Junagarh Fort

Junagarh Fort was actually quite impressive on the outside. But what was more impressive, was the inside. What a place to live this must have been! Beautifully laid out, luxurious in every way and with views of the grounds and city that were certainly more than enviable.

Every wall was hand painted with flowers, windows and doors had ornate screens, and stained glass and Chinese art abounded. But it was the murals of the life of the Maharaja that really got me. Stunning!

The Fort was dotted with friendly older Indian men who spoke some broken English. According to a notice I read, they were considered “Servants of the Fort” - free guides. Nice touch. Completely unexpected considering the handful of other city forts I now had under my belt, which made you pay for a guide upfront or spend 20 minutes trying to get rid of one that had adopted you and would later demand payment.

On two occasions one of these guides would open up locked areas of the fort, rooms not open to the public, and gesture us inside. At first we wondered why we couldn’t be seen going in or out - one made us wait inside, silently, until some other tourists passed before he would let us out!. All the while being told to take pictures of this and that, not to miss certain details or explanations of the hand-painted murals.

The Servants of the Fort reminded me of the older men working at McGuckins, (A reference to a Boulder hardware store that specializes in service). I loved to see how proud they were of their city treasure, their knowledge and their history.

Once back outside, the day had heated up and it was time for chai and a snack. Nothing like a high end restaurant, filled with a bus load of aging white tourists to break the monotony of Indian culture!!! We enjoyed it for what it was, anyway.