Travelogue ~ Trip to Vizag

It is not just a travel story. It can be called a lot many things – an escapade, a rebellion, an experiment – involving three so-called “grown-up” women (Let’s call them BDY (Bee-Dee-Why) for the story’s sake).

Hence to prove a point, to themselves and to the society (total “bakwaas”!), these three crazy women zoom off one fine early morning from Kolkata airport to Vizag, at the end of a very rainy July.

Day 1: BDY are relieved (not to be admitted in public) to arrive at Vizag and check in safely at the hotel. The room is “chalta hai” types, but they will stay only for a night and they don’t have anybody else to throw tantrums at! After checking in, off they go to Simhachalam, dedicated to Lord Narasimha - part man, part lion. Apart from the architecture, the prasadam consisting of lemon rice and macro-sized ladoos is awesome! 

Food for thought here – Strange as it is, how organized religious places in India can be, and how messed up everything else is!

The rest of the evening is spent strolling along the Ramakrishna Beach, getting almost blown away by the winds, gorging on food at Windies (a beach-side open food joint), taking a tour in the insides of the INS Kurusura submarine, and posing and photographing.

Day 2: Begins with torrential rain on a dark early morning, dragging heavy bags in an open auto and then finally in a wet local train. The only consolation is the delicious idli breakfast on banana leaves. By the way, BDY are going to Araku, to be far far away from the cacophony of the city, to rest and roost in peace! The train snails through the numerous tunnels, climbing mountain to mountain,crossing the lush green valleys, the dense tropical forests, the villages, amidst the rain and the sunshine, making a picture beautiful enough to be a wallpaper. The local people get on and off the train, their attire and appearances changing, as the train nears Araku. In all these five hours, Bee, the Hercules, is hanging halfway out of the train to video record the entire journey, and Dee and Why taking turns to hold her hand and shirt to ensure she doesn’t fall out of the train!

At Araku, things take an interesting turn.

Firstly, Bee-Dee-Why are not all pleased with the unkempt room allotted to them. Chik-chik-chik-chik. Room changed.

Secondly, since three “alone” girls are like “open safe” (as per a very popular Hindi flick), all the local car providers try to exploit them. By evening there’s a situation that none of the agencies in the whole of Araku want to rent them a car. More chik-chik and melodrama (coupled with certain strategies known only to the fairer community!). Car booked. Exploiters kicked well! 

Phew! Life is a battlefield!

Day 3: Return from Araku to Vizag. Happily riding in a “pre-booked car”, sight-seeing at Anantagiri coffee plantation, the mesmerizing Borra Caves, the treacherous Katiki waterfall, more posing and more photographs, and crashing at Rushikonda.

Day 4: Rushikonda Beach is the place to be! The quite clean sea beach, the foamy waves crashing on the sand, the wonderful food joint and the plush resort nearby, are heavenly! BDY are ecstatic on seeing their room. After a wonderful round of sea-bathing, visit to Kailasagiri Park and loads of shopping, what more to ask than spending a quite peaceful evening under the starry sky and singing songs and chatting with friends.

Day 5: Time for three happy and cheery souls to fly back to the humdrum of the city with batteries fully charged to last another six months, loads of photos to be posted on Facebook, and, some vague little point strongly proved!

And now you’ll ask me….

What the damn point is?! :)

Pujor Lekha ~ Porbo 3

Continued from Pujor lekha - Porbo-2

||Mohaloya||

 Thik kon saal mone nei. Tobe mone pore amader purono radio ta te thikthak kono station dhorto na bole Baba ekta gaabda Santosh radio kine enechilo. Mohaloyar din bhor paanchtay seta cholbei cholbe. Dada r ami bheeshon birokto hotam. Bhabtam, "kono dorkar ache esob faltoo sentiment r ritual er? Prottek bochhor e to ashe!"

