Diu -- A Fascinating Getaway

It was around October 2011, when we decided to travel to the 'Tiger's Jaw' -- the coastline around Gujarat. Diu was a natural choice since none of us had a wee bit first-hand experience of the region. The decision, however, was beset with conditions. It was agreed that we would desist from treading the beaten path; instead travel by train and roads, gathering as much as we could, within the limited time frame.

Our 'pre-visit research' yielded interesting facts. Despite millions of visitors, information on Diu was severely limited. The individual accounts found in blogs did not offer an honest portrayal of the island. They were mostly limited to exaggerated stories of the popular -- beach, booze and bizarre acts. Further, many of these were hurriedly written pieces intended to portray a certain impression about the author. The handful of commercial websites also offered little more than adjective-laden narrations on travel to Diu, which we felt, concealed more than they revealed of this famous once-Portuguese colony.

Diu is a small island near Junagadh of the Saurashtra Peninsula of Gujarat spread over an area of 38.8 Sq. kms. It is connected to Gujarat and Maharashtra by road and has no direct rail connections with the rest of the country. The nearest railway station is Veraval, about 90 kms from Diu, which is connected to Rajkot, Ahmedabad and other cities. The airport near Nagoa connects Diu to Mumbai by a lone Jet Airways flight. According to the 2011 census, the population of Diu is 52,056 people which is an increase of about 17.73 percent over the 2001 census. The present density of population (according to 2011 census) is about 1301 persons per sq km.  

Early morning sunrise in a small station before Rajkot

As 2012 crept in, we began our sojourn by train, from Delhi. After about 24 hours of travel through the states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat, we finally reached Rajkot -- a industrial township in Gujarat. At Rajkot, we booked a sturdy vehicle and traveled for around 210 kms to Diu. Enroute, we passed through the renowned Gir Forest Reserve and long, dry stretches of the Saurastra Region of Gujarat. 

The journey through Saurashtra was strenuous and boring. The road was battered with potholes and patchwork, which jerked every known bone in our weary bodies and left behind a terrible backache for some of us. Surely not a pleasing experience in what is portrayed as India's best state. Along the way, the driver told us countless stories of despair, agony and struggle which contrasted the zillion of tales that the Indian media had been telling of Gujarat and its 'iconic' Chief Minister. For me, it was a reinforcement of my belief that Indian journalism is all about convenience reporting.

Never mind the pathetic journey, we came across some interesting things enroute. We passed through vast stretches of cotton plantations. The cotton harvest was in its full bloom and from a distance appeared like balls of snow sprinkled atop small trees. The driver was cooperative and he stopped the vehicle by the fields allowing us to click some  photographs.

As we travelled further the cotton fields were replaced with parched, dry rocky landscape, covered with different sizes of cactus, wild yellow flowers, babool shrubs and other thorny bushes.

After about three hours of traveling we reached the Gir forest. The kids and the adults became enthusiastic, just as the driver announced about the forest being home to the Asiatic Lion. He said that if we were lucky, we could sight these beasts. No sooner did we enter the road that ran through the forest, we strained our eyes and craned our necks in all directions searching for a glimpse of the elusive lions. The jungle foliage were full of small trees and with the naked eye we could see the jungle for several hundred meters. As expected we were unlucky and all we managed to spot were herds of deer and peacocks. Perhaps the Lions were safely ensconced in the deeper reaches of the jungles in the hot, dry weather. After an hour's journey through the Gir the forest ended to reveal a pathetic countryside full of dust and desperation. After travelling for another 20-30 kilometers we reached Diu.

As we entered through the security gates to Diu we were in for a pleasant surprise. Contrast to the uncomfortable countryside of Saurashtra, Diu spread out before us like a beautiful dream, ready to embrace us, in all its glory. We were enthralled and pepped up!

In Diu we headed straight off to the Hoka Beach Resort, an elegantly designed and cute little place, on the Western fringes of Diu, near the Nagoa beach. Within hours we settled down and felt quite at home. Bijender, the manager of Hoka Resort and a nice gentleman, had kept  two beautiful rooms for us. The decor and aesthetics of Hoka Resort was pleasing to the senses and quite different from the concrete buildings that had become a sore to our urban-trained eyes. When we had booked Hoka resort from Delhi we were a bit skeptical but it was quite upto our expectations, a cute dwelling in an equally cute little town. 

The colorful Hoka Resort

After getting refreshed and a quick homely lunch consisting of dal, sabzi and rice, a 'simple' menu for the Bengalis, we asked Bijender who informed us that the Gomtimata beach was at a walking distance. We were tired but took to the streets and walked for about 20 minutes and found ourselves facing an exotic beach with not a soul to be sighted for miles.


Since the family was large, we choose not to book scooters; and instead booked a big car. 'A' became the driver and 'R', armed with a map of Diu, the Navigator. Thus began our adventure, which left an indelible impression on our minds!

We began by first traveling randomly around Diu island, to familiarize ourselves with the roads. Roads in Diu were sparkling clean and desolate. We zipped past the bus stand, over the Gulf of Cambay that connects Diu with the Indian mainland, the small marketplace and beaches. Thereafter we began our patient visit to individual sites, to get soaked in the environment.

The first stop was the Gomtimata beach on the western Diu, a pristine and serene beach. Perhaps the rocky terrain and the serenity was not liked by tourists unless they were of a particular philosophical disposition. We soon realized that we were meant for this kind of a place for we were philosophical and childish. The evening thus was spent hopping between childishness and philosophy as we got busy collecting sea shells one moment and then chipping off to a philosophical discussion the next. Most Indians would have seen that as sheer madness but we were just fine, in our natural best. Hurray! 

This blog captures all that RA experienced in Diu, from the Hoka trees to the sandy beaches and from the historical sites to the everyday life in the fishing harbour. We hope you will cherish these and send us your feedback. In case you choose to write to us directly and share some of your own experiences of Diu, drop us a mail to indian.ethnographer@gmail.com