the area. I wished we had gone out; I would give my right arm for a close encounter with a leopard. Though perhaps that could be taken too literally.

L drove us up to Sasan Gir village square where tickets for the Gir National Park were sold and punters were allocated to jeeps. The park opens at six and by then we were in one of a small fleet of jeeps queuing by the entrance. Fortunately, the number of vehicles is limited and Gir is large enough to absorb them all without feeling overcrowded.

The park is part of the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion, and for a while all we saw were dry, deciduous trees.

 Kathiawat- Gir dry deciduous forest ecosystem - looks exactly like you would expect

Further from the park entrance, spotted deer became numerous...

Spotted deer, Gir National Park

...but not all the park’s creatures are so cute, indeed I would be quite happy not to encounter any of the collection of highly venomous snakes - king cobra, Russell’s viper, saw-scaled viper, krait - promised on the website. Our hope was to see a lion – Sasan Gir is the last stronghold of the Asiatic lion – but after four fruitless attempts to see a tiger in Ranthambhore and Nagarhole, we travelled more in hope that expectation.

Present and historic distribution of lions
I cannot remember where I found this map, but 'historic' is a bit vague. We were exactly where the blue arrow points to the only place in Asia where lions can still be found

We soon found a paw print – a good sign, no doubt, but we saw tiger prints in Nagarhole but never the paw that made them.

Lion's paw print - and tyre tracks - Gir National Park

The routine on all these jaunts is to drive to a likely spot, stop, look, listen and wait, and several minutes later give up and drive on. We did this a couple of times and then we heard some growling, very loud growling, as though the growler was sitting in the jeep with us. ‘Lion,’ the ranger said, ‘about 500m away’. If they sound like that from 500m they must be deafening, not to mention terrifying, close to. So, we knew there was a lion close, we knew the direction but was it accessible?

We drove on. There were more dry, deciduous trees,…

More dry, deciduous trees, Gir National Park

…more spotted deer…

More spotted deer, Gir National Park

…and a couple of peacocks, which are two-a-penny throughout India…

Peacocks, Gir National Park

…but no lions. The driver, though, was in radio contact with other jeeps and he knew something we did not. Rounding a corner, we found three or four jeeps already parked.

A lioness lay on the ground among the trees less than 50m away. She was accompanied by a couple of cubs, one much smaller than the cub in the picture. She had arranged herself so we were looking straight into the low morning sun, which did not help with the photographs but we were delighted that our lion hunt had proved successful after tigers had been so elusive.

Lioness (playing dead) and cub, Gir National Park

She then sat up, as if to prove she was real. The reference to ‘historic distribution’ above is vague, but until the 19th century lions could be found in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Mesopotamia and elsewhere in India, and the last lions in Iran were seen in the 1940s. Now the 500 or so in Gujarat are the only lions outside Africa.

Lioness couchant, Gir National Park

The Asiatic lion is not a separate species but part of the same subspecies as the lions of west and northern parts of Central Africa.

We hoped to see more carnivores but the leopards, jackals, striped hyenas and Indian foxes all kept their heads down. We saw no Chowsingha – the world’s only four horned antelope – nor even the common sambar deer. The only other mammals we encountered were the ubiquitous grey langurs, northern-plains grey langurs to be more precise, but did we care? No, not once we had seen the lion.

Northern-plains grey langur, Gir National Park

And there were birds; there are four in the picture below, an egret at the back, possibly another egret in front - it looks the wrong shape, but cattle egrets in particular bunch up like that – and in front of that a pond heron (I think). Above them is a white-throated kingfisher….

Two egrets, a heron and a kingfisher, Gir National Park

….though I have a better picture of him. I have always thought ‘white-throated’ an odd name, their iridescent blue backs are by far their most noticeable feature, particularly in flight.

White-throated kingfisher, Gir National Park

Spotted owls hid themselves among the bare, twisted branches,...

Spotted owl hiding in bare branches, Gir National Park

… but then we saw an owlet sleeping in a hole in a tree – and for once the sun was in the right place, too.

Spotted owlet, Gir National Park

The owlet was the final highlight of our 3-hour trip round Gir National Park. We had spent even more time than usual searching for creatures to look at, but today few were co-operating; I might even have called it a disappointing trip, but we saw a lion, so all else is forgiven.

We returned to our hotel for breakfast. From our room we could see a stream where women were washing clothes - hard work but the setting makes it look strangely relaxed.

Laundry, observed from our hotel bedroom, Sasan Gir

Then we set off for Junagadh, a city of some 300,000 people 80km (2½ hours driving) away.

Junagadh: Uparkot

Uparkot Fort stands in a wooded area on the eastern edge of the city. Its origins are claimed to be in a Mauryan dynasty fort built in 319 BCE and abandoned in the 6th century.