Aaj 2012-r Mohaloya. Thik bhor paanchtay jokhon alarm ta baajlo, tokhon mone holo, "Eibaare radio baajbe."
Besh khanikkhon ghaapti mere shuye thaklam ei ashay j ekkhuni aasher-paasher barite tv ba radio beje uthbe r bichhanay shuye shuyei Mohaloya ta shune phelbo.
Kintu se guure baali.
Paanch-Dos minute poreo kono awaaj na shunte peye nijei koshto kore giye tv ta khullam.

Ekhon bichhanay boshe boshe radio-r moto Mohaloya shunchi tv te r bhor howar opekkha korchi. Nijer uddoge jeebone ei prothom.

Mone mone bhabchi, "Amar holo ta ki?"!!

Bujhlam boyesh baarchhe. Faltoo sentiment gulo aashte-pristhe joriye dhorche.

Mandir-tandir er chhaya paroto pokkhe maraina. Pujo-tujo teo khub beshi bissasi noi. Taoo aj nije theke tv ta chalate besh koshtoi holo.

Upolobdhi korlam, chhoto chhoto oproyojoniyo jinishgulo mone koriye deoar lok dine dine komei jachhe. Eke oporer privacy k jayga dite dite ajkaal Mohaloya tao amra nijeder barite low volume e shuni. Modernization er chokkore aaj sob kichu k proshno korte korte kothay eshe dariyechi amra! Ei j bhor paanchtay uthe Mohaloya shona, "Pujo Pujo" bole lafaano, esober kono dorkaar ache?

Na nei.

Kintu seiikhanei esober thakar sobcheye boro karon. Kichu kichu jinisher sudhu thakar jonnei thaka. Bola jete paare upolokkhotai lokkho. Manusher eke opor k mone koriye deoa, "Tumi eka nei, amio achhi tomar songe"; "Bari esho, abar dekha hobe". 

Prochondo unprogressive kotha bolchi - Ei odorkaari reetigulo chirokal chilo, chirokal thakbe. Amra kono proshno korbo na, kono torke jabo na. Sudhu bissas korbo. We just have to keep believing.

Bhor holo. Maa Durga sejeguje toiri hoye gechen baaper bari ashar jonne. R amra chirokaaler sentimental Bangali sobai mone mone boli,
 

"Jaago Durga, jaago Doshoprohorodharini.."!

~*~

Pujor Lekha ~ Porbo 2

Continued from Pujor Lekha- Porbo 1

|| Saktigarh||

                Soptahante Kolkata theke bari phirchhi. Sokal chho-tar bus. Tai bus suddho lok besh ekghoom diye uthlo. Ashwin mash. Besh chorchore rode uthe geche ei sokal saare saat-tatei. Neel akaash, sada megh, guchchho guchchho shubhro kaashphool, digonto bistrito sobuj dhaaner khet. Weather- er emoni gun j panapukurer beguni ronga kochuripana dekheo mon bhalo hoye jay.

                Bishwakorma pujo geche kodin agei. Bangalir pujo prostuti ekhon jorkodome cholchhe. Kolkatar pujo mane bishaal ayojon. Maasher por mash theme planning; thakur r pandaler bayna sei kobe theke. Innovation stretched to its heights. Sei September-er shuru theke hoarding pore geche – “Kaw” Club-er theme naarishokti bondona, shilpi “Khaw Pal”; “Gaw” pollir pujor pandale ebare dekha jabe Banglar potsongskritir chhorachhori. Pandaler baansh bandha sesh. Ebaare kapor jorano r sajanor kaaj baaki.

                Pujote Kolkatay kokhonoi thakina. Sudhu chakrite join korbaar porpor-e ekbaar Panchamite thekechhilam. Bondhura mile onek raat porjonto ghurechhilam. Eisob alada alada theme er thakur r pandal sojja – dekhte besh lagey kintu. Photo tule tule sesh r hoyna. Sottie! Art ekei bole.

