A December tour In Vizag(2023)

It was not my first time to visakhapatnam. Back in 2016 I was here with my college friends and teachers on an excursion. Now the memories of the excursion are twinkling in my mind. I remember we calculating the number of different species in the famous RK Beach and Rishikonda breach. I still love to memorize the walking through the road in this beautiful Araku valley to go to the tribal museum and the journey to borra guhallu. The local people played flute before starting their daily work on the train to borra guhallu and just enjoyed it without much thinking. The flutes and the folks against the background of passing tunnels of the hills created an amiable ambience.

City of Vizag Between Eastern ghats and Bay of Bengal

So, after almost 7 years I again witnessed the stunning Vizag. This time we(ma, baba, Dada,didi, palasada, mamai, pukku, subhro)had such a short time in our hands. We stayed there for only two days(Dec-14th,15th) but we covered almost all the places of interest.

Photo clicked by Dada in front of Rk beach

Details of the journey:

13.12.23: From Shalimar station we boarded onto the coromandel express (train no. 12841; time- 03.25pm). My father in law drove didi and me to Shalimar station where my family was already waiting. However, we spent happy hours on the train with great gusto and fun. Being bengalee we could not break the tradition of eating now and then. Sometimes we had ‘paneer pakoras’ while other times we had biscuits.

Then we had our home-made delicious dinner, ‘luchi, alurdom’ cooked by my mother in law at about 8.30pm. Subhro then joined us in Bhadrak. Ma, Subhro and I slept in the B-4 coach whereas the rest were in B-8. After a half sleepy night it was 5.44 am when we reached our destination, Visakhapatnam station.

In front of the coromandel express after reaching Visakhapatnam

14.12.23:Then we were received by our ‘Driver dada’ and taken to Beach Edge Guest House which is situated exactly opposite Ramakrishna Beach. We were given a room to rest as we reached the hotel before the check in time.

However, the wide open sea and the orange aura of the rising sun offered strength to be alive once again with so much positive vibes. Beside the beach there were small stalls which offered nutritious foods like boiled eggs, ragi, sprouts chaat etc. We all ate boiled eggs and yummy sprouts chaat. Enjoyed touching the waves with our bare feet. Then we had tea. After that, we came back to the hotel and freshened up. By then our pre-booked rooms were available.

After sometime we all got ready to start the day’s journey.

The places we visited one after another on the first day of our trip are-
1. Simhachalam temple,
2. Kailashgiri,
3. Rishikonda beach,
4.Tenneti park,
5. Visakha museum,
6. Kursuka Submarine museum.

On the way around 10 o’clock in the morning we had our breakfast. We ordered local delicacies like idli, upma, dhosa and Poori(bhatura). Mamai was quite reluctant to have poori because he wanted momo there😆. But when his mamu fed him poori, he could realize that the poori tasted awesome!

1.After having our breakfast we went to Simhachalam temple through the beautiful, neat and clean roads of this city in Andhra Pradesh. We arrived there at 11.30am. From Rk Beach it is approximately 20km away and takes about 45 minutes in the car.

The design of the temple entails the rich sculpture of Indian art. Goddess Laxmi is worshipped here. There are tickets for Rs. 100, 200 and 300 to get the entry into the temple. We bought caps to get relief from the warm sun there and had a nice time clicking photos and selfies.

2. Then we visited Kailashgiri where the famous big white statue of Lord Shiva and Parvati is situated. This place is very pleasant and serene. Tall and small trees in the back of the statue sheltered many birds and squirrels. Besides a playground for children was also attracting our eyes. Pukku and mamai were playing, running and having fun.

We also enjoyed riding the toy train. A view point of kailashgiri beholds the whole landscape of the place which covers the beautiful hills and sea.

3. Then we had a quality beach ⛱️ time in Rishikonda beach. Mamai and pukku bought two sunglasses and posed like heroes and heroines, didi and Palasda made trending romantic reels. Everyone was enjoying the blue sea and the waves.

4. It was then 4 o’clock when we entered Tenneti park. This place is truly awesome. The heavenly ambience melted our hearts in a way that I would like to go again and again to cherish the warmth of this beautiful landscape. I think these pictures would justify a little bit of my saying.

5. Then we went to Visakha museum which has a good collection of naval history and artifacts of Kalingandhra region.

6. The Kursuka Submarine museum was our last destination for 14th December. It was a great experience to see the tools and equipment of the submarine. We were overwhelmed to think how man has used technology in such a good way!