The Mauryan fort may have been re-discovered 300 years later during rule of the Chudasamas, or maybe not. The Chudasama dynasty ruled the Kathiawar peninsula from the late 9th century until 1472 with their capital moving periodically between Junagadh and Vanthali, 20km to the west. Their early history is lost and the bardic legends are contradictory, but one story tells that when the Chudasama capital was at Vanthali a woodcutter slashing his way through the forest discovered stone walls, a gate and a meditating holy man. The woodcutter asked the name of the place, but the holy man just replied "juna" (old). The woodcutter returned to Vanthali, and reported his discovery to the ruler who ordered the forest be cleared. The fort duly emerged and as no one knew its name or history it was called "Juna-gadh" (old fort).

Uparkot Fort,Junagadh

This story may tell of Graharipu, a 10th century Chudasama ruler rediscovering the ancient Mauryan fort or, more likely, of Vanthali based Navaghana (reigned 1026-44, maybe) re-discovering Graharipu’s fort at Junagadh.

Inside Uparkot Fort, Junagadh

Probably the Mauryan fort is lost and the current structure was started by Graharipu. Much of it is medieval, and the roof was raised several times as attackers became capable of propelling missiles further and higher. The cannons now dotted round the fort would have been a source of amazement to Graharipu.

Cannon on the roof of Uparkot Fort, Junagadh 

It is probable that in their later years the Chudasama were vassals of either the Delhi Sultanate or the Sultan of Gujarat, but even that notional independence came to an end in 1472 when Sultan Mahmud Begada of Gujarat defeated the last Chudasama king and annexed his territory. We saw Mahmud Begada’s tomb at Sarkhej Rosa on Day 1 of this journey.

Mahmud Begada built the adjacent Jama Mosque.

Juma Mosque, Uparkot, Junagadh

It no longer functions as a mosque and the inside is in poor repair. The floor has been colonised by those wishing to sell water, snacks and selfie-sticks…

Inside the Juma Mosque, Uparkot, Junagadh

…while the mihrab is a roost for pigeons.

Mihrab, Juma Mosque, Uparkot, Junagadh

From the roof there was a good view of Girnar mountain with a Jain Temple, 10,000 steps up it. After climbing 3,800 steps at Palitana yesterday we were happy to miss out, but Vijay said he had made the ascent a couple of times. The last time he was nearly down when a child ran into him, propelling him precipitately down the last dozen steps. The child bounced, as children do, but Vijay’s leg was in plaster for a month.

Girnar Mountain. The temples can be seen faintly through the haze, as can the line of steps

The Uparkot Buddhist Caves are barely 50m from the fort.

The Buddhist Caves, Uparkot - the brick pillars are later and for safety

Three storeys were excavated by scooping from the top and the decorations suggest this happened in the 1st or 2nd century CE though the cultural debris retrieved is mostly from 200 years later.

Satvahana decorations used for dating the Buddhist Caves, Uparkot

It is not known who dug this, or why, or even why Buddhism died out in the country of its birth while thriving to south, east and north. The niches were presumably intended for Buddha statues, but are now all empty.

In the absence of a statue, meditate, Buddha Caves, Uparkot

The Adi-Chadi Vav, a narrow forbidding stepwell, very unlike the elaborate wells we have seen at Adalaj near Ahmedabad and Patan is next to the caves.

Entrance to the Adi-Chadi Vav, Uparkot

Walking to Navghan Kuvo, yet another stepwell, we passed a spice stall. The opportunity to buy bigger than usual quantities at smaller than usual prices was irresistible. Pepper, cumin and cloves quickly went into our bag and then there was an unknown seed which tasted good, so we had some of that. Its name sounded like ajama, and it is, I learned later, a spice we know by its Hindi name ajwain, or as it appears in many recipes ajwain, if not available use caraway. It is spicier than caraway but less aniseed-y, so I am not convinced it is an ideal substitute – not that I will have to make that substitution for some time.

Spice stall, Uparkot

A staircase through an arched doorway...

Entrance to Navghan Kuvo stepwell, Uparkot, Junagadh 

….leads to the forecourt of the Navghan Kuvo stepwell. Here, accommodation for pigeons has been burrowed into the soft rock.

Forecourt to Navghan Kuvo stepwell, Uparkot, Junagadh

The well takes its name from Ra Navaghana an 11th century Chudasama king, but he only built the forecourt, the well below is considerably older, maybe the oldest in Gujarat. Its age is disputed; it was built either in the Kshatrapa period (2nd-4th century CE) or the Maitraka period (6th-7th century CE) – definitely not the 5th century, then.

Navghan Kuvo stepwell, Uparkot, Junagadh

More stairs lead to the top of a rectangular well-shaft and the water is reached by a staircase cut through the rock around the shaft. Square holes in the stone wall illuminate and cool the inside.

Ashoka Rock Edict

Before heading into town for an increasingly overdue lunch, L drove us east to the road for the Girnar Hills. On the edge of the city, housed in a little white pavilion, is the Ashoka Rock Edict.

Ashoka's Rock Edict, Junagadh

Ashoka was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan Empire which ruled most of India from 322-180 BCE. Ashoka started his rule (268) as Ashoka the Cruel, but reputedly underwent an epiphany after viewing the carnage of the Kalinga War (263). He decided to put Buddhism into practice and by his death (232) had become Ashoka the Great. His edicts are a collection of over thirty inscriptions on pillars, boulders and cave walls – we previously encountered a shattered pillar at Sarnath near Varanasi. They describe Ashoka's conversion and his efforts to spread Buddhism, his moral and religious precepts, and his programme for social and animal welfare. The script and language vary, this one is apparently in a local dialect using the Brahmi script.

