A Detour I took has stunned me
and made me wear that satiating smile for one core reason, and that is ‘I
never expected it to be so culturally rich, historically strong and mystic in character’.
The eroding glory of Daman
Forming the western coast of the
country and looking straight into the vast Arabian Sea, the Daman district falls parallel to the
railway points of Vapi and Valsad. So, in terms of reach it’s quite easy to get
into any train which connects the crucial business centers of Gujarat namely,
Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara and Ahmedabad. Just get down at Vapi railway junction
and take a cab or rick for the next 13 kms to enter Daman. I did the same &
checked-in into Hotel Blue Lagoon which I had booked through Make my Trip.
The history of Daman: Daman was acquired by the
Portuguese from the Shah of Gujarat. They noticed the port of Daman for the
first time in 1523. They attacked it several times and finally obtained it in
1559 by means of a treaty with the Shah. Thereafter, it was under the rule of
Portuguese till its liberation in 1961. Even after 14 years of India’s
Independence, the Portuguese stubbornly continued to occupy these territories
in spite of the local population’s struggle against occupation and suppression.
Indian troops moved in on December 18, 1961 under the code name ‘Operation
Vijay’, and liberated Daman from nearly 450 years of Portuguese rule.
The current Daman:
The look of Moti Daman gives away
its weary story, Daman survives under an outrageous immigration loophole taking
away its population along with those in Diu and Goa under the pretext of
becoming citizens of Portugal, even though they never set foot there. At least
20,000 people have evaded strict checks on non-EU residents coming to the UK
after obtaining Portuguese passports in India which give them full rights to
live and work here. The Indians have taken advantage of Portuguese law allowing
anyone born before 1961 in the Indian west coast state of Goa and the coastal
towns further north of Daman and Diu to give up their Indian passport and
become EU citizens simply because these places were once colonies of Portugal. The
loophole is also open to a person’s children and grandchildren.
Travel Dairy:
After a good night’s sleep after
a long time and some light breakfast, I planned to make it a freestyle travel
day. No advance cab bookings. Just get out and start looking for options. I got
an auto who dropped me at the Daman bus stop from where I took another auto to
start my exploration.
The auto guy told me that the
river “Daman-Ganga” makes for the twin towns of Moti Daman (Old Daman) and Nani
Daman (New Daman).
Ironically true, Moti Daman
boasts of the architectural glories of the Portugal rule and Nani Daman makes
it seem like a poor cousin of Goa. However, the best of both is something which
turns it into a weekend-getaway mostly flocked by students from the reachable
educational hubs across south Gujarat & the working youth or families from
the strong hold of manufacturing industries in the district.
Moti Daman (Old)
The Church of Bom Jesus 1603 AD
The Community (Residence and Government Offices) surrounding the Church of Bom Jesus
The Old Lighthouse rising out of the Daman Fort
A different flavour and contour of the Arabian sea from the Gujarat coast
(clicked from the Daman fort)
The newly constructed light house
The remnants of the fort
The Daman Jetty
The Church of Our Lady of Remedios 1607 AD
The Muddy waters of Jampore Beach
Something to Sip & Munch
Nani Daman (New)
The Devka Beach with lots of liquor, a camel, small dark pebbles and black soil
The beautiful Mirasol lake garden & restaurant
The eternal hamlet of Udvada
I first ventured into this town’s
ethnic significance just by chance on google while trying to search for “places
to see in Daman”. But, never knew I had hit a lucky gold pot till I actually stepped
into the lanes of this strangely quite hamlet (In no sense it gives the feel of a town) which seems to be hiding
itself from any bit of external atom.
The
Iranshah Aatash Behram, Udvada
Strolling through its unbearably peaceful lanes, I felt severely torn between my own personality, one which screams to be known by writing away here and the other which wants to be quite into myself toiling away to attain my objective. So is this place, which takes you to another world, which I at least have never seen before. It stands for itself peacefully and with pure integrity. The lanes do hold secrets in the form of some ghostly looking locked up houses with overgrown shrubs and climbers consuming them bit by bit it.
A Traditional Parsi house
The peeks of people made me
realize that very rarely do non-Zoroastrians visit this place which is home to Aatash Behram which is the oldest and
the holiest fire temple of the Zoroastrian community in the world. The current
temple was built in 1742 by Dinshaw Dorabjee Mistry from Bombay.
The temple has a notice board saying strictly “Non- Parsi not allowed inside the temple”. There swing my mood but, lifted up my curiousness on why is that
so? I did get my answers later at the Zoroastrian
heritage museum, a marvelous journey in itself, it is sponsored by the
Government of Gujarat. This museum contains summaries of the teachings and
beliefs of lord Ahura Mazda, it has a large write up, that tells you about the
history of the Parsi's and Ahura Mazda. It also has explanations and write ups
on the holy ceremony of the Parsis called Navjot.
Aatash Behram:
The highest grade of fire is
the Atash Behram, "Fire of victory", and its establishment and
consecration is the most elaborate of the three. It involves the gathering of
16 different "kinds of fire", that is, fires gathered from 16
different sources, including lightning, fire from a cremation
pyre, fire from trades where a furnace is operated, and fires from
the hearths as is also the case for the Atash Adaran. Each of the 16 fires
is then subject to a purification ritual before it joins the others. 32 priests
are required for the consecration ceremony, which can take up to a year to
complete.
A list of the nine Atash Behrams:
·
Iranshah Atash Behram in Udvada,
India. Established 1742.
·
Desai Atash Behram in Navsari,
India. Established 1765.
·
Dadiseth Atash Behram in Mumbai, India.
Established 1783.
·
Vakil Atash Behram in Surat, India. Established
1823.
·
Modi Atash Behram in Surat, India. Established
1823.
·
Wadia Atash Behram in Mumbai,
India. Established 1830.
·
Banaji Atash Behram in Mumbai, India.
Established 1845.
·
Anjuman Atash Behram in Mumbai, India.
Established 1897.
·
Yezd Atash Behram in Yazd, Iran. Established
1934.
Travel Dairy:
Udvada, is a place where time
seems to have stopped. It’s like it follows its own unique time zone breaking
away from anything which wants to spoil that eternal instinct it radiates. 15
kms from Daman and 200kms north of Mumbai, it’s a must visit for anyone seeking
a tangible and intangible heritage experience.
The inside compound of the Aatash Behram
Zoroastrian heritage museum (Inaugurated by then then CM of Gujarat Mr Modi in 2008)
The Souvenir Shop
The hidden windows, the green canvas, the brown facets and more of the gems
The name says it all, but, all the cakes where taken so satiated with some coconut cookies & tutti frooti rusk
Cultural and Architectural Preservation:
The town, and its ambience, is
under threat from the advancing sea (and consequent salinity) and
commercialization. The Mumbai-based Save Udvada Committee, supported by
the Indian and
Gujarat state governments, is engaged in combating sea-driven erosion.[6] There
have also been attempts to get Udvada declared a World Heritage Site, to protect the ancient
residences and the fire temple. The typical Parsi homes here with their high
ceilings, sloped roofs with ornamental skirting, and
double otlas (porches) are over a century old, and considered worth
preserving.
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