Published in Airports India Magazine in December 2017

The Allure of Jamnagar

 

The air is split by the excited laughter of kids as their kites soar and quiver above the city’s skyline. Strains of old Bollywood numbers in their remix avatar echo in the streets, already abuzz with activity. Vendors on cycles and pushcarts stir up the dark beige-coloured dust as they peddle their wares.

The mellow sunlight of a breezy winter morning is flooding the skies as we enter Jamnagar to the nostril-tickling aroma of frying jalebis, puris and cooking undhiyu. Our salivating palates are difficult to contain at the mere thought of the gastronomic thrills to come as we enter a modest restaurant. We can barely keep our fingers from dipping into the spice-scented undhiyu and bite into the crisp, juicy, ghee-fried jalebis as our order finds its way to the table.

Our tongues and tummies sated, we are ready to romance the princely state of Navanagar, as Jamnagar was once called. The city, built around the Ranmal Lake more popularly known as Lakhota Lake, and located on the 200 km long coast of Gujarat’s Saurashtra Peninsula, enjoys a significant sporting history. That its ruler the legendary Ranjitsinhji an acclaimed Test cricketer who played for the English team, lent his name to first class cricket in India, the Ranji Trophy, is well known. Apart from being a haven for migratory birds, Jamnagar is a bustling town today known for its brass industry, zari works and bandhini print. The town founded in 1540 by Jam Rawal, a descendant of the Jadeja ruler of Kutch, still retains its old charm as palpable by the absence of malls, multiplexes and outlets screaming branded outfits. We get to see glimpses of its traditional past, especially in the teashops in its alleys. The brew is poured, not into cups, but straight into saucers from which tea lovers slurp it with relish.

A plethora of historical landmarks including the renaissance-style Pratap Vilas Palace, Lakhota Palace Museum on Jamsarovar Lake, the sculpture-ridden Darbargadh Palace, Sidhanath Mahadev Temple, the Jama Masjid beckon tourists who appear in no hurry to drink in the splendor of these sights.

We soak in the ambience of old Jamnagar by taking a stroll along the periphery of the Lakhota Lake in the centre of the old part of the town. The promenade is busy with walkers, joggers, and every kind of fitness buff including yoga enthusiasts. In the midst of such serious business, we spot a couple of tiny street urchins coaxing a goat into a sheet of soiled white rag, perhaps a dhoti. Their enthusiasm to grab the hapless creature and have it under wraps reaches a crescendo as they observe us capture the episode on our lenses. As we continue our amble, snaking our way between stalls and pushcarts vending an assortment of objects, from foods to toys to clothes, we are drawn by chants of “Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram”. The vibrant sounds emerge from the Bala Hanuman Temple close by. The shrine, we learn, has made its way into the Guinness World Records with the non-stop recital of Ram naam or Akhand Ram Dhun that began on 1 August 1964 when it was inaugurated, and continues to date! It is the local belief that the temple deity protects them from all sufferings and calamities.

We are just as well drawn to Lakhota Fort Museum in the middle of the lake, accessed by an arched stone bridge with balustrade. As we walk the path to the museum we notice a wide variety of winged creatures, hovering above our heads, dunking heads down in the lake waters, or lazily wading in it. A local who is a regular at the lake environs, strikes a conversation with us and regales us with tales of how ‘Jamnagaris’ enjoy a visual treat when over three score and more avian visitors descend on the lake during the winter months. Upon his suggestion, we return to the lake at night to see it shimmer with the illuminations. The ambience is paradoxically serene and noisy, calm and vibrant with people of all ages relaxing under a moonlit sky, leisurely sipping chai, or spooning mouthfuls of chaat and kulfi from kiosks and thelewallahs.  

Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary

It is the early hours of our second day in Jamnagar that we drive to Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, a manmade park created in 1982. We barely embark on the 13-km trip from our hotel, that we see a muster of storks darting across the sky. The scene takes us by surprise. But that is Jamnagar for you - birds are everywhere in and around the city - in the lakes, sanctuaries, reservoirs, rivers, salt pans, and along its coast.

Khijadia is a veritable bird watchers’ paradise where the resident winged creatures, both marine and aquatic, play gracious hosts to migratory visitors that flock to the unique wetland that has both salt and freshwater habitats. The avian abode which is located at the confluence of the Ruparel and Kallindi Rivers, lies sprawled over 605 hectares of mangroves, tidal mudflats, agricultural land, scrub, rivers with fresh, brackish and saline waters.

We learn that Khijadia’s star attraction is the black-necked storked and that it is a great breeding ground for the Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Purple Moorhen, Coot, Black-winged Stilt and Pheasant-tailed Jacana. Zealous bird watchers have routinely spotted raptors – hawks, falcons, eagles and other members of the family. The sanctuary is home to the migratory martins, wagtails, pintails, black ibis, and several waterfowls that make their way here in early September. We go up one of the sanctuary’s three watch towers to get a better look of our surrounds. Though we are unable to identify most of the flyers, many of which show off their bright hued plumage, we enjoy the mesmerizing aerial displays they create with their maneuvers. The scene before us is ever changing and we find ourselves unable to shift our visual focus with the speed of the feathered gymnasts. There’s a flamingo here in pensive stance looking at its reflection in the crystal waters, a bevy of another bird species scrambling, dangling, gliding and snaking, over and under overhead cables, yet others executing stunts in the air, soaring now, swooping and diving down to caress the waters, the next minute. It is truly electrifying to watch these creatures that appear to be bursting with joy, cherishing and feeling proud of their acrobatics in space!