Refreshments with Araku coffee at Araku Cafe

So, then we came back to our hotel and rested for a while. With the bright and brewing evening I became nostalgic to see the glittering, joyful city and the waves of the sea from my hotel room. I could not stop me from expressing my inner thoughts and scribbled something in Bengali-“এখন সন্ধ্যে ৭টা বেজে ৫৪ মিনিট, দাদা আর শুভ্র সবার জন্য dinner এর আয়োজন করতে গেছে।beach edge guest House এর 202রুম এ আমি এখন একাকী সমুদ্রের nostalgia গায়ে মাখাতে বসেছি।
এর আগেও vizag এসেছি কিন্তু এখন যেনো আলাদা রকমভাবে শহর টাকে পাচ্ছি। এত ঝাঁ চকচকে রাস্তা, রাস্তার দুপাশের সাদা আলোগুলো চোখে পড়ছে। সব বাস্তবতার মাঝেও এত জলজ্যান্ত একটা শহর এত সক্রিয় যে পুরোটাই সজীব লাগছে। হোটেলের জানলা টপকেই ওই কাছেই সমুদ্র। অন্ধকারে ঢেউ গুলো সাবানের ফেনার মতো তীরে এসে আছড়ে পড়ছে; হয়তো কোনো পুরনো স্মৃতি মিটিয়ে নতুনকে আহ্বান জানাতে। মরে যাওয়া অনুভূতি গুলোকে আবারও জ্যান্ত করতে ব্যস্ত আমি তাই লিখেই ফেললাম দুকলি।”

**View from 202room of Beach Edge Guest house**

Later, we had our dinner brought by my elder brother and husband from a Bengali hotel. After that, we slept.

15.12.23: We had to arise very early in the morning to begin our most desirable and awaited journey to Borra guhallu by the train Kirandul special which was scheduled to depart from Visakhapatnam station at 6.45am in the morning. But the departure was delayed. However, It was unfortunate that we couldn’t book the Vistadom coach of this train but we were not hopeless to see the passing tunnels amidst the green hills. Almost everyone started whistling and shouting in joy each time when the train entered the dark tunnels to listen to the echoes. Palas Da got down from the train and clicked photos when it was stuck in a beautiful place among the trees and hills before a tunnel. I played tunes in my mouth organ as per Didi’s request. Then, we ate some ‘chana’ and ‘papad’. I remember all were having tea and coffee to keep up the excitement. The clock struck 10.40 and we finally arrived at Borra Guhallu.

Having arrived at the place before reaching Borra caves we finished our breakfast with idli and dhosa.

1. Borra caves: Then we entered the Borra caves after buying the tickets. It’s phenomenal and one of the deepest caves in India. It is located in Araku valley of Andhra Pradesh. The main attraction of Araku is this wonderful cave where limestone and natural groundwater has undergone such an aesthetic chemical reaction that gives us this beautiful creation of nature with a large opening like the adventurous cavity.

We had crossed narrow and wet stairs to reach the temple at the top of the cave. This could be risky for an old person because the gap between two stairs is longer. However we visited the temple and came back by walking through many stairs. Meanwhile we came to know about a funny incident. A naughty money took away my father’s cap from his head and dropped in a place where my father’s hand could not reach. However, with the help of a stick a tall man brought it back to my father. There were many monkeys who are probably more intelligent than men. They even tried to snatch the cold drinks we bought. There are a lot of stalls for sale of many accessories to buy for family and friends. Finally, we ate famous bamboo chicken which was mouth watering indeed and the Bamboo biriyani was also very tasty and yummy.

It took almost 3 hours to cherish the cave’s beauty. 2. Then we headed for a visit to the coffee plantation area in Araku. There we took photos and bought coffee dust for ourselves.

3. Tribal museum : This was the day’s last visit. We roamed around the museum and cherished the garden with different colorful flowers and plants. There were statues of the tribal community where everyone was posing. The culture and daily life of the tribal community is depicted here with many handmade models and drawings. This is a nice place to visit. Now, there are many stalls of crafts for tourists but there were nothing like these before during 2016.

With this our bucket list fulfilled and we started for returning to rk beach.

On the way our car stopped near the rainbow restaurant due to an inconvenience in the wheel. By then it was 7 pm. The journey became a little hectic for us as we could not rest due to the short time. We all took Pan-D medicine in that halt. After a while, the problem resolved and we again resumed our journey.

After having our dinner on the way we returned to the hotel becoming exhausted. Then, no other thing bubbled in our mind except a deep sleep.

16.12.23: Our tour was over and we had to say bye bye to the beautiful smart city. So, we boarded Vasco da Gama- Shalimar Amaravati express(train no.18048) from Visakhapatnam at 8.45 am and returned our home after a train journey of about 15 hours.

We took so many good moments with us to cherish forever.

Tinge of The Arabian Sea and Impeccable Lakshadweep

Our married life has just started with its sweet, sour and witty moments. Everyone says to enjoy this flying time. We also enjoyed; not with the fact of not having these happy moments again in our lives but with the blooming hope to have a lot more.

However to witness the fairy mist of love we made our honeymoon trip to Lakshadweep and also visited Munnar. My husband arranged this tour with all his efforts and courage to make it ethereal and memorable.

By then my luggage packing was almost complete. Subhra arrived from Bhadrak on 20th and packing his luggage we attended Debjit da’s marriage ceremony. It was 11o’clock in the morning (21st January, 2023) when we started our journey from Fazirbazar with the blessings of our family members (Mamoni, Bapi, Ma, Baba, Dada, Didi and others).

