Travelling Around Britain and the World

Friday, 8 March 2019

Gondal: Gujarat Part 10

Gujarat: The What, Where, When and Who

India
Gujarat

This post covers day 10 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 post is about a day spent in Gondal in the Gujarati district of Rajkot

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-
The Princely State of Gondal

07-Mar-2019

 Arriving from Junagadh we checked into the Orchard Palace, a wing of the current residence of the former Royal Family - Gondal was yet another Princely State. The Palace was used as a guest house in the 19th century and is now a Heritage Hotel.

The Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal (photographed next morning)
Once settled in, Vijay and L transported us to the Riverside Palace built in 1875 by Maharaja Bhagvatsinghji for the use of his son. Our destination was the Riverside Palace Restaurant, a recent single-story glass and steel construction - we missed the actual palace in the dark. Being the only diners in a large restaurant is a touch unnerving, but the vegetarian meal of aubergines, potatoes, dahl and rice with pearl millet bread was pleasant - and the service was (unsurprisingly) attentive. I often photograph my food, but on this occasion I chose to photograph the restaurant’s 1939 Rytecraft Scootacar. About 1,000 of these unlikely vehicles were made by the British Motorboat Manufacturing Company between 1934 and 1940.

Gondal 8, a 1939 Rytecraft Scootacar, Riverside Palace Restaurant, Gondal
08/03/2019

The Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal

We breakfasted alone at a table that could have accommodated more…

Breakfast at the Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal
….and enjoyed a brief stroll round the formal gardens…

Formal garden, Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal
… and the orchards which gave the palace its name.

Orchard, Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal
With Vijay, we looked at the Maharaja’s photographs, but they were largely of Bollywood film stars we did not recognise…

The Maharaja's Photograph collection, Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal
…so we went to inspect his private train.

The Maharaja's Private Train, Orchard Palace, Gondal

On to the Maharaja's private train, Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal
With a dining room, sitting room….

Living and dining rooms Maharaja's private train, Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal
…and bedroom, the Maharaja travelled in style.

Bedroom, Maharaja's private train, Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal

The Royal Vintage and Classic Car Collection, Orchard Palace, Gondal

The Maharaja’s collection of cars vintage (built 1919-30) and classic (vaguely defined as 20+ years old and of sufficient historical interest to be worth preserving or restoring rather than scrapping) claims to be the best in Asia, though I think it has stiff competition from the Royal Automobile Museum in Amman. A great deal of money has been lavished on the Jordanian museum, but to be fair, the Maharaja makes no charge for entry – and all his cars are maintained in working order.

1951 Chevrolet, Gondal Museum
The plates of Gujarat registered cars start GJ, and those from the Rajkot district, which includes Gondal, GJ 03, but it was different in the early days. We had encountered GONDAL 8 in the restaurant last night, GONDAL 27 is a 1947 Oldsmobile…

GONDAL 27, a 1947 Oldsmobile
….and they still have GONDAL 1, though nobody seems sure what it is. One blogger suggests it is a 1903 car/bus into which various engines could be inserted, but it does not look quite that old. Others happily identify every other vehicle – most were well labelled – but not this one. I have been unable to find anything like it - there are few things that Google does not know, perhaps this is one of them.

GONDAL 1 - though I stupidly missed the plate off the picture

Naulakha Palace, Gondal

L drove us the short distance to the Naulakha Palace. Gondal became independent from the State of Rajkot in 1634 and was ruled by Thakurs – a rank below Raja. The state prospered and the Naulakha Palace was started in 1748 under the second Thakur. ‘Naulakha’ means ‘nine lakhs’ (900,000) which was the cost of the original structure in Rupees.

Naulakha Palace, Gondal
The palace is now a complex of buildings on a compact site beside the River Bhadar with a clock tower at its entrance, stone carvings, balconies…

Naulakha Palace and its clocktower entrance, Gondal
… and a pillared courtyard with delicately carved arches.

Pillared courtyard, Naulakha Palace, Gondal
The oldest building houses a large chandelier-lit Durbar Hall…

Durbar Hall, Naulakha Palace, Gondal
…and rooms in Victorian style…

'Victorian drawing room,' Naulukha Palace, Gondal
…with some solid antique furniture.

solid antique furniture, Naulakha Palace, Gondal
Much of this and the "private palace museum"…

Private Palace Museum, Naulakha Palace, Gondal
…commemorate the remarkable Maharaja Bhagvatsinghji, the 12th ruler of Gondal and the first to style himself ‘Maharaja’.

