INDIA 26: Gujarat. Stage 5.

Another bus trip. This time more traditional in that we went down old secondary tree lined roads with crop fields on either side. Added bonus was that I sat up front with the driver (who was surprisingly a careful pilot) and he dropped me off right in front of my hotel.

 

The Click Hotel (3700Rs/£30 per night) Strange name but I believe part of a chain. Either way it was very comfortable and highly recommended. Not least because my room had a great view of Mount Girnar, which I was to climb in a few days.

The hotel is next door to the railway station which was actually quite busy as recently they had been celebrating a very important Shiva festival known as the Maha Shivaratri and one of the biggest of these is the Bhavnath fair in Junagadh.  Apparently thousands of sadhus descend on the town, some naked, to perform various rituals. The sadhus I saw were thankfully clothed and quite happy to chat, despite their serious appearance. I’ve met quite a few on my travels. They are basically wandering holy men who have renounced worldly possessions. Some are friendlier and saner than others.

Like Jamnagar, Junagadh was a princely state in the time of th eBritish and before partition, the rulers were given the decision whether to cede to India or Pakistan. The ruler of Junagadh, the Nawab, was a muslim and he decided to go with Pakistan. this didn’t go down well with 80% of the population who were Hindus. Suffice it to say the Nawab ended up fleeing to Pakistan and the Junagadh became part of India.