A sacred grove

Travelling east from Chhota we approached the Madhya Pradesh border. Our driver unexpectantly stopped by the side of road.

Getting out of the car we first heard and then looked up to see the shuffling of a large colony (that’s the proper collective noun) of fruit bats stirring themselves up ready for dusk.

Below, among the fig trees were piles of broken pottery, discarded over many years. As well as the usual terracotta horses there were leopards, elephants and other animals.Under one tree was a blue painted stone figure, garlanded with marigolds.

This was a sacred animist place and hugely atmospheric. The area is known for a series of tribal festivals that take place around Holi in March. There were photos in the museum.

The central statue

Palitana

The temples on Palitana Hill are considered the most sacred pilgrimage place by the Jain community. Wikipedia says it’s the world’s largest temple complex. Every devout Jain aspires to climb to the top of the hill at least once in their lifetime.

The hill itself is not too daunting. Perhaps 90 minutes to climb. But we only had to make a single circuit. At this time of year, over a period of a month, devout Jains are invited to make 99 circuits – that’s about 3 ascents and descents a day. As we leisurely climbed at 9am the path was packed with people jogging up the steep steps and running down, aiming to get a couple of circuits before the it got too hot.

Most surprising was that the majority of the pilgrims were young women, apparently because this was a pilgrimage most easily achieved before you were married. Some men and women were dressed all in white, carrying no more than the bag of rice and salt they would need at the top, protection from the sun and a garden spray of water perfumed with rose petals. Many of the pilgrims were staying a month in the hostels of Palitana or various monasteries around the base of the hill. No-one is allowed on the hill after dark. Often this is part of a much wider pilgrimage to other temple complexes around Palitana, including ones that are still being built.

There are two parts of the hill separated by a dip. One very sacred and where silk and leather are banned. While a temple complex the obvious old remains were a wall and defensive towers.  Shoes were checked-in and foreigners are directed to an office which dispenses a series of rules.

Temple buildings right and left. There was a purification area before the temple. Purity is of key importance, from the pure white robes of the pilgrims to the little face masks to prevent inpure breath on the idols of the tirthankars. More prestigious temples were built of marble and stone; others of stucco and cement. All seemed covered with carvings of dancing girls. There was a process of constant restoration; the age of the temple becoming irrelevant, though the site dates from the 11th century. Often it was easiest to restore the carvings with cement versions though in many places we could watch the masons at work.

Much chanting of the name Adinath, the first Jain enlightened tirthankar, who came here. The central temple was thick with people, trying to touch the sacred incense burner or the lantern, and looking at the idol through a mirror rather than directly. People sat with small trays ritually arranging five small mounds of the rice that they all carried in shimmery, brightly-coloured bags. The top mound was divided into shapes of the sun and moon, and the bottom mounds into a swastika. Separate queues of men and woman waited for blessings at the midday puja.

The temple authorities didn’t seem to have a problem with us climbing up above the domes of the temples and around the fortifications to get a better view of everything. We could climb above the crowds in the central temple and look down at the activity.

It got even livelier at the puja. The priest got onto the roof of Adinath’s temple and conducted a ceremony of the replacement of the flag by yellow-clad helpers. A cheer when the flag finally unfurled and the queues were let in for the blessings. Again we could observe this from above, from the balcony under the main dome.

There are two main sects of Jains. In the minority here are the naked Jains. We tracked down the single temple of these Digambara monks, but it was empty save a few of the posters of the beaming naked gurus that we’ve seen pasted up all over Gujarat.

Junagadh

We rather flew through Junagadh, a town enroute between Diu and Gondal. It looked like it deserved a bit more time.

Uperkot Fort

At the top of the town is the citadel; a fort, an old mosque, some buddhist caves and a couple of step wells. Uperkot Fort has a complex gate and walls up to 20m high. A signed Turkish cannon from 1531 was dragged here from Diu and sits outside the old Jama Masjid (Friday mosque). The Buddhist caves had a few carvings but no paintings and were disappointing.

Adi Kadi stepwell

The step wells were impressive. The Adi Kadi Vav is the famous one, allegedly names after the two girls sacrificed here to ensure the water was found.