At Kolkata International Airport on 21.01.2023 (12.11pm)

Leaving behind the city’s despair, the cab headed towards Kolkata International airport; from where we would board the flight to Bangalore. After security check in we had to wait for a long time. Then our flight took off at about 1.45pm. Through connecting flight we reached (9.15pm) the Cochin airport which added beautiful traditional flavour in its architecture. Here I learnt that Language can’t be a barrier to travel. For shelter at night, we stayed at Thomson regency. Fried rice and chicken butter masala from Zomato filled our stomach and freshened our mind from the day’s exhaustion.

During leaving from Cochin in the morning,7am **(22.01.2023)**

The dada of Thomson regency whose name I couldn’t remember, arranged an auto for us and we left for Agatti. Agatti is a small, regional airport which is situated on the serene Agatti Island which showcases the beauty of pure aqua-blue waves of the sea. The waxy leaves of a plant named ‘kanni’ in the local language(Pali, a mix of Urdu and Malayalam) adorn the whole area. The permit to Lakshadweep was arranged by tour agency GoL.

Through the midway among the coconut trees we went by car to catch the speed boat which will take us to our coveted dream island- Bangaram. I have never experienced the vigorous blue waves of the deep sea before. So, my vomiting tendency is pricked unknowingly. However this journey of two hours was very thrilling and magnificent.

Just think of a few handful people, isolated small islands, and only the blue beauty of the Arabian sea in front! How peaceful it is!

The corals under the crystal clear sea water were spread here and there. The skipper tried to follow the path where corals were not present because they don’t want to harm the special and precious corals. While we reached Bangaram Island we were welcomed by the staff of Bangaram resort with a refreshment drink, they introduced themselves and their services also.

The resort is exactly on the sea beach and it comprises small huts decorated with coconut trees and cane-chairs. The best place to calm and free our hearts was these cane-chairs where we spent quality time, we shared our happy and sad moments spontaneously. The testimonies of our happiness were the shining stars of the dark night and the roaring sea. Now in this scrolling era we usually forget to look up into the night sky and find peace in the little twinkling stars. But sometimes life can be simply happy if we know to cherish our mother nature and the calming environment.

Being isolated from the business of life we could feel us and cherish us, and taste the waves of life mimicking the forgiving sea rhythmically.

However, the silence of the island, twinkling stars in the sky, grey sea beach with orderly organized white chairs and tables for candle light dinner created an ideal cozy ambience for romance. This luxurious arrangement is probably desired by all couples on their honeymoon. Beside this, there were numerous dishes to cater to our hunger and the buffet system was cool enough. Having our dinner we came back to our room (room no. 106) and slept a winsome night.

The lucky Candle light dinner on 22nd Jan’23

The next day(23.01.23) began with the anticipation of witnessing the sun rise. We woke up early in the morning and started walking along the beach. Small plover birds were very restless to find food beneath the white sand. Subhra clicked nice photos of the flock of cute plovers. However, after a long time the sun winked above the aqua-blue water spreading its orange aura. Then we went to bangaram lake which is in the back of the resort. The path to bangaram lake is covered by kanni trees, coconut trees and many others. We followed the straight path to reach the shallow backwater of the sea. This place is truly awesome. Our eyes got stuck with the beauty of simplicity and richness. We stayed here for about 20 minutes and then came back.

Then we visited Parali Island which is a fine, tiny island; near this island many turtles were playing with gusto. We became very excited to see them through the clean and clear water from the speed boat. However, in this tiny island people live for a few days, just to earn their livelihood and then they go back to Agatti when the weather starts to get unfavorable in the months of monsoon. We bought jaggery made from coconut at a cost of three hundred rupees.

The next island visit was Thinakkara. It is the same in appearance like the Parali but here we saw the local people who catch fish and the fishes are dried and hung from the bamboo sticks. That is how they earn a little. Yes, life is so basic and simple there. To cross the island from one end to the other we became thirsty and bought a couple of coconuts from the local people which cost 50 rupees each.

Returning back we had our lunch. Then in the afternoon we went to Sand bank where the white sand is deposited forming a mound of sand and to reach there we had to cross shallow water during the low tide. It caused me to have a pastime to play with water and it brought back my childhood days once again. The amiable sunset added extra beauty to this heavenly white landscape. The blue of the sea was more prominent to behold the memories of Sand bank. Many colourful small fishes, crabs, and birds were visible; this view mellowed our hearts. We had a great time there indeed. So that is how our second day on the island was spent with lots of banter. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t have a candle light dinner for the rest of the days on the island due to unfavorable weather. However, we know we want more if we have more; so no regrets now.

It was 24.01.2023. Subhra was very keen to do the watersports and he firstly thought to do scuba diving to explore the corals. But unfortunately I can’t swim and I am very afraid of water. But I had a dormant wish for watching the living corals. So, he had chosen snorkeling instead of scuba diving. The guides took us somewhere in the deep sea water and told us to wear the masks and life jackets and then to go down by the steel-stair which connected the speed boat. My heart was throbbing as Subhra started first with his guide. Then I started with holding my guide and the rest is history. Plenty of colourful corals -brain corals, sea cucumbers and many other aquatic animals were clearly visible. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I just read them in my classical zoology book but never thought to have their glimpses in this Arabian sea. Shoals of fishes of different colours were roaming and I touched them with my own hands. My guide gave them food and they cherished it willingly. The deep blue water beside the corals frightened me and I gripped the shoulder of my guide tightly but he took care of me, told me to be relaxed and helped me to have safe watching of the corals. Many many thanks to him and my husband. We had no waterproof camera to catch this snorkeling experience but we can cherish the flashes of that moment now and then whenever we want.

