I really like to go to a place multiple times. Because depending upon many factors, like the company I have, mode of transport, time of the year etc. the experience is different every time. So when I heard that Pralayda is planning to go to purulia in February, I readily expressed my willingness. This would be my third trip to purulia, Ajodhya Hill Top in particular. First time, a few years back me Gudduda and Kausik came to purulia by train, then took a bus to hill top. That time we explored the hill top on foot. Second time I came here on bike from Tata with again Kausik, Sourav and Pallab last year. I have written about it in this blog. Both were two different time of the year. Now this time my special attraction was the blooming of palash and simul flower which turns the hills into red. Simul had already started blooming in Howrah and Medinipur so I expected to find them at ajodhya hill too.
At first we were 6 members who agreed to go but as the time neared, numbers started to change dramatically. At one time numbers came down to 3. But finally just before the journey date it was finalised that we 5 will ride together on 3 bikes. The members were me on my Honda Shine, Pralayda and Biswajit on Pralayda’s Enfield Classic 350 and Sambit with his wife Ranu on Sambit’s Yemaha FZ25. We started as planned from Tamluk in the dawn. But to our surprise it was thick foggy. We had to be extra careful. Helmets were fogging up. Water was accumulating on our spectacles, eyebrows etc. We were forced to take short breaks to clean things. As we crossed Debra, things had started to clear up. So we stopped at a suitable tea shop for the morning’s first cup of tea.
After pouring two cups of tea each down our throat, we headed for Midnapore. Amritendu promished to join us there. In no time we reached there and as we were waiting for him, we decided to have our breakfast as well. It was our typical midnapurian breakfast of muri, chop and ghugni. In the meantime Amritendu joined us. Untill now I was seeing simul trees with flowers on them. So my hopes were high. Our plan was to go to Mukutmanipur dam first through Goaltore and Raipur. So we diverted from the Midnapore – Chandrakona road at Bhadutala. Untill this point we didnt see any sal trees. I was missing them. But as we turned towards Goaltore we entered sal forest. Everytime I visit sal forest, they present themselves in a new color. And this was the time for gold. The fallen leaves of sal trees have painted the whole forest floor with various shades of gold. It simply blew my mind. I couldnt get enough of it. Sambit and Pralayda were leading the ride while me and Amritendu were lagging behind, partly due to as he was not fully accoustomed to his new bike and partly due to me stopping frequently to take picture. But there was sign of any palash or simul trees flowering as if they had not gotten the news that it was already spring.
Temperature was rising steadily. We had to stop to remove our warm cloths. Eventually we reached Mukutmanipur Dam. As it was off season there were very few people. All the empty boats were anchored on the shore. One food stall was there, a few street food vendor and a lot of flies. Our first goal was to book a boat for joyride. Biswajit went ahead to find a suitable boatman while we were checking out the place. In no time he found a boatman and we immediately boarded his boat and we sailed away. After an hour or two of boat ride it was time for lunch. But Sambit, Pralayda and Biswajit wanted to bathe in the lake first. After lunch we all lay on the jungle floor on the dry leaves for a quick nap. I was thinking about the jungle and the boat ride, it was time well spent.
After half an hour we all got back on our bike and went to the ferry ghat to go on the other side of the lake by boat. We had to wait some time for our turn to load the bike on the boats. It was a difficult task loading the bikes on the boats. The tires were slipping on the narrow wooden board but somehow with the help of others we managed to load our bikes on the boats. Crossing the lake was smooth, we enjoyed the cool breeze of the lake and at the time of deboarding the boatmen came to our rescue. From there we started our journey again towards Manbazar.
As evening was approaching fast we tried to cover as much distance as possible within daylight as riding in night becomes a bit difficult. After reaching Manbazar we followed the highway to Balarampur and took a tea break there. It was dark already. Though it was a highway, it was very narrow. Also random big potholes in otherwise good roads made the riding a bit more difficult. After eating hot & spicy chop & pakoda and a very sweet tea, we headed towards Kumardi village. We took a village road winding through the fields. Only our headlights illuminated a part of it, everywhere else was pitch dark. After that highway with much traffic, riding on this lonely dark road felt really nice. It did took some time to reach our destination. There was our host anxiously waiting for us on the road itself with open arms and a big smile.