Maharaja Bhagvatsinghji of Gondal in 1911
Photo (in the public domain) from the Lafayette Collection in the V&A
After coming to the throne in 1869 at the age of 4, the British Raj provided a series of regents while the young maharaja attended to his education. After completing his medical studies at Edinburgh University, he returned home and took on the serious business of ruling. He reformed the state administration, built schools and colleges providing free and compulsory education for both boys and girls, built technical schools for engineers and training facilities for labourers. He improved the local livestock, introducing modern ideas in animal husbandry, built railways, dams and sewage systems, and oversaw the introduction of electricity and a telephone network. He also, as we had seen earlier, collected cars.

A busy man and a popular ruler, he died in 1944 aged 78, and it was left to his son Maharaja Bhojrajji to complete the state’s adoption of 20th century ideas by signing Gondal’s accession to the Indian Union in 1948.

Bhagvatsinghji also wrote the first dictionary of Gujarati and contributed to the collections in the Palace Museum, which include carriages….

Part of the carriage collection, Naulakha Palace, Gondal
….clocks….

Clock collection, Naulakha Palace, Gondal
….and a teapot collection which would bring a smile to anybody’s lips (particularly a ‘Corrie’ fan).

Part of the teapot collection, Naulakha Palace, Gondal

Sagramsinhji High School

Leaving the palace, we walked north through the streets of the city…

Gondal
…with an ‘only in India’ moment.

Only in India will you find a bull wandering city streets, Gondal
We passed through the vegetable market…

Fruit and veg market, Gondal
…with an impressive pile of chillies…

An impressive pile of chillis, Gondal
…before reaching the imposing campus of Sagramsinhji High School.

Sagramsinhji High School, Gondal
In India we have previously travelled with a driver and picked up local guides as appropriate. Gujarat is off the beaten track and local English-speaking guides are rare, so we were travelling with a guide as well as a driver.

Guides vary in quality; it is not their local knowledge that defines them – that is always at least adequate - it is their approach. The worst (and we have met one or two) believe their job is to protect their clients from local culture. They have met lots of foreigners so they know what foreigners want, and they know it better than you do. I recall the Chinese guide who told us she had been into the restaurant kitchen after we had ordered lunch and told them ‘absolutely no chillies’; there was no need to consult us, she knew foreigners don’t like chillies.
Vijay - a guide who opens doors

The best, pick up on your interests and cater for them; Sue in Myanmar spotted me studiously reading the labels of locally made wine (who knew there was such a thing?!) and suggested we might like to rearrange the next day’s schedule and visit the Red Mountain Winery. We did, indeed.

The very best open doors you could never open yourself. Five minutes after arriving at Sagramsinhji we were sitting in the principal’s office drinking tea with him. Thank you Vijay Gohil.

With the Principal, Sagramsinhji High School
The principal treated us to a half-hour rant on his many problems. He seemed a decent man deeply frustrated by the job he is trying to do. His issues could be summed up as ‘why do politicians insist on continually interfering in my job’ – a cry that would be echoed by many teachers in many countries.

He gave us a tour of the school which was built by Maharaja Bhagvatsinghji and inspired by Eton College (his sent his first son to Eton and second to Harrow). Today it bears little resemblance to its template, Sagramsinhji is not a private school and the intake is dictated by local government. With only 400 pupils and 19 teachers, part of the building is closed and he can employ only one cleaner.

The large old hall sits under a layer of dust, Sagramsinhji High School, Gondal
The school is seriously under resourced and the library antiquated. Being exam time, there were very few students around but we eventually came across a small group revising quietly, A-level chemistry, or its equivalent, being their current concern.

Chemistry revision, Sagramsinhji High School, Gondal

The school has a magnificent clocktower, though it shows different times on different faces, and....

Sagrmasinhji High School Clock Tower, Gondal
...a nearby section of the wall smelt strongly of ammonia; the site is completely open, anybody can come here any time of day or night to do whatever they need.

We sympathised with the principal and took our leave.

Briefly back at the Orchard Palace

It was lunch time and L drove us back to the hotel. With no restaurants in the vicinity we decided to have a cup-a-soup (other instant soups are available) on the extensive communal balcony outside our room.

Cup-a-soup on the communal balcony, Orchard Palace, Gondal
We also had the use of a lounge, had we needed it – we called it Flat Stanley's room in honour of the zebra on the wall (Lynne assures me Flat Stanley was the hero of a series of children's books).

Flat Stanley's room, Orchard Palace Hotel, Gondal

Shree Bhuvaneshwari Aushadhashram

When the afternoon heat had abated we drove to the Shree Bhuvaneshwari Aushadhashram.