Part of Ashoka's Rock Edict, written in Ujjaini using the Brahmi script (as I am sure you spotted)

Central Junagadh

We lunched on samosas and pakoras at the Petal Restaurant in central Junagadh, then L drove us to the Darbar Hall Museum. Unusually I have no photos of this, nor any memory of it. Tour my India’s review promised, …[a] beautiful old palace… preserving the treasures.. [and] …   possession of the Nawabs… 2900 artefacts,.. picture gallery, palanquin room, textile and costumes, weapons, etc. Lynne’s noted tersely ‘weapons but otherwise not memorable.’

Next stop was the Sardar Patel Darwaja, back in the same street as the restaurant. It was one of the city gates, but the growth of Junagadh means it is now almost in the centre.

Sardar Patel Darwaja, city gate, Junagadh

 A short walk away is the Mahabat Maqbara, built in 1892 over the grave of Nawab Mahabat Khan II. As Nawab he oversaw an extensive building programme in the city, commissioning schools and colleges, a hospital, markets and courts, many in a unique Venetian-Gothic style.

Nawab Mahabat Khan II (ruled 1851-82)
Borrowed, with thanks, from RoyalArk.net

It is perhaps appropriate then that his mausoleum is a mixture of Islamic, Hindu and European styles. The signboard asked us to admire the ‘floor to lintel French windows with Gothic Columns.’

Mahabat Maqbara, Junagadh

Round the other side there is less European influence though the minarets (this is not a mosque, but there is one next door) were apparently modelled on a helter-skelter. An architect has to be good to mix styles successfully and whoever was responsible for this dog’s breakfast was not up to it (in my opinion – and my qualifications as an architectural critic are non-existent).

Mahabat Maqbara, Junagadh

Mahabat Khan II’s grandson Mahabat Khan III became Nawab in 1911 aged 11 and Junagadh was looked after by the British administrator until he reached his majority. After which he appears to have been a popular ruler.

Mahabat Khan III
Also borrowed, with thanks, from RoyalArk.net

At independence in 1947, India's 565 largely self-governing Princely States were given the options of joining India or Pakistan or remaining independent. Lord Mountbatten, the outgoing British Viceroy, had assumed that states would choose the country they were surrounded by, leaving real choice only to those along the projected border, but the assumption was never put into law. Mahabat Khan, a Muslim ruler of an overwhelmingly Hindu state, duly declared Junagadh for Pakistan, pointing out it was connected to the rest of Pakistan by sea. Two small vassal states immediately rebelled and the general population became restive. Indian forces moved to the Junagadh border and the Nawab fled to Pakistan, leaving his Dewan (prime minister) in charge. Whether India actually invaded is still debated, but the Dewan accepted the reality of the situation, a plebiscite followed and Junagadh voted overwhelmingly to become Indian. Neither Pakistan nor India acted particularly honourably, the issue still generates heat among the few who care, and the legal case at the UN remains unsettled – but a Hindu majority exclave of Pakistan within India? That could never have worked.

Interesting but irrelevant: the Dewan was Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, father of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973-1977, he was ousted in a military coup and executed, and grandfather of Benazir Bhutto, Prime minister of Pakistan 1988-90 and 1993-6, assassinated 2007.

We were not quite finished with Junagadh. A shopping mall has been built over the former home of 15th century poet-saint Narsin Mehta…

Narsin Mehta's appears on the wall above the site of his former home, Junagadh

  ….but a shrine to the great man occupies part of the basement. I am unsure why we visited a shrine to a poet we had never heard of, but so it goes.

Narsin Mehta shrine, Junagadh

We then set off for Gondal, some 90 minutes away. En route we saw a family going in the opposite direction….

Family on the move, between Junagadh and Gondal

…and a load of straw going our way.

Straw on the move, Between Junagadh and Gondal

At Gondal we checked into the Orchard Palace Hotel, another former Maharaja’s palace.

Gujarat

Part 1: Ahmedabad (1) Liquor Licences, Mosques and Tombs
Part 2: Ahmedabad (2) A Stepwell, Gandhi and a Thali
Part 3: Meeting the Locals
Part 4: Siddhpur, Patan and Modhera
Part 5: Salt and Wild Asses in the Little Rann of Kutch
Part 6: Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar
Part 7: Bhavnagar
Part 8: Palitana and the Temples on Shatrunjaya Hill
Part 9: A Lion Hunt and a Visit to Junagadh
Part 10: Gondal
Part 11: Gondal to Bhuj
Part 12: Bhuj
Part 13: To the Great Rann of Kutch, Craft Villages and a Salt Desert
Part 14: Going to School and Other Entertainments in the Great Rann of Kutch

Palitana and the Temples on Shatrunjaya Hill: Gujarat Part 8

Gujarat: The What, Where, When and Who

India

Gujarat

This post covers day 8 of a 14-day journey around Gujarat, following our circuit of Rajasthan last year. Smaller than Rajasthan, Gujarat is about the size of the Island of Great Britain and has much the same population.

