Daman, a union territory between Maharashtra and Gujarat, was the first stop on our journey. A Portuguese colony for over 450 years, Daman & neighboring Diu only joined the republic of India in 1961. Largely a settlement of fishermen, two big towns – Nani Daman & Moti Daman – constitute this territory. Ironically Nani Daman (nani means small in Gujarati, while moti means large/big) is the larger of the two towns.

As we pulled into Udwada and crossed the railway phatak to reach Nani Daman, we couldn’t help but notice the many bars, and wine shops that lined the streets. Chatting with the staff at the Hotel Miramar, our afternoon pit-stop, we learnt that bootlegging was quite rampant and the wine really does flow quite freely in the neighboring dry state of Gujarat.

Railway crossing

Let the good times begin, I say!

Visiting the Fort of St. Jerome, and the Church of the Lady of the Sea that is located within the fort’s premises was our primary objective. Driving through some narrow and leafy lanes of Daman, moving towards the sea-side, we first spotted the light-house on the jetty. A few feet away from the rocky shore, stood the little Fort of St. Jerome.

On the jetty

Light-house = khamoshi

In hibernation

After taking a few shots of the jetty and the lighthouse, we ventured towards the back entrance of the fort to drive inside. But to do that we had to sneak the Blackhawk between some intimidating giants. The stretch along the rocky shore, between the front and back entrances of the fort, was lined by huge boats, pulled back onto land to rest before the next fishing season. These giants were being readied by their masters to become sea-worthy by the fifteenth of this month, when the Coast Guard would give them permission to enter the high seas again. All around us, the brawny fishermen, repaired nets, and patched their vessels as we tried to tread unnoticed between them. The enormous size of these boats made our trusted steed quite pale in comparison for a few moments. With both windows rolled down, and a little afraid of nicking the car and waking these sleeping ogres, for a second I was reminded of that scene in The Lion King when Simba & Nala unwittingly stumble into the forbidden elephant graveyard.

Netted

Beware of ogre!

Nani fort too?

Mein aur mere classmates

We quickly sought sanctuary within the fort where we were surprised to find a fully-functional school running within the church building. Alive and safe, Simba, Nala & the Blackhawk then went crazy taking some wonderful snaps, but those you shall see in another post.