Ankhi – Jambusar - Amod - 19 km / 12 miles Full Moon 6AM
We have Tahir drive us back to Ankhi from the Classic Hotel. It is still dark and very fresh but the light comes up quickly as we make our way towards the highway. Walking along the highway is obviously the worst and we have to be sharp but there is always a beautiful sight and this morning it is a ‘perfect’ solitary crowned tree standing in a field of cotton. Jambusar is still drowsy when we arrive with people at their morning toiletry, some cows urinating, some others being milked and we walk the streets among the closed shops looking for Gandhi memorial sites. We pause at another cotton depot, this one filled with cotton like popcorn gone wild. A bearded Muslim is seated at the desk, attired in pure white cotton with a delicately crocheted kufi covering his skull. He directs us to the original ginning factory where Gandhi and the Marchers slept. We locate it and it was a charming old building but now a mess of decay and filth. Looking behind out the broken windows I see a garbage dump where a mother with her two barefoot daughters, dogs and cattle are all scavenging through the smouldering debris. It quickly turns depressing and we are hungry. Across the way we spot a “Gandhi Restaurant” but since it is still closed we decide to do another tour. As we continue to circulate the city livens up to be very welcoming and I’m presented a rose from a Muslim vendor setting up his stall of flowers. Jambusar is now feeling very exotic, the narrow winding streets a little claustrophobic but full of fresh sights and smells of produce and wares. Some women are dressed in traditional tribal wear with intricately embroidered vests over printed cotton robes, heavy silver bangles and colourful bead bracelets, wide bands on their fingers and large crescent nose rings hanging over their mouths. Green parrots flit and swing inside cages hanging at the stalls. We return to the Gandhi Restaurant at 11 for lunch, grateful for a rest from the heat before walking to Amod. Sitting quietly digesting our meal the owner asks if he could record a video of us recommending his restaurant. Why yes! We’re introduced to a couple of his friends, journalists who also want our views on the condition of Jambusar’s Gandhi site; the original ginning factory. They tell us years ago when it received funds it had been beautifully maintained as a museum with photos and memorabilia inside. One journalist recalled going there as a child and seeing photos of a family member who was a freedom fighter. Following the death of the volunteer security guard conditions quickly deteriorated, items were stolen, the buildings ransacked. Now each level of government disclaims responsibility for funding. The men are upset about the situation and wondering what can be done to restore the site. We are escorted back to the property where we are photographed and filmed expressing our impressions as foreigners. The journalists’ intent is to shame the government into action. We wish them well then depart for Amod – a distance of about 12 km (7.5 miles) - unfortunately along a very dusty highway full of every kind of traffic from heavy trucks to camel-drawn carts full of lambs and nomads. Nearing sunset we cross a bridge over the silvery Dhadhar River and admire the banana trees. Tahir picks us up in Amod and we return to the Hotel Classic in Ankhi for a second night.