A day in Diu; Isle of Calm

By now I had developed a fair understanding to decipher the widely spoken dialect of Gujarati in the Indian state of Gujarat. I had also owned a magnetic compass that I traded from an old merchant selling valuables from a ship which was dismantled in Alang back in the beginning of this century. Unpredictable as always, I had a day to spend in this part of India. I was too close to the coast that an overnight journey by road could offer me some valuable exposure to the island of Diu. And, the next moment I was seated in a Gujarat state roadways bus to Somnath via Diu. Next to me were two ladies from the Rabari clan. My portable phone charger was a bit astonishing to them!

3 AM, half asleep and I was woken up by an unbridled gush of the pungent smell of fish. I was passing Jafarabad. 'How about trying some sea food the following morning in Diu?'  but life is not just about writing travel blogs and gastronomic experiences that the vegetarian in me would have persuaded me to have sea food the next morning.

Amidst all you see the Indian flag.  but what does the saffron symbolize here? 

                                              

Soda bottle opener wala; for about two decades Diu was inhabited by Parsis. 
Considering the proximity to Gujarat,  Diu is a blessing  for alcoholics of Gujarat, tiny bars have opened up like grocery stores in any other Indian town.

Panikota, Diu

Fort Diu

For how many times will the cannonballs fly before they are forever banned? Fort Diu

Portuguese or the Mughals, Jaalis; connecting us since the inception.
Setting up of the local market

I think she was a Siddi in Diu.
 Ignorant about the camera.
 For the love for tea

No matter which part of this country, the color has to pop out on the roads.

This is Safar store from where I hired a bicycle . Pedaling across the Isle of Calm. An extremely humble  and a learned  man who runs this store since decades. Not many such cycle stores exist in Diu owing to the growing demand of Motor cycles. I doubt if I would have hired a bike even even if I had been carrying my Driving licence. Cycling for 12 miles after 12 years! A decision resulting to  mixed emotions.

Jalandhar  Beach

Nadia Caves
Travertine, No?

Reminiscence of festa de deu

Bicycle track around the island.

Church of our Lady of Remedes

Bus stand, Diu.

One of the bridges that connects Diu to the Indian mainland.

Reaching the town back at around 4PM, I returned the bicycle to Safar Stores and started back for Delhi. By the end of the day I had spent a brief but a good time with people carrying a lineage from Africa, Portugal, Israel. None of them were tourists, all Indians, settled here in DIU, Well connected to rest of the world, living in a calm on the Ilha de Calma.

I fear of the day when bomb attacks will lead to natural deaths.

I was backpacking in Himachal Pradesh when I met these young people from Israel. The young travelers who had completed their army and had come to India. The three x army employees were traveling in the northern part of India since months. I returned to Delhi from Himachal in a week and these real travelers continued to explore various passes of Himachal, and then Ladakh, Kashmir, Rishikesh. Yesterday, one of them had left for Israel and I had a great time showing Talia, the capital city which was a contrast to all the country side locations, villages, hills she went through. Talia had messaged me about her Delhi arrival through facebook and we thus panned to meet.
'The people tree' store in Connaught Place. At around 11A.M i get a call from a friend who informs me about a bomb blast outside the Delhi High court. It wasnt a jolt because a same incident happened on 13 july 2011 and so on... but I was somewhere ashamed. I was accompanying a friend who wasnt from India and had to communicate to her about the blast. the Irony is that the moment i got the call we were busy selecting t shirts on 'world peace'. The t shirt we purchased said 'how many times will the cannon balls fly before they are forever banned' yes delhi was unsafe on that very day.

The entire day was consumed visiting Delhi Hatt, Humayuns Tomb, Agrasen ki Baoli, and finally Khan market. I hope my friend has reached back her home safe and fine. The same night Delhi gets a few tremors of an earthquake. 6.6 on the richter scale. but it was actually 4. something. Had it been a 6.6, something like Bhuj would have had happened to Delhi. Several natural deaths. but suddenly i realized the share of natural deaths was being taken over by the blast in the morning. Alas! I fear of the day when bomb attacks will lead to natural deaths.