After returning back we had a shower bath of the sulfated water and then had our lunch; with the drops of rain-water we waited for the evening to see the grey beauty of the sea. However, our hearts became overwhelming as we had to leave this beautiful bangaram island the next day. The white cat became very naughty and it was playing with us that night near the cane-chair. But we had to go because life is dynamic and random.

25th January’s morning started with heavy rain and black clouds in the sky. We became worried as the waves might be bigger. However, after a long time the weather was better and we started for Agatti to return to Cochin.

A Humble-Lofty Day in IISER KOLKATA

I really don’t know how to unleash my feelings but I am going to share whatever my procrastinated hands would scribble.

As my father had never gone to mohanpur campus where my elder brother is pursuing his PhD programme, my parents planned to visit his place- IISER KOLKATA, Mohanpur to spend some time there. However, as soon as I came to know about their plan I being very excited joined them.

Dada (my elder brother) booked a car for us which took almost 2 hours to reach there from our village- Andul. It was a fair morning of the month of October (3rd October, 2021) which was beckoning us to confront the tenderness of reverence and peace. Contrastingly, the festive nature adorned with catkins(in bengali- কাশফুল) drew humble white beauty against the cozy green and the horizon met the limitless sky in an unprecedented manner. The places near Kalyani are not cluttered. They are soothing to eyes and touching for heart; I remember the name of a place called Kampa from where the campus is just 20 minutes. After leaving kampa finally we reached there through the main gate(gate no. 4) where Dada had been waiting for us.

It was my father’s first time visit to my Dada’s research institute and I could feel the joy in his eyes for his son when the car just crossed the well maintained, neat and clean entrance. The overwhelming and mild elated eyes of my father expressed the faith of a father cherishing his child’s success. However, the huge campus seemed to me like the mixed wrapper of silent bliss and spry talents. My mother became harmonious with the flow of the environment and nostalgia brewed in her daydreaming.

Then, we entered the hostel, went upstairs and got into room no.322. The door of room no. 322 unveiled sweet mischief of my brother; he wrote his name on the door as if to live there for lifetime! To break our hunger we had canteen-made “suji”,collected by my sweet brother. After that every friend of Dada (Sayani di, Abhijit da, Subhadeep da, Bishnupada da, Tapas da, Diganta da, Suchetana di) came to meet us and they literally mixed up with us within such a short period of time. The frank and glib approach of them created amiable moments of spontaneous reactions where differentiations stood like the power of dignity and the aura of natural fun. Perhaps their simplicity connected the gap of being unknown. As we are sweet-loving persons, we took some sweets for them which they lovingly ate and those who did not like also embraced it. Apart from them another ‘person’ broke into our privacy whose name was momo, the doggy which was loitering in front of the door.Then it was the lunch time when we had delicious meals of the canteen. This canteen is huge and looked silvery clean. Students can also cherish their little pastime watching TV in that big hall of the canteen. I do not know whether it would sound foolish or not but I remember when we were eating lunch the famous film -Bahubali was going on in the TV. After finishing lunch we had another round of gossip; here no one can defeat my father and his favourite topic is perhaps wedding and the custom of finding brides for boys and groom for girls. So, when that cheesy and annoying gossip came to an end we went down to roam about the whole campus.

Dada took a bike and I took Diganta da’s scooty. Without having any other option my father believed in me for the first time to carry him. However, I loved the ride and a funny incident took place; the cap of my father was blown out by the stormy wind then. I was wondering to see the vast greenery of the place. There was a strange essence in the temple side where the trees webbed an unknown adventure. Dada showed us Bimal da’s tea stall also.

After that we visited the lab where Dada spends most of his time working. All I could realize there is that research is all about reverence, patience and peace. There was no eloquence to justify anyone’s capabilities; instead there was taciturn conversations. Really I never felt like this before. It is somehow a unique experience that is added in my bag of memory with lots of respect and love.

Suddenly it started raining and the place in front of the lab seemed to be happening more and more. It is a place where I can sit for hours and just observe, observe and only observe.

Then at 5.30pm we left the place after having tea and biscuits.

A Tiny Trip to ‘Mukutmanipur’

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.

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.

Kanamo Trek by my elder brother Dipanjan Chakraborty

My City

Dusts of a sunny morning along with the ebony like smoke are gorging the city and a bubble of tidy hope is pierced but other bubbles will hope to float, they will float in the dusky air.

From Lava to Darjeeling(26.10.19-31.10.19)

When leisure shakes us we always love to spend a quality time with our family. So during ‘Diwali’ we planned to visit the place of placidity (Lava) and the queen of hills (Darjeeling).