                Bangla khoborer channelguloy Maa Durgar chhobi diye pujor countdown shuru hoye giyechhe. Pre-pujo bhromon – orthaat kon onchole ki special pujo hochhe ebaar – taar jonno bisesh protibedon dekhano hochhe. Robbaarer kagojer maajher du-pata jure sudhu jutor bigyapon. Pochhonder model thik kore niye torighori dokaane jaan. Noile kopaale lomba line-e daarano ache. Echharao ache pujor special discount offer – fridge, tv, furniture, saree, goyna – sudhu kenar opekkha. Dorjir dokaane ekhon konoi bheer nei. Karon order neoa bondho hoye giyeche sei September-er shurutei. Ekhon sudhu jorkodome kaaj r delivery deoa. Jara hasslefree shopping korte ichchuk, taara bheer jomiyechhen shopping mall guloy.

                Bangalir pujo juto-jama-bag ei sesh noy. Intellectual Bangali jaater pujoy esob chharao ache gaan-kobita-golpo-boi. Pujor dine barite ekta pujo-sonkha na thakle, ba sokaalbelar shiulir gondher songe pujor ekta gaaner sur na mishe gele, thik jeno maan thakena.

                Ei bochhore sob e jeno olotpalot. Charidike eto oshaanti, maramaari, katakati. Sei kobe theke sunchi duniya ta naki ebochhorei roshatole jabe. Tobe taate pujor anonde bhaanta poreni ektuo. Maa Duggar honour e kodin nahoy amra sobai ektu maniye-guchhiyei nilam. Sobaar mone ektai kotha ekhon – “Pujota jaak. Tarpor nahoy dekha jabe!”

~*~

Continued to  Pujor lekha - porbo 3

Travelogue - Tajpur Trip - Part Four

Continued from Travelogue-Tajpur Trip-Part-Three

Morning. September 9, 2012. Tajpur.

We had a plan to see the sunrise. But nature was not willing to co-operate with us. So we slept blissfully (no that comfortably because the beds were not good) and woke up at around 8 am. 

It was the D-day!

Out came our (of course I am talking about us girls) colourful slippers and vibrant clothes. Sunglasses on, we marched towards the beach. This time a new one, the one we had wanted to explore the previous evening. 

After a long walk through the winding red path, we reached the main beach. The wide expanse of the sea and the beach welcomed us with open arms. It was cloudy with the sun bursting at frequent intervals. The water shimmered like silver. The horizon shone like the blade of a new sword. We had never before seen such a clean beach. It was virgin in the truest sense. Red crabs crawled all over and they quickly got into their holes as we walked towards them. The air was so fresh. There were fishing boats far into the sea. We all jumped into the water and simply went mad. We swam, we ran, we tried to drown each other, fought with each other, got drenched in the rain and did what not!

We were alive! And free!

~*~

Afternoon. September 9, 2012. Back to Kolkata.

The bane of being a software engineer is that you stop having a personal life. So whatever time you can snatch from in between your work, you have to learn to make the most of it. In management terms, you have to know to make optimum use of the minimum resources available.

Keeping this teaching in mind (which we have learnt over the many years of our professional lives), we left Tajpur with refreshed minds and happy but longing hearts. It was time to get back to the shackles. Our superfast driver must not have enjoyed the trip. He was in a great hurry to get back to the city. So he drove at 120 kilometres per hour. But we were in no mood to get back so soon.

Aish had to get back to her hostel. She bade us goodbye at Mecheda, especially to Gokul, for whom she had developed a special liking (She claims she had never before seen anything like him!).

The next part of our journey was unprecedented. Much against the wishes of Piyush, as a result of constant urging by Gokul and majority of votes in favour of him, we all ended up on a practically non-existent road in a very remote area in Bagnan. It was Gokul’s village.

Joyee had never been to such a village before. I had been when I was very young. And Gokul’s high spirits were contagious. So there were we walking along the sylvan paths amidst the verdant landscape. There were sprawling rice fields, ample tall trees, rose fields (!!!), ponds and curious villagers who scanned Joyee and me with their x-ray eyes. Gokul was a darling in getting us five big blooming roses for free! (I wanted to give him one of those right there, but he threatened me for attempting to ruin his reputation!) We were warmly welcomed at his home and offered lots of food of which we could eat only a small amount (we were already so full!). What else happened there, I better not tell here, because many people’s “reputation” and my dear life are at stake. So let’s just say that Gokul is a highly prospective groom (he is in search of a bride, if girls out there are interested) and currently is in great demand!