5,000 years ago, Gujarat was a centre of the Indus Valley civilization and subsequently played its part in most of the major north Indian empires. When Islamic invaders reached northern India in the 9th century Gujarat held out until 1300 when it became part of the Delhi Sultanate.

Day 8 takes across the south of the Kathiawar Peninsula from Bhavnagar to Sasangir via Palitana and its Temples

An independent Muslim sultan seized power in 1391and Gujarat maintained its independence until becoming part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century and later the British Empire, though local rulers of a patchwork of Princely States retained considerable autonomy. At independence in 1947 Gujarat became part of the State of Bombay, becoming a state in its own right in 1960.

With a long coast line facing the Arabian sea, Gujaratis have been seafarers and international traders for millennia.

Gujarat is the home state of both Mahatma Gandhi and the current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

-o0o0o-

Bhavnagar to Palitana

We crept from our Bhavnagar hotel at 5.30 clutching our breakfast boxes and left the city along dark, quiet streets. Palitana was just over 50km away, an 80 minute journey on Indian roads, and we needed to be there early.

It was still dark when we stopped for Vijay and L to get a cup of tea and a bite to eat. Vijay suggested we eat our breakfasts, too. ‘There is a cheese and chicken sandwich in there,’ he said pointing at the breakfast boxes we had yet to open, ‘you can’t eat chicken in Palitana.’

We did as we were told, there was no point being difficult, and there really was a cheese and chicken sandwich in the box, an unusual combination, but not unpleasant. Palitana, a major centre of Jain pilgrimage, claims to be one of the first two vegetarian cities in the world – though where the other one is no one is telling. It is illegal to buy or sell meat, fish or eggs, or to go fishing or pen 'food animals' in the city, so we could not even sell our chicken sandwiches

Having consumed the evidence of our evil ways, we crossed the surprisingly chilly car park to join L and Vijay for a cuppa. Hot, sweet, milky Indian tea is dispensed in tiny cups at tiny prices. L, Vijay and a couple of lorry drivers were drinking from metal cups but we were, as always, given disposable paper cups. Stalls cannot keep these just for foreigners, because most never see any foreigners, yet they all have them - but who else uses them? In Uttar Pradesh we encountered tea in little earthenware cups, which can be recycled just by dropping them on the ground. Unfortunately, the stall keepers of Gujarat apparently believe the same is true of paper cups with their plastic waterproofing.

No one would be interested in a picture of paper cups, but these are earthenware cups photographed in 2013 somewhere on the road between Allahabad (now known as Prayagraj) and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh

The Ascent of Shatrunjaya Hill

Palitana seemed a tidy town of some 65,000 people. It was a Princely State during the Raj, but a minor one ruled by a Thakur (only worth a 9-gun salute!) not a Maharaja. As in Bhavnagar, the rulers were Gohil Rajputs, but paid tribute to the Gaekwar of Baroda and the Nawab of Junagadh (next post).

We had arrived at 6.30 to visit the Jain temples located on the top of Shatrunjaya hill. As the only way to get there was to walk up the hill, it seemed better to try this in the cool of the morning, than the midday heat.

Shatrunjaya is a major pilgrimage site and a well-made path starts at the edge of town, but first there was a check point where a very polite Sikh security man looked me over. Fortunately, he was more polite than thorough, my leather belt (a no-no in a Jain temple - but essential to stop my trousers falling down) lurked below my untucked shirt, my trainers probably had leather parts and I was carrying plastic water bottles, though inside a canvas carrier slung over my shoulder. ‘Water?’ the security man asked, pointing. I nodded and he waved me through. Plastic is not allowed on the mountain, water is available and the cleanliness is probably alright, but we did not want to risk it. In my defence, I brought the plastic bottles down and disposed of them responsibly - in so far as that is possible in India. We carried no food, vegetarian or otherwise, as that is also not permitted.

The start of the trek up Shatrunjaya

When I was first considering this itinerary I read Wikipedia and was, for a moment, frightened. From Palitana at 66m (217ft), it said, we must climb 3,750 steps to reach the temples at 2,221m (7,288ft). Tripadvisor suggested a reasonably fit person of any age could do the climb in 2-3 hours. I seriously doubted I could manage the equivalent of 2 Snowdons in that time – if at all. Then I realised the average step would have to be an unlikely 60cm high. Wikipedia, I decided, must be in error (and that’s never happened before!)

But they were not wrong about everything, there really are 3,750 steps, though of modest height. The temples are at 603m (according to the same page) and that is manageable, though still quite a climb on a 3.4km long path. The page needs the attention of a numerate editor.

Made it up the first couple of hunded steps towards the Palitana Temples

In some places slogging up the steps was a chore…

A Jain nun follows us up a steep section of the path

….but once we reached the shoulder of Shatrunjaya....