Lava– Lava is situated at an altitude of 7200 feet which is greater than the altitude of Darjeeling (6700 feet). It is a small, placid village in Kalimpong district of the West Bengal.
*Routes to reach Lava :
1. By train reach NJP station and from there you can book car to go to lava. It would take about 3 hours to reach there.
2. By air you can reach the Bagdogra airport and from there it would take about 3.5 hours to reach Lava.

On 26th October (2019) we started our journey at 6.20 PM and reached Howrah station at 8.02 PM. It was 9.25 PM when the Paharia Express arrived at platform no. 9 and departed from Howrah at 10 O’clock.

The night passed with a witty mood and when we woke up we were near to our destination. However the train made a delay at the Siliguri Town station (time then was – 9.20 AM). Finally we reached NJP station at 10.50 AM on 27.10.19.
Then we left for Lava by car.
After an hour (12.02 PM) we were in the Teesta barrage where we had our breakfast (Bread toast and Maggi).

This river forms the border between Sikkim and West Bengal. Gajoldoba Teesta Barrage is famous for its surrounding nature. It is also a famous birding center.
Tea gardens were attracting our eyes even in the planes of Siliguri. The hills were becoming more joyous amidst the green.
Leaving Gorubathan we reached the Chel river– (at 1.52 PM ):

A big rock with a temple in its apex is situated near the bridge with beautiful landscape. Getting down through the slope beside the rock we came across the unparalleled Chel river which was burbling touching the stones.

Then we came to WBFDC’s resort (Dukpa ) at around 3.45 PM.
(One can book the resort through online application. This resort provides you cozy beauty of forest and nonpareil view of Kangchenjunga. )
The ambiance was pleasant and foggy and we also felt a little cold there.

However after a while we took a 20 minute walk to reach the Lava monastery (5.02 PM) which is truly a peaceful place to calm our mind.

After visiting the monastery we ate momo in a nearby restaurant. Then in the resort we chattered for a while; the evening was brewing with the fuming essence coming from our cups of coffee made by ‘dada’. We would always recall the whimper of Bihu (mamai) to get a wrist watch anyhow. Japes with ‘mamai’ and ‘pukkuri’ was part of the day indeed. We took our dinner from the canteen of the resort. The night ended with our deep sleep.

28.10.19

The new morning in Lava (WBFDC’s resort) unveiled vehemently amazing scenic view. However we had to leave lava and move towards Darjeeling. It was our plan to visit the Changey falls and Deolo park on the way to Darjeeling. We sallied out from WBFDC at around 8 AM and reached Changey Falls at 8.35 AM. It took about 15-20 minutes to walk down from the place where the car had stopped. There we met a sweet Nepali boy named ‘Basant’ who shared the story of his tough life in the hills and also helped us to reach near the falls. I was also helped by an uncle to get down through a steep region there. Firstly I thought my Dad and Mom would not be able to reach there but my thinking turned out to be wrong and they also enjoyed the magnificent view of the falls. Croon of creatures blended with the burble of the waterfalls made the place amiable.

Deolo park (12.45 PM- 1.42 PM) – This park is well adorned with flowering plants and bushes and provides beautiful view of Kangchenjunga. The clouds cuddle the park conferring you a very pleasant sight.

Our driver drove us to Kalimpong instead of Darjeeling as we were late to discern the whole park. From Kalimpong Gagan da accompanied us. On the way to Darjeeling we hoarded the striking elegance of the ‘Sleeping Buddha’ from Rishi road(4.25PM). Vehemently the bliss of nature scattered its majestic charm! We were lucky enough to confront the dignified paradigm of the peaks vividly. It took 2.5 hours to reach Darjeeling (5.05PM).

Idyllic landscape view ( near Lamahata )

We stayed in Hotel Pleasure Palace (near mall)

We freshened up and went to mall for quelling mamai’s whimper.

29.10.19

The keen sleepy eyes woke up at 3 AM only to add another glint in our sack of thirst. Mission Tiger Hills started at 3.45 AM😊. Gagan da took the tokens for us the day before. So we could reach (4.30 AM) there without any trouble. The sun was yet to rise and the sky was dark with twinkling stars. We bought 2 cups of coffee from a Nepali girl to warm ourselves. Then gazed at the changing hues of the sky. Yellow, orange and sky drew the canvas of love. From the meeting place of colors the sun would rise like an aflame candle and would spread its rays to the apex of Kangchenjunga leaving the endless, royal and flamboyant beauty. That moment came with the rapt sounds of people. What we achieved was the golden moment which could be cherished perennially.

After that we enjoyed the white and demure beauty of the Peace Pagoda and Japaneese temple (7.33 AM).

Then we came back to our hotel to get ready for the next schedule but the rest of the places of 7 points were closed due to ‘Bhaitikka’. So we had to return from the mid way. It was like a Hobson’s choice for us to walk through the mall. However, when we walked headlong from the Mahakal road we explored tremendous tranquility blended with the shining peaks. The greens exulted to reckon the beauty. Around 2.30PM we had our lunch at hotel ‘Chanakya’ which provided us good bengali food.