Bhuvaneshwara Temple, Gondal
Despite India being heavily invested in ‘western style scientific medicine’ the ayurvedic tradition remains strong. In 1910, when Gondal was ruled by Maharaja Bhagvatsinghji, himself a qualified doctor, the Royal Physician founded an ayurvedic aushadhasram (Pharmacy) beside the little Bhuvaneshwari Temple (Bhuvaneshwari is an avatar of Parvati, the wife if Shiva).

Shree Bhuvaneshwara Aushadhashram, Gondal
We looked round the aushadhasram, where pills, oils and lotions are manufactured. The machinery is interesting, sometimes quirky, but do the treatments for hair loss, vertigo, insomnia and other conditions actually work?

There is much wrong with the way medicine is practiced in the west, and even more wrong with ‘big pharma’, but these are largely problems of the misdirection of money. I have absolute faith in medicine based on scientific inquiry and am always sceptical when spirituality becomes involved. That said, I have enjoyed ayurvedic massages in India (see Kabini and the Nagarhole National Park) and Sri Lanka (Sigiriya Rock and Ayurvedic Massage). You may accuse me of hypocrisy if you wish, but I merely find it a pleasant experience and expect no magic effect on my thinning hair or thickening waistline.

One small curiosity is that the Royal Physician, Rajvaidya Shastri is said to have been the first to refer to Gandhi as ‘Mahatma’ (Great Soul) and the title was formally bestowed upon him here by Shastri in the presence of Maharaja Bhagvatsinghji in January 1915.

Memorial where Gandhi was first called 'Mahatma', Bhuvaneshwara Aushadhashram, Gondal

The Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal

Gondal’s Swaminarayan Temple – gleaming white marble approached through a sandstone arch – was a short walk away.

Gatehouse and Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal
Once through the gatehouse we entered a different world. The trees and hedges were neatly trimmed, the grass newly mown and watered, the courtyard not just devoid of dust and litter but polished until it sparkled and the temple itself was so white it hurt the eyes.

Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal
Swaminarayan
Swaminaryan was born Ghanshyam Pande in 1781 in Uttar Pradesh and is said to have mastered the Hindu scriptures by the age of seven. He was orphaned at 11 and immediately set off on a ten-year pilgrimage to find an ashram practicing what he considered a correct understanding of Hindu philosophy. His search ended near Junagadh in Gujarat where he met Ramanand Swami, leader of the Uddhav Sampraday sect. Ghanshyam Pande adopted Ramanand Swami as his guru and Ramanand named him as his successor, giving him the name Swaminarayan.

He led what became the Swaminarayan Sampradaya from 1803 until his death in 1830, preaching the primacy of Krishna and focusing on salvation through total devotion to God by means of virtue, spiritual wisdom and detachment.

At Vijay's suggestion we first went round the side and entered the lower level of the temple The inside was breath-taking, whether looking at the pillars....

Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal
 ...or the ceiling...

Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal
....or somewhere in between.

Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal
We watched smartly dressed devotees walked in circles around the walls, men one way, women the other, then we joined in the spirit by walking right round the temple (though both the same direction) to the front.

The main temple at the top of the stairs is even more ornate and because it is partly open, sunlight also plays a part. There are prominent ‘no photographing’ signs, but after we had watched the circumambulatory believers for a while, Lynne broke and sneaked her camera from her bag. Before she even turned it on there was a tap on the shoulder and a quiet word in the ear – so we have no pictures, and that is what they want.

Swaminarayan built six temples during his life, but since then the sect has gone from strength to strength. Its stronghold remains in Gujarat, but is now a worldwide organisation – there are 15 Swaminarayan Temples in England and Wales. Like all religious foundations there were schisms once the founder died and there are now several organisations using his name.

This temple belongs to the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS) denomination, the most international of the Swaminarayan organisations, with large temples in London, Los Angeles and Toronto among other major cities. Its strength among the Indian Hindu diaspora ensures that BAPS is well funded for both its charity work, and the maintenance of its temples.

Nearby is the Yogi Smruti Mandir. The ashes of Yogi Smruti (also known as Yogiji Maharaj) who was the second leader of BAPS have been honoured here since his death in 1971.

Yogi Smruti Mandir, Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal
 Recently a new temple of Jaisalmer stone, ideal for intricate carvings….

Carvings, Yogi Smruti Mandir, Swaminarayan Temple, Gondal
…has been opened in his memory.
.
The ashes of Yogi Smruti, Yogi Smruti Mandir, Naraswami Temple, Gondal

Dinner at the Orchard Palace Hotel

We dined in the hotel, the guests sitting around long communal tables. The multi-course dinner was expensive, by Indian standards, and although there was nothing wrong with it, I cannot say it was a memorable meal.


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Location: Gondal, Gujarat 360311, India

Thursday, 7 March 2019

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.

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Location: Junagadh, Gujarat, India
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