Daman is a small town on the west coast of India – sandwiched between Maharashtra and Gujarat. But still managing to hold a niche identity for itself. Some of this identity is rooted in its past as it was a Portuguese colony along with Goa. You might remember the union territory of Goa, Daman & Diu from your school textbooks. A contemporary identity of Daman is a small island where you can drink your heart out – in the neighborhood of dry state of Gujarat. In fact, this is a big reason for the Gujarati's to visit Daman, especially over weekends and holidays.

 

Daman Ganga

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Daman is situated on both the banks of Daman Ganga River that merge here with the Arabian sea. Another way to look at it is that Daman is divided into two parts by Daman Ganga river. Moti Daman on its South bank and Nani Daman on its North Bank. Moti means big and Nani means Small in Gujarati – a language that is largely spoken in Daman. The irony is that Moti Daman is the smaller of the two Damans but the one with older parts of it. Moti Daman offers more for the history seeker while Nani Daman is for the business traveler and thrill seekers in general.

 

Fort of Saint Jerome

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A tired looking fort stands on the north bank of Daman Ganga River. Its entrance has carvings on it with a cross on the top. I do not understand these icons or stories behind them. But the inscriptions in Portuguese safely place this fort to the days when Daman was a Portuguese colony. Statue of St Jerome stands on top of the entrance arch. History books tell us that this fort was built about four centuries ago. To keep an eye on the maritime activity in the Arabian sea.

 

Samudra Narayan Temple

 

On the edge of the platform embanking the river, stands a small but colorful temple dedicated to Samudra Narayan or the Varun Dev. He supposed to be the lord of the sea. This is the first time I saw a temple dedicated to him. One would assume there would be many temples dedicated to the Varun Dev or lord of the sea. But I do not recall a single one throughout the bits of the coast that I have traveled.