30.10.19 This day luckily provided us the scope to visit the rest of the places. We started at 9.25 AM.

We first visited the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park & Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (9.48 AM) where we could see different animals (Sambar deer, barking deer, wolf, royal Bengal tiger, snow leopard etc.) including the red panda at the top of a tree winking at us. There was also a museum and a wall climbing center where we enjoyed the wall climbing by expending 30 rupees only. We could not imagine how one and a half hour passed so quickly.

Tea garden -The tea saplings in the layers of the hilly slope looked like the ambit of happiness. From the tea garden the landscape of floating clouds kissing the peaks of mountains was bland and humble.

We then visited the Tenzing rock.

Our next destination was the Batasia loop (1.49PM).

The combination of sky and green provided us to explore phraseology of beauty. We hired the Nepali attires (at an expense of only 50 rupees) which made us look completely different and. The red bridge at the entry side and the toy train passing through was eye-catching indeed.

We had our lunch at hotel blessed home. One can enjoy very good quality of food here. The scenic view seen through the window pane was so nice as the floating clouds were playing the shining glad game.

At 3.11PM ( at the time of leaving Batasia loop )

Then we arrived at another monastery (at 3.20 PM).

After 30 minutes we were near the Mahakal temple. From where the car could not go up we started walking from there. The chirping of birds vouchsafed to confer utterances to the silence of the prevailing forest beside the hilly slope. When we reached the temple we could feel the peace that reconsecrated our hearts. It is a place where both Buddhism and Hinduism are entwined.

For the rest of the time we spent in the mall which was attracting us to buy things. However one can not but be glad to watch the glint and glamour of the mall. I can’t forget the wide screen situated at the junction of two markets showing clippings of the beautiful places of interests. Street foods and many restaurants are open for the foodies. Momos are so soft and pocket friendly also.

31.10.19 (The time to bid Darjeeling good bye~) In order to abide by the vogues of convention we had to leave the queen of hills with a heavy but affectionate heart. Our plan was to reach NJP after watching the Pashupati market and mirik lake.

The road journey was amazing. The clouds were playing with delight. They formed the draperies touching the pines. The hills were no more visible and only the clouds wrapped them with enormous bower of pleasure. Perhaps the land of green fairy has been endorsed here to unleash the heavenly beauty of the playing clouds. They (clouds) even touched our car; we could see it.

We stopped near simana view point from where Nepal can be seen.

Pashupati market: It is in Nepal and identity proof is a strict necessity as police checks it. As no Indian driver has the permit to cross the border we either had to walk or hire a taxi to reach the market. We took e taxi and visited the market.

Mirik Lake: We had bengali foods as lunch there in a small restaurant. Then entered the lake.

It is a huge lake and the bridge over the lake is symbolic. Colours of different flowers and the singing of birds enhance the beauty of the lake. It was a great walk through the path where the bridge ends. The pleasant reflection of the area in lake of the water was unambiguous. We spent almost 2 hours here and enjoyed the enchanting view of the place.

Then we finally reached NJP station and caught Kanchan Konya express with a tinge of sweet memories.

Winsome Days Of Daringbadi

Daringbadi is a tiny village situated in the district of Kandhamal in Odisha at an elevation of 914 meter. This beautiful hill station is also called ”Kashmir Of Odisha” because of its unprecedented paradigm of nature. However if you are finding a lone place to liberate your daily heeds then you should definitely try this place. From Kolkata it is about 687 kilometer. Route to reach Daringbadi by train: you have to get down at Brahmapur station. It is located in the district of Ganjam. From there Daringbadi is about 119 kilometer and it takes almost 2 hour 40 minutes to reach there by car.

Now coming to my experience with my elder brothers(DADA, PRATYUSH DA, SNEHANGSHU DA) and sisters(AMRITA DI, MOUMITA DI, SASWATI DI). On 9th August 2019 we started out by boarding the DGHA VSKP EXPRESS (22873) from Kharagpur Junction at 8.20 PM.

The Chicken curry cooked by Snehangshu Da was really laudable and it added greed to our mouth at the very beginning of our journey in the train. The chatter for the day ended with grim and chuckles.

Start of journey — Start of our journey. Pic courtesy- Snehangshu Paul

At 4.40 AM in the next morning the train halted in Brahmapur and we got down from the train.

Gopalpur Beach. Pic courtesy: Snehangshu Paul.

Then we headed towards Gopalpur beach by car. It took about 35 minutes (from 5.06 – 5.41 AM) to reach there. In the bright morning rays the waves spattered glint of gold. The spree of waves allowed our sleepy eyes to turn into sunny eyes and cherish the beauty of the amiable sea. Perhaps the sea is unaware of the insignias created by me but I will remember the waves mopping my footsteps that I had left again and again. The joy to play with the sea is nonpareil indeed.

After that we freshened up ourselves in a rest-house near Anangapur (Dist.- Ganjam). It is a well-maintained and well-organized rest-house of the Government.

Our next destination was Taptapani Temple. We reached there at around 9.10 AM. The main attraction is the Hot spring. Here hot water is generated naturally from the ground. We stayed there for about 15 minutes as there was nothing much to see.