Reaching the shoulder of Shatrunjaya Hill

...the ascent became less unrelenting. Many of our fellow climbers were the idly curious, like us, but those dressed in white were pilgrims; every Jain should make this ascent at least once in their life. The man immediately behind us in the photo below was escorting a sick relative being carried up in a litter. Others, less infirm maybe, but not up to the long slog up the steps could hire a ‘dolly’, a chair slung from a pole (or two) carried on the shoulders of two (or four) men. Two dolly men followed us from the bottom willing, indeed urging, one or other us to run out of steam and take a ride. We are made of sterner stuff and before we reached step 1,000 (painted numbers give encouragement every hundred or so steps) they gave up in disgust.

A pilgrim follows us up a less steep section with a sick relative on a litter, Palitana 

We continued the upward trudge, water stations appearing every so often. Descending Jain nuns passed us in white dresses and short white socks, skipping swiftly down the steps in a way I used to be able to do some decades ago. They were all smaller and lighter than I am, and most were considerably younger, but not all. I have no idea what time they set off to be already descending, but it must have been early even if they ran up and skipped down. The temples are so sacred that no one, not even a priest, is permitted to spend the night on the hill.

Approaching a water station of Shatrunjaya Hill

150 species of bulbuls, medium-sized passerine songbirds, live throughout Africa and southern Asia. In Malaysia we saw yellow-vented bulbuls by the thousand, on this walk every bush was alive with red-vented bulbuls, perching, hopping and singing. Not all bulbuls are named for the colour of feathers round their ‘vents’, there are brown-eared and hairy-coated bulbuls (among many others) though bulbuls have neither ears not hair. The vocal talents of red-vented bulbuls have made them valuable as cage birds and resulted in them being introduced into assorted pacific islands, the USA (notably Florida and Hawaii) and Argentina. They are on the IUCN* list of the World's Worst 100 Invasive Species, but not here, this is their native heath.

Red-vented bulbuls on Shatrunjaya Hill

We soon reached a second shoulder from which we had a fine view back over the path we had followed and the town of Palitana in the plain below.

Palitana and the path of our ascent

We paused on a flat section below the final ascent. The temple complex is visibly above and to the right of Vijay’s head.

Lynne and Vijay on Shatrunjaya Hill

Vijay told us not to stare, but to turn casually and glance away from the path towards a small stand of trees. There we saw a group of a dozen or more men sitting in the shade; they were obviously bare-chested but there was a little more (or perhaps less) to them than that.

Jainism would not be a religion if it did not have schisms. The earliest and most important, between the Digambara and Svetambara, probably occurred in the 1st century CE, each accusing the other of departing from traditional teachings. There are differences in doctrine, iconography and sacred texts, but to the layman the most obvious disparity is that Svetambara ascetics wear white (the word means ‘white-clad’) while Digambara means ‘sky-clad’. We were looking at a group of sky-clad Digambara monks.

Taking the Jain principal of aparigraha (non-attachment to material possessions) to extremes they live and travel naked owning nothing (not even a begging bowl) beyond a picchi a broom of discarded peacock feathers used to gently remove insects from their path.

80% of Jains hold to the Svetambara tradition and the Digambara stronghold is in Karnataka, 1,000km south, where it is rarely if ever cold enough to need clothes, so they were a rare sight in Palitana. We visited the very old, very large and very beautiful statue ofa sky-clad Gomateshvara in Karnataka in 2010.

A long flat section led us to the final climb.

Approaching the final ascent, Shatrunjaya Hill

The last ascent was easy, 3,750 steps had passed more quickly and less painfully than we had thought possible. Eating is not allowed on the mountain, but an exception seemed to be made for a man sitting outside the walls of the temple complex selling yoghurt. We ate yoghurt, sweetened with honey and dusted with cinnamon, from stone bowls with wooden spoons - nothing could have tasted better. It was not yet 9 o'clock when we put away our cameras and entered the complex.

Palitana Temple Complex, Shatrunjaya Hill

I do not know how many temples there are on Shatrunjaya Hill. Various figures are quoted 750,  863 and ‘more than 900’ but it depends on what you call ‘a temple’. The tendency among both Jains and Hindus is to describe even the tiniest shrine or a statue set up on the roadside as a ‘temple’, so almost any number is ‘correct’.

It might be true that this is the world’s largest temple complex and the whole mountain is the Jain community’s most sacred pilgrimage place site. It is probably true that building started here in the 11th century but most extant temples are 15th century or later. It is undoubtedly true that photography is strictly forbidden.

In 2018 I took a photograph in Ranakpur Temple in Rajasthan of a sculpture/schematic representation of the temples on Shatrunjaya Hill. I doubt it will help the reader’s visualisation, but the other Ranakpur photographs will give an idea of what Jain Temples looks like.

Depiction of the Shatrunjaya Hill temple Complex, Ranakpur Temple, Rajasthan

Despite its beauty, history and wildlife Gujarat attracts few tourists and not many of those climb all the way up the hill, so it was just us and the Jain pilgrims. The Anandji Kalyanji Trust was set up in 1720 to look after the temples and still ensure their beauty is maintained and well cared for – a job they now also do at several other temples including Ranakpur and Chittorgarh. Fortunately, the relatively wealthy Jain community is willing and able to donate the considerable sums required for the Trust’s work.

