The “car-driving-bone” was predominantly present, had tickled at will and left it’s mark on a number of occasions.

In 1995, newly married, from chennai to tirupati, on bike, was it’s start. Thereafter, post-arrival of santro, mumbai-lonavala, mumbai-kashid, mumbai-pune, mumbai-ratnagiri, mumbai-mahabalewshwar and mumbai-shirdi-mumbai in 11 hrs was it’s foray on the western front.

On the eastern side, on transfer from mumbai, mumbai-goa-kholapur-hyderabad-vizag in six days, vizag-annavaram (thrice), vizag-vijaywada-tirupati (first time 850 kms  in a 12 hr stretch and second time with a halt at vijaywada) and vizag-puri-konark (500 odd kms) , this too twice, the second occasion being for mom-in-law (the reason she visted us!!) was enough to confirm my subjugation to it.

In 2010, the “car-driving-bone” was tickling again, feverishly!! We wanted to travel with our labrador Jini  …. but that was not to be. Exhaustive search on the net and calls to friends (pet-lovers or otherwise) ended in a conclusive result – NOTHING for a pet.

So, much to our dismay, it was, as always, the lodger for Jini. The planning started in March / Apr 10. The northern-most city I had touched was Delhi. But Delhi in May!?! To cool off, the idea was was stretched till Manali. And in came google maps and ghumakkaar.com to advise. The final plan that shaped was like this:

THE PLAN

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The victory of Mahmud Begada over Raja Mandlik III in AD 1473 brought Junagadh under the rule of Ahmadshahi Sultanate. It was then the turn of Muslim rulers to contribute and enrich Junagadh’s cultural heritage. Subsequently, in late sixteenth century Junagadh became part of the powerful Mughal Empire. By mid-eighteenth century the Mughal Empire weakened and Sher Khan Babi, who owed allegiance to the Sultan of Ahmedabad, expelled Mughal governor, declared independence of Junagadh and founded the Babi dynasty. Junagadh was then ruled by the nawabs of Babi dynasty till India’s independence.

Kalwa Chowk

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Junagadh is an exciting town to explore for the tourists with an eye for architecture and a taste for history. It was an important city during the regimes of Mauryean and Gupta dynasties in 300 to 200 BC and early AD. Post-independence, it was again in prominence and tested the skills of ‘Iron-will’ Sardar Patel, when its eccentric nawab refused to merge his small state with India and insisted to be part of Pakistan. Pages after pages of Indian history books are filled with references to this town as it refused to fade out from the memories of both the time and the history.

Junagadh’s places of tourist interest are all in a fairly compact busy market area. It is fun to amble through its narrow streets that reveal their hidden pan-Indian treasure at every corner – the sight of the skyline broken by the domes, Disneylandish spiraling minarets, old Buddhist caves, Jain and Hindu temples, bold gothic archways, an old fort, the mansion of the nawab and many intricately carved wooden doors and windows. The rich cultural heritage of Junagadh is evident in its landmarks that have the political and religious influence of its various rulers.

However, I remember Junagadh more as a town of simple and honest people.
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Junagadh is a city which is headquarters of Junagadh district in Gujarat. It is 327 km from Ahmedabad and is about 58 Km from Sasan Gir. The small city of Junagadh is rich in myths-legends and has such an eventful past that it almost breathes history. It is at the base of mount Girnar – a gigantic five-peaked mountain of volcanic origin that rises steeply to a height of 1117 m.

Mount Girnar as seen from Uperkot Fort

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