At about 38 km away from Rajkot is the little town of Virpur. It has acquired fame due to it being the seat of a famous saint, named Jalm'am Bapa. Even today we can feel that the blessings of this saintly man as are present in this area. Indeed Saurashtra, as was mentioned earlier too, is full of saintly figures in the past and even in modem times. Some are known more than others. Jalaram Bapa during his lifetime served the poor and distressed people. He would not just bless them but also provide free food to anyone who came to him. At the seat of this saints a temple has been now built and thousands of people come to offer worship, and all of them are provided simple food freely. Everyone is welcome without any discrimination and all enjoy the meal sitting in rows. Such free kitchens (Sadavrat) are found elsewhere also in Saurashtra, where this is a revered method of charity.

The Jalaram Mandir is visited by thousands everyday from all over Saurashtra, Gujarat and even abroad. In order to solve their various problems people take an oath to visit the temple as soon as the difficulty is solved, and thus their desire having been satisfied, they come to pay their respect to Bapa. As he belonged to Lohana caste, the people of this caste are his great followers, though others also flock to him for blessings. There are many legends of the miracles that he performed for his followers, including curing of diseases. The stories of these miracles are all popular and repeated often.

BHAKT JALARAM

Jalaram was a devout person even in childhood. Although he handled his father's shop for a while, he soon lost interest in worldly things. Suddenly he decided to undertake a pilgrimage. As he returned, he made Bhoja Bhagat as his Guru who tied 'Kanthi' to him and gave him his Mantra. After this Jalaram lived only to serve others.

At one happy moment he thought of opening a 'Sadvarat' or free meal facilities for the poor. After taking permission of his Guru he opened one kitchen, when he was still only 20 years old. Among many trying moments he continued to provide meals to the poor and he was at peace only when they got up with full stomach. His innate goodness was so powerful that whatever he spoke began to come true. In his achievements the contribution of his wife Virbai is very great.