Until now I didnt have any idea about where we were going, where we would stay or what wss the occasion. As we started to explore the surrounding, settled in our room and started a pure bengali adda with Nandada and others, I came to know that this was the first posting place of Pralayda. And he mingled with the people so much that he became a member of the community, everyone loved him there. As the night progressed we went to hear the baul song which the local artists were performing in a stage in a field nearby. The whole day riding was taking its toll on my body. I was feeling asleep. So I decided to head back to our room, Sambit and Ranu joined me. Pralayda and Biswajit stayed behind to enjoy the performance. We finally called it a day. While returning I stared at the sky and the millions of stars were shining which the lights of a city can not ever imitate.
Continued........
At first we were 6 members who agreed to go but as the time neared, numbers started to change dramatically. At one time numbers came down to 3. But finally just before the journey date it was finalised that we 5 will ride together on 3 bikes. The members were me on my Honda Shine, Pralayda and Biswajit on Pralayda’s Enfield Classic 350 and Sambit with his wife Ranu on Sambit’s Yemaha FZ25. We started as planned from Tamluk in the dawn. But to our surprise it was thick foggy. We had to be extra careful. Helmets were fogging up. Water was accumulating on our spectacles, eyebrows etc. We were forced to take short breaks to clean things. As we crossed Debra, things had started to clear up. So we stopped at a suitable tea shop for the morning’s first cup of tea.
After pouring two cups of tea each down our throat, we headed for Midnapore. Amritendu promished to join us there. In no time we reached there and as we were waiting for him, we decided to have our breakfast as well. It was our typical midnapurian breakfast of muri, chop and ghugni. In the meantime Amritendu joined us. Untill now I was seeing simul trees with flowers on them. So my hopes were high. Our plan was to go to Mukutmanipur dam first through Goaltore and Raipur. So we diverted from the Midnapore – Chandrakona road at Bhadutala. Untill this point we didnt see any sal trees. I was missing them. But as we turned towards Goaltore we entered sal forest. Everytime I visit sal forest, they present themselves in a new color. And this was the time for gold. The fallen leaves of sal trees have painted the whole forest floor with various shades of gold. It simply blew my mind. I couldnt get enough of it. Sambit and Pralayda were leading the ride while me and Amritendu were lagging behind, partly due to as he was not fully accoustomed to his new bike and partly due to me stopping frequently to take picture. But there was sign of any palash or simul trees flowering as if they had not gotten the news that it was already spring.
Temperature was rising steadily. We had to stop to remove our warm cloths. Eventually we reached Mukutmanipur Dam. As it was off season there were very few people. All the empty boats were anchored on the shore. One food stall was there, a few street food vendor and a lot of flies. Our first goal was to book a boat for joyride. Biswajit went ahead to find a suitable boatman while we were checking out the place. In no time he found a boatman and we immediately boarded his boat and we sailed away. After an hour or two of boat ride it was time for lunch. But Sambit, Pralayda and Biswajit wanted to bathe in the lake first. After lunch we all lay on the jungle floor on the dry leaves for a quick nap. I was thinking about the jungle and the boat ride, it was time well spent.
After half an hour we all got back on our bike and went to the ferry ghat to go on the other side of the lake by boat. We had to wait some time for our turn to load the bike on the boats. It was a difficult task loading the bikes on the boats. The tires were slipping on the narrow wooden board but somehow with the help of others we managed to load our bikes on the boats. Crossing the lake was smooth, we enjoyed the cool breeze of the lake and at the time of deboarding the boatmen came to our rescue. From there we started our journey again towards Manbazar.
As evening was approaching fast we tried to cover as much distance as possible within daylight as riding in night becomes a bit difficult. After reaching Manbazar we followed the highway to Balarampur and took a tea break there. It was dark already. Though it was a highway, it was very narrow. Also random big potholes in otherwise good roads made the riding a bit more difficult. After eating hot & spicy chop & pakoda and a very sweet tea, we headed towards Kumardi village. We took a village road winding through the fields. Only our headlights illuminated a part of it, everywhere else was pitch dark. After that highway with much traffic, riding on this lonely dark road felt really nice. It did took some time to reach our destination. There was our host anxiously waiting for us on the road itself with open arms and a big smile.
Until now I didnt have any idea about where we were going, where we would stay or what wss the occasion. As we started to explore the surrounding, settled in our room and started a pure bengali adda with Nandada and others, I came to know that this was the first posting place of Pralayda. And he mingled with the people so much that he became a member of the community, everyone loved him there. As the night progressed we went to hear the baul song which the local artists were performing in a stage in a field nearby. The whole day riding was taking its toll on my body. I was feeling asleep. So I decided to head back to our room, Sambit and Ranu joined me. Pralayda and Biswajit stayed behind to enjoy the performance. We finally called it a day. While returning I stared at the sky and the millions of stars were shining which the lights of a city can not ever imitate.
Continued........
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