Much as we would like to spend the day here until sunset and watch the spectacular vista of roosting cranes, we bid adieu to this wonderful world of birds, promising ourselves another visit in the near future.   

Narara Marine National Park

We reserve the best for the last – Narara Marine National Park, a 30 km drive from our hotel in Jamnagar. A light satin drape of fine drizzle drops its tresses through the dense tree canopy even as we feverishly hope and pray that the droplets will not gather momentum. We hope to catch activity well before high tide at India’s first marine park. This shallow inter-tidal zone of 170-km, which remains completely submerged during high tide, stretches from Okha to Navlakhi on the coastline of Gulf of Kutch. It is one of 42 protected islands in the gulf, sprawled across 458 sq.km area and contains in its bed 52 species of corals besides a variety of marine life.

 

Providentially, as if in answer to our prayers, the rain god turns benevolent. He abandons his earthward march as we reach our destination in good time to have a rollicking rendezvous with creatures of the ocean. In keeping with protocol, we obtain the permit from the Forest Department to visit Narara and undertake the Coral Walk which actually happens for about 3 hours during the dry spell between two high tides. As we approach the shores of the islands we observe some avians feeding on the mudbanks. The sea with all its secrets, its unusual Piscean species and psychedelic coral, reveals itself in all glory at low tide and we get to see marine life, up-close.

 

Narara is a living museum waiting to be explored in a host of ways – on land and water. Take canoe rides to thrill at its mangroves, sunset cruises to discover its exotic avian world, or the biking trails along its embankments to get dazzling views of the ocean. No scuba diving, no snorkeling or other sophisticated gear here for us – we wade through a foot and a half of water, stepping on pebbles, rough stones and rocks, sporting thick soled shoes.  A lone structure, a segment of what was probably a fort, stands in ruins, less than half way to the distance we walk on the sea bed. Shrimps, crabs, jellyfish, puffers and schools of fish race between our feet, bounding over coral formations, unmindful of the weeds, algae and other sea vegetation that threaten to ensnare them in their fine meshy, mushy bodies.

 

We thrill to an out-of-the-world experience as we walk in the midst of algae covered rocks, translucent seaweed, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sponges and swiftly moving fishes in brilliant hues. We have close encounters with exotic marine flora and fauna as we cover a little over 3 km of the ocean bed. Every now and then we see some creatures scurry with the frantic grace of frightened animals as they elude being captured on our digital devices. Our squelchy footwear constantly gives us away and the sea-dwellers retreat into the sand as they sense our approach.

We hold our breath as we spot sea anemones wave their tentacles and hope to catch sight of the much sought-after octopus, Narara’s star attraction. As luck would have it, we do not spot a single one though we venture as far into the sea as allowed. Our guide, obviously a seasoned guy, is very much at home in the midst of members of this aqua world. With a swift, yet calculated move, he suddenly bends low and like a magician who whips up objects with a flourish of his wand, brings up a vicious looking crab. We are excited to see a species we have hitherto not seen, except in documentaries and books. Our excitement reaches a crescendo as we come upon puffer fish wriggle their way between our feet and make a dash for safer realms. Our guide picks up one of these slimy beings and holds it in his hand for us to click away with our cameras as it plays dead!  “They are deadly guys, very zehrilae, poisonous”, he tells us, his voice, a bare whisper. We take the cue and tone down our blaring pitch that almost borders on the shriek as we catch sight of some swimming creatures. “You know these fishes can actually hold their breath and bloat their bodies by filling their bellies with water in the face of danger!” he adds. Deadly or not, we are certainly mesmerized by its huge, glassy, marble-like eyes.

We return to the car park, a trifle disappointed at not being able to see the prized octopus! But well, there’s no denying the three-odd hours of pure thrill and adventure, a one-of-its kind we enjoyed, thanking once again the heavens for not sending in its showers. By now the call of our bellies is compelling and we satisfy the rumbling organ by partaking of a sumptuous and steaming hot vegetarian thali meal. It’s simple fare with puffed phulka rotis, dal, aaloo sabzi, papad, pickle and rice, whipped up in a makeshift kitchen at the site, set up to cater to the park staff and guides. But for this, there are no eateries at Narara and one has to either carry packed lunch and water, or get back to Jamnagar for a repast. 

Jamnagar certainly entices us with its food scene, especially around Chandni Bazaar. We throw calories, weight and caution to the winds and indulge our taste buds with kachoris, jalebis and other snacks at H.J.Vyas, a snack and sweet outlet that is over a century old. We polish our platters clean and shining, washing the crispies and crunchies down with steaming saucers of chai in local style.

 

Navigator

Reaching:

Air: Jamnagar airport is a major airport with regular domestic flights from major Indian cities.

Rail: Jamnagar is a busy railhead with trains to various Indian cities.

Road: A good network of roads enables traveling from Jamnagar to all parts of Gujarat, Mumbai and Jaipur and other cities of Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Accommodation:

Jamnagar and its vicinity have several accommodations to suit all pockets: from the budget to the 3 and fewer 4 star hotels. There are several 3-Star properties a little farther from the town centre.

Hotel Vraj Inn, Hotel Aram and Hotel Fortune Palace lie in the heart of the city.

Hotel President is located near the Town Hall

Hotel Celebration – 1.5 km from Lakhota Lake

Hotel Foliage is only a 15-minute walk from Lakhota Lake

Eateries: Tava Restaurant, Hotel Swati, 7 Seas Restaurant, Sankalp South Indian Restaurant

One has to take permission from the Forest Department to visit Narara Marine Park which is open from mid October to May.

 

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