Since we did not want to keep our furious driver waiting, we left Gokul’s place early, with very happy hearts and continued our journey back to the city.

And thus ended, two days of short-lived freedom, leaving behind renewed vigour and wonderful memories.

P.S. - Just one week over and we are already planning for a new trip! Yoohoo!

~*~

Travelogue - Tajpur Trip - Part Three

Continued from Travelogue-Tajpur Trip-Part-Two

1.30 pm. Same day. Tajpur.

Yes! We had finally reached. The drive was wonderful. We were truly now in the midst of untainted natural beauty.

Dense shrubs and tall Casuarina (Jhau) trees surrounded us. A swarm of various coloured butterflies hovered around the yellow wild flowers. The red muddy path winded through the trees and vanished far into the sands.

We left our luggage at the hotel (Green Earth Resort) and bounded off to see the sea.

After crossing a small forest of Jhau trees and climbing the sand dune, we had a first look of the sea. Aaah! The open sea!

The only coconut water seller invited us to have a seat under the umbrellas. Gokul and Shiv sprinted towards the sea. Something had happened to them. Maybe it was the taste of freedom.

We girls didn’t have the intention to get wet that day. We had proper and elaborate plans for the next day. Piyush obviously didn’t like the rocky beach. He decided to stay under the umbrellas. Joyee, Aish and I followed the other two towards the waters. We could see Gokul and Shiv springing like grasshoppers in the sea. As we stood on the beach laughing at them, those two rogues came from nowhere and pulled Joyee and me into the water. It was no use shouting and cursing. We were pushed into the sea. I fell down, hurt my leg, got up, cursed Gokul profusely, and then surrendered haplessly. I was wet. And badly tanned because I had not cared to put on enough sunscreen.

Still cursing Gokul and the entire “Man”kind, I returned under the safe haven of the umbrella, where my deeply mortified soul was nursed with fresh coconut water.

After a while, our three musketeers came back and we returned to the hotel to have a very late lunch.

~*~

Evening. Same day. Tajpur.

We are true Bongs! After the heavy lunch of rice, sukto, daal, potoler torkari (curry), pomfret maachh (fish) and chaatni, we went for a bhaat ghoom (afternoon nap). When we woke up, it was almost dark outside.

Aish was still in deep slumber, most probably dreaming of cute guys in her university. (She’ll kill me for this!) The rest of us decided to explore the terrain.

Evening was slowly setting in. It was quiet everywhere. The butterflies had long gone home. The crickets had taken their place. The only electric light streaming out was from the hotels. There was no moon. The sky was cloudy. It looked like it would rain. The muddy red path was barely visible.

Being adventurous and stupid, none of us had remembered to carry a torch. Yet, we continued along the path. There were quite a few hotels around. Electricity was a problem. But they had generators. For basic amenities, there were small shops (“Gumti”), which were christened by the hoteliers as “Sob pawa jay dokaan” (shop where you get everything. Every pun intended!) We bought shampoo sachets and Thumbs Up at one such shop and thought it better to return to the hotel since it was very dark and threatened to rain.

Once at the hotel, it was time for some good solid adda. Aish had woken up from her sweet dreams. We ordered chicken pakoras and hot tea. The discussion started with confessions about crushes and true loves, where we told half-truths and lied to our hearts’ content. Then it veered to ghost stories which flourished in that ambience. It was raining hard. We were in the midst of a deep jungle. We did not know the very few people there. What more do you want for ghost stories? Joyee was already trying to curl between Aish and me. Somebody went and drew the curtains. Man! It was fearsome and lovely!

~*~

Continued To Travelogue-Tajpur Trip-Part-Four