Khasada waterfall was the next place of interest that we had visited. This is a beautiful place comprising faded small and big stones. The water gushing vertically from the rock is muddy in color and it seemingly creates the view of erstwhile civilization with the essence of natural elegance. We felt cold comfort beneath the big rocks and became crony of the surrounding rocks that were virid vividly.

We entered Jiranga Monastery at around 11.46 AM. Peaceful and pleasant environment touched our heart. The harmony of Buddhist prayer tuned our heart to synchronization and it was really creating bland ambience of peace and consonance.

Jiranga Monastery. Pic courtesy: Pratyush Golui.

Then we were confronted with the magnificent view of Dasingbari falls. It seemed to me a dreamy place like the fairyland. Colour of butterflies sprinkles the beauty of nature and the swift falling water is heavenly when it gives a blissful tig in your body. The difficulty of going up 165 stairs after watching the unexpectedly beautiful place is replaced with the feeling of wonder and gain only;

Amrita di and I in Dasingbari waterfall. Pic courtesy: Dipanjan Chakraborty.

We cannot forget our pastime in the amazing pine forest. We were taking witty pictures and slow motion videos of us and wanted to get back our childhood days and play with the trees sportively. A lot of funny moments are still tweaking me to annotate the pine forest.However with an aflame heart we came to ‘Hotel Padma’ where we had been staying in Daringbadi. After reaching there we had a refreshing shower to calm our body and mind. The evening of 10th August was not over and we planned to go out and have the taste of local surrounding. So we came out from the hotel and just after few minutes it started raining. Then with only 2 umbrellas we went to a tea stall. We were waiting for the tea but the shopkeeper was making delay. The tea was made perfectly. So his delay did not make us angry at all. To lull pratyush dada’s sweet anger dada and Snehangshu Da brought 3 plates of chowmein. We all came to room no. 306 of the hotel (where dada and pratysh da stayed) and chattered. Then had the dinner. The day came to an end with laughter and good memories.
When we opened our eyes in the next morning (11th August 2019) we were able to think out that we had failed to manage to wake up in the right time. Hence we hurried to have a bath and breakfast as quick as possible. Then at 10.46 AM our ‘driver dada’ started for Mandasoru. On the way the landscape drew the view of nifty and beautiful village comprising very few households. Cowherds with herd of cows were passing the road and the greens were beckoning. I liked the way Dada and Snehangshu da boosted our energy by singing odia songs😊. They eased the grave moments with their funny talks. However with a rife ardour we reached Mandasoru after one hour.

The assembly of rocks vividly creates pleasant landscape here. There are view points to watch the area.

The place is beautifully organized and we took a lot of snaps there.Had tea in the Mandasoru restaurant.

Sweet couple.💓 Snheangshu da and Moumita di.

Then we left Mandasoru at 12.55 PM and headed towards Lovers’ point.
The most cheerful part of our journey in the car was it. We, girls were singing Tagore’s songs whereas folk songs sung by the other two – ‘captain’ and ‘vice captain’😜 overpowered us with their enormous range of voice.

We reached lovers’ point at 1.55 PM and left the place at 2.20PM.
Then went to the emu breeding centre.

From there we returned to our hotel to have the lunch. After completing lunch we again set off for visiting the nearby parks- Nature park and The Hill View park.
Firstly we entered the Nature Park at 4.21 PM at the expense of rupees 10 for each. The park is well adorned with flowers and variety of plants including medicinal plants. Small bridges are ornamental here. Almost everyone clicked picture there.

Pictures are enough to describe the fine view of the nature park.

The park let us to commemorate the good old days of childhood when we took pleasure of riding the cradler. Then we visited the Hill View Park (5.21 PM) opposite to the Nature Park.

The blithesome breeze in this zone had taken our hearts.

It was almost 6 o’clock in the evening when we left the beautiful hill view park.

During leaving the park. Picture captured by Pratyush Da.

On the way to hotel we stopped near an ATM and then thought of having mouth watering ‘Fuchka’ but unfortunately it went in vain! After returning to the hotel we were playing ‘Dam Saraj’ and the more we played the more our reluctance grew for not going to the dinner table. However we had to take our dinner. So we left the play unfinished. After dinner Dada and Snehangshu Da were not playing with us because they had to talk about the whereabouts regarding outgivings. So we four played as Moumita Di also went to bed for sleeping. It was so funny when Pratyush Da acted time and again to show the bengali movie ‘Sare chuattor’ but saswati di could not catch up. However we had plethora of good memories in Daringbadi and we did not want to leave them at all.
We already knew that the Amravati Express had been late for 6 hours but the hour of delay was increasing with time. We were happy with this because we would not have to rise early in the morning but when we woke up in the morning at about 8 o’clock our driver prodded us to be ready within 8.30 AM. However we managed to be ready within 9 o’clock and took our breakfast. Then it was the time to say good bye to the green beauty. Perhaps this place was also making silent whining like us. The driver informed us that he handed over his duty to another one and
he could drive us to rambha and then to tampara lake. So we thought it would be better to appease our soul’s desire than waiting at sulky Brahmapur railway station.
Rambha is a beautiful place to cherish the view of chilka. Here Panthanivas is a good shelter which provides boating facilities. It was our bad luck that we could not avail a boat. Still the view of chilka surrounded by small rocks creates scant and cozy landscape.