The complex has a peaceful, almost spiritual air and I felt it was wrong to try to steal a photograph. I will, though, borrow one from Wikipedia, which may itself have been illicit but is now available for all.

One of the Palitana Temples,
photo by Bernard Gagnon, reproduced under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

After all the steps it took to get there, there were many more in and between the temples. Eventually, in a temple on the southern peak, we emerged onto a balcony and found the whole complex laid out before us. It was a breath-taking sight and I reached for my camera before spotting I was being watched.

As we headed for the exit our path gave a view which was almost as good, and this time there was no one around.

The Palitana Temple Complex, Shatrunjayah Hill

I left the complex annoyed with missing the first opportunity, but perversely disappointed with myself for showing disrespect to our hosts by taking a photo at all.

Back Down to Palitana

The descent was quicker but hurt more, my arthritic knees reminding me at every step how much they dislike the controlled lowering of my bodyweight.

Heading back don Shatrunjayah Hill

About halfway down we were waiting while Vijay fetched some water and a voice behind us asked ‘Where do you two come from?’ Turning we found the speaker was a sari clad young woman perched on a wall. We gave our usual ‘between Birmingham and Manchester,’ reply which references at least one place most people have heard of. ‘I come from Northampton,’ she said. On that basis we offered a less vague location. She spoke mildly accented English with great confidence, and said she was staying with her sister (sat next to her on the wall) in Rajkot and seemed impressed that we had made it all the way to the top. We chatted until Vijay returned, then wished each other well and we headed on down.

It was becoming seriously hot and my knees were feeling weaker and weaker. We started to encounter people we recognised from the German coach party we had met in our hotel last night. They were not young, and some were already on the way down – we knew they had not been to the top – while others were looking at the numbers on the steps and deciding to give up. Rising at 5 o’clock been a challenge, but we were glad we had; we would have given up just as quickly in the midday heat.

My knees held it together to the bottom and walking on the flat to the car was like floating on air.

Lunch at the Vijay Vilas

Vijay had decided lunch would be in the countryside at the Vijay Vilas. Leaving town we encountered a street closure, the road having slipped into a small river. L, our driver, had shown an impressive knowledge of the highways and byways of Gujarat but the forced detour through a complicated residential area was the one time we saw him hesitant about how to get from where he was to where he wanted to be.

After some trial and error, we found the other end of the closure and headed off down tiny roads into deep country.

Vijay Vilas, outside Palitana

Vijay Vilas Palace was built in 1906 as a hunting lodge for the ruling Gohil Rajputs and is now a heritage hotel run by relatives of the current Thakur. It is a little down at heel, a house whose glory days are over, but they provided us with a fine (and substantial) vegetarian lunch.

Lunch at the Vijay Vilas, near Palitana

On to Sasangir

Five hours driving took us further west to Sasangir. All Indian road trips are interesting, but we were too tired to take much notice as we trundled across largely empty, flattish land.

Sasangir, the last haunt of the Asiatic lion, is one of Gujarat’s few real tourist centres and we checked in to the local branch of the upmarket Taj Hotel group.

The hotel also has a booze shop; we had not finished the bottles we bought in Ahmedabad (not both of them, anyway) but this was the only other shop on our itinerary. My licence allowed me two bottle every ten days and we were a few day’s short so Lynne had to apply for a licence. The process was simpler than it had been in Ahmedabad; (see Ahmedabad, Liquor Licences, Mosques and Tombs) the shop was in the hotel so all the necessary information was to hand – and the hotel employees’ attitude was helpful rather than officious.

After our large lunch we decided to skip dinner and with another pre-dawn start tomorrow we opted for an early night.

* International Union for Conservation of Nature

Gujarat

Part 1: Ahmedabad (1) Liquor Licences, Mosques and Tombs
Part 2: Ahmedabad (2) A Stepwell, Gandhi and a Thali
Part 3: Meeting the Locals
Part 4: Siddhpur, Patan and Modhera
Part 5: Salt and Wild Asses in the Little Rann of Kutch
Part 6: Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar
Part 7: Bhavnagar
Part 8: Palitana and the Temples on Shatrunjaya Hill
Part 9: A Lion Hunt and a Visit to Junagadh
Part 10: Gondal
Part 11: Gondal to Bhuj
Part 12: Bhuj
Part 13: To the Great Rann of Kutch, Craft Villages and a Salt Desert
Part 14: Going to School and Other Entertainments in the Great Rann of Kutch

Bhavnagar: Gujarat Part 7

Gujarat: The What, Where, When and Who

India

Gujarat

This post covers day 7 of a 14-day journey around Gujarat, following our circuit of Rajasthan last year. Smaller than Rajasthan, Gujarat is about the size of the Island of Great Britain and has much the same population.

