 |
| Mysterious Murud Janjira Fort |
 |
| The beach |
The spookish (above) Janjira fort haunted us throughout evening. So, straightaway we headed for our dinner at 'Sand Piper Resort' restaurant and had a grand feast of Konkani food. The good food and a walk on the road raised our spirits considerably. The next morning was beautiful with a gentle breeze. We decided to explore the town and
Murud beach. The market had a typical
Konkan rural setting with the narrow roads and shops of all kinds manned by smiling people.
The smell of frying
Vadas and
Samosas ( potato dumplings fried in oil) was tempting but we restrained ourselves from over eating. In the by lanes were mud houses with cows and buffaloes surrounded by coconut and palm trees. Subsequently, visited the majestic
Ahemadganj Palace of the present Nawab, Siddi Mahmood Khan. The Nawab was not staying in the Palace. Visitors were not granted permission so we left to see the tombs of his ancestors at
Gol Gumbaz, 3 km south to Murud. The legend was, of a treasure buried within tombs which nobody till date could recover.
We were on the other side of the village looking intently toward sea and observing another fort named as 'Padmadurg' built by Sambhaji, son of the great Maratha king and warrior Shivaji Mahraj, as an answer to Janjira Fort. The Padmadurg fort, also known now as Kasa Fort had been a poor reply to Janjira Fort and now the time had battered it. The fort remains closed for most of time in a year with no way to cross the sea.
The we headed to the main beach of Murud. And let me tell you, it was a treat to the eyes, a joy to behold, a stretch of 2 km of incredible vividness! The sands were white and firm under your feet. A great place to swim! Tommy Singh started removing his shirt hurriedly as if the sea was a naked lady yelling Tommy to take her. Suddenly, our olfactory senses were attacked.
 |
| Wow! Fried fish |
There was a strong aroma of fish being fried. We moved towards the source. There was a
Thelawala ( food stall on a cart). The owner smiled at us and asked us to join marinating and frying fish when he overheard me telling Tommy Singh of my cookery expertise!
So there we were, applying salt, turmeric, garlic paste, tamarind paste, chili paste and
'chunnnn!!'
there goes Pomfret fish into smoking oil! No patience we had... so we took pieces one by one, burning our lips and tongues and washed it down with beer from the cans we had carried. Wow! Great!
We sat for sometime on the beach and returned back to our resort. It had been a great day. A memorable one. In the hotel I came to know that you also can hire a motor boat from 'The Gateway of India', Bombay directly to Murud Jetty with a travel time of two hours only!
Other places to stay in Murud-Janjira:
-Sai Ashirwad: Phone-91-2144-274883
-Ruchit Lodge: Phone: 91-2144-276351