From rambha tampara lake was 15 minutes. We visited the huge and nice tampara lake and stayed there for more than one hour; probably we spent the longest time because others did not spare more than 5 minutes in this place. We took pleasure both of waiting and spending time there.

We at Tamapara lake, the last destination of the tour.

Then at last with sweet and happy remembrance we came to Brahmapur station around 6.30 PM but had to wait long for the train. However Amravati Express arrived at 10.40 PM examining our trench of patience. Hitherto Daringbadi brings bright and winsome memories whenever I think about it😊.

We are grateful to our driver dada (Dhoba Gouda)who tolerated our childlike spree always. His contact No. 1. 9938246826 2. 653900319

The Padma Hotel is also good to take shelter.(Well maintained and tidy; behaviour of the staffs was good)

Scribbling Uttarakhand

Ramnagar -Jim Corbett National park(19.02.19-20.02.19)

Entrance of the birding resort -“Jungle lore” at Ramnagar, Nainital (19.02.2019)
Tent

On 17th February, Sunday we (Teachers and students of SEM-IV and SEM-II ) started our journey to Uttarakhand .Our Excursion in Jim Corbett National Park holds sparking memories. The above picture beholds the stimulant and thrilling atmosphere of Jungle Lore which is a ” True Heaven” for birders. You can explore from here a lot to quell your ignition. However you may have 2 options here for accomodation – one is the cottage and another is the artificial tents. The cottages and tents are quite cozy in terms of organisation.
Sometimes you might confront with the spotted deers or elephants in the jungle. The scream of peacock would keep you awake from sleep at night. View of Koshi river is breathtaking and the riverside gives resort to numerous alluring faunas. A day spent at this place would urge more days to be added up here under the shadow of greens and wild. In the evening campfire was arranged for us and we enjoyed it with fun and frolic. The spree of independence ignited us then and we were singing and dancing with leaping hearts. The yummy “Chicken roast” by Sujoy Da is still enticing.! We can’t forget the quaint appearance of the black dog prying into our privacy of sleep in the tent ever!

inquisitive eyes

Jim Corbett is not far from jungle lore. It takes barely about 10 minutes to reach the National Park in a jeep. The splashing beauty of wild would scribble a lot in your mind. However permission from Dehradun forest dept. should be taken to get down from the jeep and explore the place. Ruefully we had not that scope. Nevertheless whatever we had come across were worthy enough.

spotted deer
peacock

In the rustling of leaves a sudden appearance of a squad of elephants, in the midst of golden bushes the sparking presence of dancing Peacocks would stir you from latency. Assortments of other animals and birds include jackals, sambar deers, barking deers, spotted deers, crested serpent eagle, greater indian hornbill etc. Although the pugmarks of recently passed ‘king of wild’ had made us enthusiastic to rummage him, our spirits went in vain later. After lunch we started for Nainital by bus and it took about 6 hours to reach there.

From Ramnagar To Nainital Lake(20.02.19-22.02.19)

Nainital Lake..

It was 7 o’clock in the evening when we entered Nainital. The nip had covered the area and chilling breeze of the lake wreathed us like a chaplet. Along with that rain trickled down from the cloudy sky. Then the temperature had fallen to -1 degree celsius and we all were trembling in cold. Here we took resort to Hotel Shalimar which is situated very close to the lake and one can cherish the beautiful scenic view of the lake from the balcony of the hotel. We walked for a while beside the lake at night in search of a park that had been there as per our witty guide Rituparna but seemingly it proved to be a rumour. Although there was no park, we gathered morsels of happiness during this time.

The next day (21.02.19) I managed to go for birding in the local area and snapped the pretty tiny Black-throated tit. Suddenly my phone clanged and I had to join our team to go for sightseeing . We witnessed the ecstatic beauty of “lovers’ point & suicidal point”, and “Himalayan point”.

suicidal point
Lovers’ point

After lunch we started boating in the Nainital Lake which was the best part of the day. It was really a cozy and blissful testimonial of pleasure.

In the afternoon we visited Bhimtal lake and a nursery garden.

Nursery garden
Bhimtal lake

From Nainital to Almora(22.02.19-23.02.19) (6 hours)

The roads to Almora unveil glorious views and one just can't keep their eyes away from the window pane...

The roads to Almora unveil glorious views and one just can’t keep his eyes away from the window pane…

Before reaching Almora we looked over “Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary“(22.02.19). Still it had been raining when we got down from our bus at around 3 pm. Then we had our lunch – ‘jeera rice and chilli paneer’. However we were not allowed to enter the core of the sanctuary. So it poured water in our flickering hope to taste the wild.

When we reached Almora it was almost 5.30 pm. We stayed here at Hotel Bhagwati. Almora truly has significance in its name because it seems that the surrounding mountains have wrapped the place with their enchanting misty beauty. With my binocular I could see the peaks of Trisul, Nanda Devi court and Panchascil vividly. It was splendid and no words would defy to be expressed. It was something like –“The Bliss of Solitude”……

Having a heavy heart we bade Almora goodbye.