5,000 years ago, Gujarat was a centre of the Indus Valley civilization and subsequently played its part in most of the major north Indian empires. When Islamic invaders reached northern India in the 9th century Gujarat held out until 1300 when it became part of the Delhi Sultanate.

Today's journey takes us the short distance to Bhavnagar on the east coast of Gujarat's Kathiawar Peninsula

An independent Muslim sultan seized power in 1391and Gujarat maintained its independence until becoming part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century and later the British Empire, though local rulers of a patchwork of Princely States retained considerable autonomy. At independence in 1947 Gujarat was part of the State of Bombay, becoming a state in its own right in 1960.

With a long coast line facing the Arabian sea, Gujaratis have been seafarers and international traders for millennia.

Gujarat is the home state of both Mahatma Gandhi and the current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

-o0o0o-

Bhavnagar: The Capital of Another Former Princely State

Breakfast at the Blackbuck Resort, Valavadar

We had a leisurely start; Bhavnagar, our destination for the day was only 50km away – just over an hour’s driving on Indian roads. Breakfast at the Blackbuck Lodge, like our other meals there, was a multi-course affair and we were still on our yoghurt and muesli at 9 o’clock.

Breakfast at the Blackback Lodge, Velavadar

Bhavnagar

The port city of Bhavnagar (pronounced Bah-nagger) has an urban population of 1.6 million and is one of those enormous Indian cities that no one outside India (or in this case outside Gujarat?) has ever heard of. It is the administrative centre for a district of 2.9 million people.

In the 13th century, the Gohil Rajputs were pushed south from the Jodhpur region (Kingdom of Marwar) and founded their own Kingdom on the coast of Gujarat. They had various capitals, all of which proved vulnerable to attack until Thakur Bhavsinhji I Gohil founded a new capital in 1724 and modestly named it Bhavnagar after himself. The state he ruled became known as Bhavnagar (or, informally Gohilwad - Land of the Gohils) and became a British Protectorate as one of the ‘Princely States’ in 1807. In 1918 the Thakur Bhavsinjhi II Gohil was upgraded to Maharaja and in 1947 his son Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Gohil led Bhavnagar into the Union of India. Titles were officially abolished in 1971, so the current Maharaja Vijayrajsinhji Gohil, born 1968, succeeded to only a courtesy title in 1994.

Coat of arms of the Princely State of Bhavnagar, Barton Museum, Bhavnagar

The Nilambag Palace

The Nilambag Palace was built for the Royal family sometime between the 1850s and 1890s depending on which source you read. It is now a heritage hotel, though some say the Maharaja lives there too. The hotel website says it was designed by ‘German architect, Simms’ another source has Simsom (sic). I can find no evidence of either of them having existed – though Otto von Simson was a renowned German art historian. Wikipedia gives the credit to the eminent British architect Sir William Emerson, and Archinomy appears to offer an independent confirmation, so he gets my vote.

Regardless of who built it, we checked-in around 11.30 in the morning.

Nilambag Palace, Bhavnagar

The décor, in private and public spaces, had remained largely unchanged since the first half of the 20th century, but our room was large and comfortable. Updating the electrics would be a good idea; in this class of hotel I do not expect to have to use the back of a comb to operate a small, stiff, sharp, switch disappearing inside a metal panel just to turn the lights on and off.

A Bhavnagar Stroll

Short of cash, we went in search of an ATM, not that finding one is ever difficult in a major city, it was really an excuse for a walk. The hotel is set back from a busy road and we were soon admiring the traffic and breathing in the fumes of the tuk-tuks, trucks and scooters…

Bhavnagar

…but there were also temples to look at, through a screen of motorcycles ….

Some motorbikes and a temple, Bhavnagar

…and the biggest pile of melons we have seen since we were in Kashgar.

A well stocked melon stall, Bhavnagar

Back at the hotel we had a light lunch of masala dosas and when the heat of the day had passed, we set out with Vijay to see the sites of Bhavnagar. Vijay is himself a Gohil and when not guiding he works for the Maharaja, partly at the Nilambag Palace. I think he might be well connected in these parts.

Bhavnagar is a working city, not much visited by tourists, and most that do are, like us, passing through. Unsurprisingly that there is not much to see.

The Barton Library Museum, Bhavnagar

Colonel L C Barton was the British political agent here in the late 19th century. He donated his library to the city (or is it just named after him?) and it contains 60,000 volumes in Sanskrit, Gujarati, Hindi and English. According to Trodly.com the library and museum… have the greatest collection of books, manuscripts, coins, musical instruments, old armoury, wood carvings and other old works which gives one deep insight and knowledge about the history and culture of the city.

Jain carvings, Barton Museum, Bhavnagar.
We would learn more about the steps leading up to the somewhat schematic temples tomorrow

The library is only open in the mornings, so went unseen by us, but Lonely Planet describes the museum as a dusty but interesting collection contain[ing] Jain religious carvings, weaponry, betel-nut cutters, and a skeleton in a cupboard. ‘Dusty’ is the first and most important word in that quote.

A collection of betel nut cutters, Barton Museum, Bhavnagar

They might also have mentioned unattributed vases….