It’s a simple slanting shaft driven 40 meters into the sandstone. You walk down worn step past eroded layers.

But round the corner is a better one that the guide books miss out. The Navghan Kuvo is a vertical shaft around which winds the access steps. Dark and dank and impossible to photograph. 52m deep and possibly 1000 years old.

The fort looks north to the Girner Hills, the highest point in Gujarat and another Jain pilgrimage site; taking three times as long as Palitana to reach the top.

The town

We whisked tantalisingly around the upper town. A proper walk would have been rewarding, but it was pretty hot.

Despite being surrounded by India the Nawab of Junagadh decided to accede to Pakistan at the Partition in 1947. Pressure from India and a referendum (when only 91 out of 201,457 voted for Pakistan) meant the family fled across the border and his property transferred to the State. One of the buildings, his darbar hall is now the dusty museum. The visitors book showed a trickle of foreigners – a handful a week – but it was packed with Indians. The main hall contains a mass collection of European chandeliers, some tribute gifts from the British and some enormous silver-covered furniture. There was a room of paintings, including the viceroy and the government agent, some arms, and some textiles including a pearl and gem carpet and a coat given to him by the British for siding against the mutiny. Best of all, but behind a locked grill was around eight silver palaquins. Probably the best I’ve seen in India; they looked in superb condition.

Lower down in the town are more walls and gates, a massive palace (now a school) and an extraordinary building, the Mohabbat Maqbara. A mausoleum of one of the Nawebs, it’s a confection of Moslem, Hindu and European styles. Some of the carving could have come straight from a gothic cathedral.

Edicts of Ashoka

The Edicts of Ashoka, a 3rd century BC emporer, can be found carved into several pillars and rocks across India. The version at Junagadh is one of the most important, the first to be rediscovered in the 19th century and is the version that is reproduced outside the National Museum in Delhi. The carvings were cut into a 10m black granite boulder sited on the road between Junagadh and Girner Hill.

The edicts are largely about moral principles; respect for animals, kindness to prisoners, and tolerance and understanding between religions.

Gondal

North of Junagadh and south of Rajkot is Gondal, another of the old princely states of Gujarat.

The Orchard Palace

We stay at the Orchard Palace, the guest building attached to the Huzoor Palace where the current family lives. Right in the centre of town, the buildings are surrounded by a large park; a orchard, vegetable gardens, a swimming pool, a rose garden and a brand new, slightly garish Japanese garden.

We visit the royal railway carriage, parked outside the building. You can rent this out for the night; all wooden panels and lace antimacassars.

Royal railway carriage

Like many of the maharajas, the family has a love for cars. The stable block contains his car collection, strong in classics from the 30s and 40s. The oldest was a strange 1907 box-like vehicle built by New Engine Company in Acton, West London. The maharaja and the prince keeps their sports and racing cars in a more private block.

We also took a look at the Riverside Palace, built for the prince in 1875 and also used as a hotel. They tend to put larger groups here. Perhaps slightly less grand, but crammed with a better selection of antiques. Right next door is another massive palace; a Victorian gothic pile, now a government school.

Naulakha Palace

Naulakha Palace

The prettiest palace is further in town by the river. We enter a courtyard under a clocktower.

Up stone stairs and past carvings of peacocks and Ganesha, into a series of royal offices, where the progressive Maharaja Bhagvatsingh worked. He studied medicine in Edinburgh and published the first Gujarati dictionary, introduced land reform and universal schooling.

Maharaja Bhagvatsingh’s fiction shelves

He also put together a number of eclectic collections, all lovingly preserved. There was his clock collection, his home-made toy boats, birds eggs (including a letter from Nehru saying how much Indira Gandhi loved his bird book), dinner services, dolls, a shed full of toy cars, a couple of stables with a world-class collection of carriages, and a wonderful set of deco children’s furniture. Oh, and the set of scales upon which he was weighed against gold at his golden jubilee.

That evening we went out for a walk round the town. Another town unused to foreign tourists. A seed shop kindly gave us some samples when we took an interest in their produce. Not a great deal to see but a lively market to discover, more decaying grand buildings and an opportunity to get lost.