In this Corona-era life has taught us a lot but the monotonous being has snatched all our trivial happiness. A few times earlier, the wishes were wingless and meek but they now defy to prepare their wings for a little fly.

When the heavy breathings of so much uncertainties and negligence overwhelmed, I tried to part with them and indulged myself in finding the way of having a free-freedom. As we know beauty is always in our eyes, so I decided to go to ‘Mukutmanipur’ which is just 180 Km away from Howrah and located in the district of Bankura. I think this pocket-friendly trip can give amiable moments to rejuvenate a craving soul who wants to explore. However, it would be better if I can depict the whole journey and offer you to visualize those tiny happy moments.

There are different routes to reach this village.

1. From Kolkata many private buses are available which would take almost 6 hours.

2. By train, reach Bankura Station and then go to Bankura bus stop to avail Buses heading towards Khatra. From Khatra Mukutmanipur is only 11 km. One may book a car from Bankura station to reach Mukutmanipur directly.

I Preferred, the Train Rupasi Bangla (02211) which took 3hours 30minutes to reach Bankura from Santragachi junction. Then we took a toto to reach the bus stop (it took about 10min). We boarded in a bus which headed towards Khatra (it took almost 2hours) . From Khatra pump more we took a engine van to reach our destination (15min).

It is the first time that I have arranged everything of my own from online ticket booking to hotel booking. So, it is a memorable trip for me. With the blessings of the rising sun my mother and I set out. Luckily breaking my Dad’s belief of not having a toto at the silvery dawn we got a toto to reach Andul Station. After that we reached Santragachi station by 5.46’s Panskura Local. At platform no.1 the Rupasi Bangla express was ready to depart. We took our respective seats (D1/41&42) and the train progressed at 6.25am. We enjoyed our train journey with sleepy eyes. Though it was the middle of march (20th March, 2021), the cool winds did not make us feel so. However, the running bunch of greens welcomed us in our Sonar Bangla.

On the way to Khatra, through the window of the bus we cherished the landscapes that the king of seasons gifted. A vibrant beauty of Bengal with blooming red-‘Palas’ in the midst of dry fields seemed to be so enchanting that I just wanted to collect the fallen palas flowers and make a fine-garland.

Finally we reached Mukutmanipur when the clock struck at 12.40. Neglecting the drops of sweats we walked up to reach our resort- Sonajhuri Prakriti Bhraman Kendra which was close to the Kangsabati Dam. This nature resort is so beautiful that one can easily spend a quality time with his or her family. Here the shelter of tall trees and sweet chirping of birds touched our hearts. The rooms are on the lap of hilly rocks and there are many AC and NON AC rooms for accommodation. The names of the rooms are very unique as they refer to the names of certain trees like Tal, Tamal, Mahul etc. We stayed at Tamal-2 which neared the Hill top view point. A magnificent view of the dam can be cherished from the hill top view point.

Without any further do we took a cozy bath and got ready for having our lunch in the canteen. There the sonajhuri trees were showing their gracious presence through the window panes. After finishing the lunch we had a quick and nice nap in our soft and tidy bed. My mother woke me up when it was 4 o’clock. Then we went for exploring the dam area. From sonajhuri the dam is a 10 minutes walk. We reached there and reserved a toto for visiting places like pareshnath temple, kali temple, musafirana view point and the mohana of kumari and kangsabati river.

All these places were located on the dam. Basically the kangsabati dam is the major attraction in mukutmanipur. The setting sun created a golden splendour in the quiet water of the dam. However, the evening passed in the brewing fume of tea.

The next day we explored the dam by boating. Many stalls were there beside the dam in which beautiful earthen pots and crafts can be found. We took some of them to cherish the essence of the soil of Bankura.

We did not delay much as we had our train at 5:12pm from Bankura. I think it was a tiny but refresher weekend trip.