Unattribted vases and retired weaponry, Barton Museum, Bhavnagar

…and a rather sad display of stuffed birds.

A sad display of stuffed birds, Barton Museum, Bhavnagar

The staff were deeply uninterested in our visit, and positively hostile when asked if anyone would unlock the Gandhi Smriti Museum upstairs. Eventually one of them rose, grumbling, and fetched the key. ‘No photos’ he growled as we entered; a little unreasonable, I thought, as he had sold me a camera ticket earlier. He stayed to watch and ensure I complied. To be fair, the Gandhi section is cleaner and better laid out than the Barton Museum, but added little to what we had seen at Gandhi’s ashram in Ahmedabad

The museums/library are housed in an 1895 neo-gothic building which might excite those paid to write tourist blurb, but the truth is that the interior is a dusty warehouse, and the exterior impossible to appreciate or photograph because it is stuck on a busy road junction.

Bhavnagar Bazaar

Leaving the museum we headed towards the bazaar. Pausing at a food stall...

Food stall, Bhanvnagar

…Vijay decided to treat us to an afternoon snack. Indian street food is always regarded as problematic for the European visitor, but the more we visit, the more frequently we try it – and we can report no problems. Perhaps regular visits have improved the diversity of our gut flora, perhaps we have been in the company of locals who can pick the right vendor, perhaps Indian food hygiene has improved or perhaps we have been lucky. Maybe it has been a combination of some or all of these factors. It might sound churlish and ungrateful to add that these were not the finest pakoras we have eaten – but they did no harm.

Wholesome enough, but not the world's finest pakoras

We passed several interesting buildings, some in need of some tlc….

Old building in need of some care, Bhavnagar

…on our way to the colourful and busy bazaar.

Bazaar, Bhavnagar

Nearby, the former Durbar Hall is now the rather unappealing Hotel Vrindavan…

Bazaar and Hotel Vrindavan, Bhavnagar

…and the old Durbar Gate has been defaced by hotel signs. Alamy have a fine picture of the gate in the 1900s, looking as the designers intended. I am not reproducing the picture here – they would want me to pay – but you can see it on the Alamy website.

The former Durbar Gate, now the entrance to the Hotel Vrindavan

Continuing through the bazaar…

Bhavanagar Bazaar

…we reached the fruit and veg market. I particularly like the combination of the familiar – tomatoes, carrots and, just above the customer’s arm, cauliflowers - with the semi-familiar – aubergines, but small, almost spherical and with white bases and outsize purple spring onions – and the unfamiliar – assorted herbs, pods and squashes.

Fruit and Veg, Bhavnagar

Takhteshwar Temple, Bhavnagar

A short distance away sitting on a small knoll is the Takhetshwar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva.

A marble staircase….

On the stairs up to Takhetshwar Temple, Bhavnagar

….leads up to a marble temple commissioned by Maharaja Takhatsihnji in 1893. Eighteen ornately carved pillars surround the main hall with its three-eyed Shiva idol,…

Takhetshwar Temple, Bhavnagar

….while a small marble Nandi sits outside.

Nandi, the Takhetshwar Temple, Bhavnagar

From the temple there is a view to the heavily silted Gulf of Khambhat. A deep-water channel and lock were built in the 1960s and Bhavnagar is still a working port. Alang, 50km down the coast has the world’s largest ship-breaking yard.

A distant view of the Gulf of Khambhat

Back at the Nilambag Palace

Back at the hotel the Maharaja's cousin, a large smartly-dressed man in late middle age (the older I get, the more generous my definition of middle age becomes) was making himself visible and shaking hands with customers. A German bus tour had arrived – large group tours are rare in Gujarat – and he had plenty of hands to pump. We had our turn; he was very amiable and had that gift of appearing interested in what you said, even when he had heard it a hundred times before. Having a member of the royal family wandering around chatting with guests is undoubtedly good PR.

The hotel advertised an outdoor restaurant, but when we arrived there was a large open space, empty but for a single lonely table where a couple were already eating. We stood around, looking perplexed but eventually a waiter arrived, unfolded a table from a stack and found some chairs. The table was laid and menus provided. We ate Mutton Mughlai which was very acceptable if not the finest we have encountered (see Lucknow) and watched in wonder as more people arrived, each party having a table specially set up for them.

With a pre-dawn departure tomorrow, an early night seemed apropriate.

Gujarat

Part 1: Ahmedabad (1) Liquor Licences, Mosques and Tombs
Part 2: Ahmedabad (2) A Stepwell, Gandhi and a Thali
Part 3: Meeting the Locals
Part 4: Siddhpur, Patan and Modhera
Part 5: Salt and Wild Asses in the Little Rann of Kutch
Part 6: Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar
Part 7: Bhavnagar
Part 8: Palitana and the Temples on Shatrunjaya Hill
Part 9: A Lion Hunt and a Visit to Junagadh
Part 10: Gondal
Part 11: Gondal to Bhuj
Part 12: Bhuj
Part 13: To the Great Rann of Kutch, Craft Villages and a Salt Desert
Part 14: Going to School and Other Entertainments in the Great Rann of Kutch