Trip to Konark and Puri,Orissa. Day Two.

We got up early the next day and went to the beach which was close to where we were staying.It was 5am in the morning and even at that time there were many people on the beach.It was evident that the sunrise here was famous and worth your time.We spotted the light of a lighthouse in the distance and Ashwin suggested that we go there.We agreed and started walking towards it.On the way we came across anxiously waiting families not wanting to miss the event,sand artists starting there work and mounds of garbage thrown there right on the beach.

Carefully avoiding all these we soon reached nearby the lighthouse where we were disappointed to realize that it was not on the beach as we anticipated but across the road among some buildings.we decided to remain on the beach though Ashwin later went and saw that it was closed.We made a note to visit it in the evening when it would be open.By the time we reached here it was time for the sunrise.I could see streaks of light slowly illuminating the sky and we waited with our cameras ready but to our dismay there were clouds in the distance and the sun rise was covered by them.After sometime everyone left to visit the Lord Jagannath Temple and I remained back at the beach.I walked around clicking pics and observing the people.I spotted a tea shop  with some chairs around and went there and ordered a tea.The tea tasted bitter but the atmosphere was great.The wind caressing my hair and cheeks,the mild warmth of the sun,and bitter yet refreshing taste of the tea made the moment unforgettable.

                       It was 9am when i made my way back to the hotel and by that time abhishek,ravi,ashwin and satya also came back.We had breakfast at a nearby hotel.while we were eating we saw a procession of people holding a string of beads called a harimala in one hand and a small bag containing what I dont know in the other.Most of the people were foreigners.There were kids too in them.The procession was huge and all of them were chanting and this scene reminded me of the fact that Puri is one of India's biggest spiritual centers and is among the seven holiest places in India.After the breakfast we went back to the hotel to take a short nap.At around 11am we got up and changed into our beach wear.Wearing no footwear we walked around the streets.This was the best moment of this trip for me.Nobody gave us a second look as there were many people doing this.Many people were walking towards the beach and on the busy road i could see many cars arriving with more tourists.As it was sunday the crowd on the beach was huge.I spotted a foreign couple taking a surfboard with them.Soon we reached the beach and moved towards a place where there were relatively less people.We ran towards the water and started jumping and screaming as soon as we touched it.We moved in and the waves started beating down upon us and it was exhilarating. This was my third beach visit after Vishakapatnam and Machilipatnam.Even then the fun was no different.Ashwin didn't join us preferring to stay in the hotel than come and get wet in the water.He became the butt of our jokes for the rest of the trip for this decision.
                        After reluctantly getting out of the waters it was time for lunch.We went to a Bengali Restaurant (Looked as if more than half the population of puri is bengali) called 'Dadi Boudi'.We had some authentic bengali food consisting of different types of fish and prawns.After lunch ravi and abhishek went back to the hotel to get some more sleep while satya,ashwin and myself decided to go to the Lighthouse.We walked there and found that there was still an hour to go before it opens.We spotted a tent and three chairs below it on the beach nearby and made our way there to spend the waiting time.

We interrupted the discussion going on between the two guys who were sitting there and asked about the fare.One of them said its Rs30 per chair per hour.We bargained and in the end got Rs10 for each for the hour.We sat down under the shade.We talked among ourselves while looking over at the sea and it felt good.Soon the time was up and we went to the Lighthouse.It opened just as we went and apart from ourselves there was a middle aged man with his daughter with him.We took the tickets and ascended the spiral staircase and reached the top.We had a look at the modern light Emitting Bulb.We took pics at the top and took in the views it had to offer.After that others joined us and we went shopping in the colourful beach market.I bought a bag for my sister and a Konark wheel which i got for a very low price of Rs20.Others all bought somethings and soon we went back to the hotel as we had a 8pm train to catch.We took parcels of food from a nearby hotel and had our dinner on the train.Thus came to an end my first visit to Orissa.
Note- the Lighthouse is open only in the Evening from 4pm to 5pm.

Trip to Konark and Puri,Orissa. Day One

The lure of visiting a new state,the mystery surrounding the konark temple and the cool beaches of Puri,these were the reasons I decided to make a trip to Orissa with my friends.After much planning Abhishek,Raviteja,Satya,Ashwin and myself found ourselves on the railway station of Raigarh. We took the Raja Rani Express and reached Bhubaneshwar the next day at 7 in the morning.

         I was impressed with the Bhubaneshwar railway station.It looked swanky and clean and add to that it was not crowded.We proceeded to the 11th century Lingaraja temple through an auto we hired.En route I had a look at the city.It looked quite spacious and open.I don't know if it was the route we took or its really the case but it did not look like other Indian cities,congested and crowded.Our stop at the state museum turned out to be a dissapointment as it was closed that day.Cursing my luck(as others were anyway not interested) we moved on to the temple.Here everyone left for the puja meanwhile I roamed the streets surrounding the temple.I found a very different atmosphere here.There was big pond nearby and I walked on the road sourrounding it.Pandas draped in saffron were walking around here and there.People were taking dips in the pond.All around me I could see everyone was related to the temple.It was getting very hot and sweat began to drip from my forehead and I made my way back and sat in a nearby juice stall and ordered a maosambi juice,my favorite.As I was sipping my juice my friends came back breathlessly praising the temple architecture inside.I saw the photos which they took secretly(yes,its not allowed).I nodded my head in agreement after seeing the pics.It was really good.Meanwhile everyone ordered some juices and after quenching our thirst,we decided on our next course of plan.

           We decided to go to Konark in the afternoon.After asking around we first decided to board a bus to Konark but having reached the place where we could get the bus we changed our mind when we were approached by a guy telling us that he can take us to Konark with Rs800.We bargained hard with him and finally settled on Rs500.We boarded the mini van at around 1pm and off we went.We didn't regret our decision as the sun overhead was beating down on us unbearably and even in that van we were mighty uncomfortable with the heat.Along the way we had a look at the Orissa countryside.Its just like other parts of India,nothing indistinguishable.I noticed that every village en route had a state bank branch and an

ATM.That was good.contrary to what I keep hearing from people in Orissa that there is no development in the state, I found this quite uplifting.There was some development in the touristy sides atleast,I don't know about other parts. We reached Konark at around 2pm.We had some stops in the middle.The van wala dropped us at some distance from the temple saying that automobiles were not allowed any further.We strolled through the road leading to the temple.There were a number of shops selling small souvenirs.We bought none thinking we would buy something while returning.Later I would regret this decision.

At first look the Konark doesn't impress you at least it didn't to me.As I moved slowly towards it and around it I could slowly comprehend the gigantic task the King Narsimhadeva 2 the one who built this, undertook.
The moment I saw the Konark wheel there was this rush of excitement just like that Gol Gumbaz moment i had in Bijapur.Karnataka.I have been reading and seeing pictures about this wheel from my childhood and to now stand in front of it in person was a good feeling.

We slowly walked around the whole structure and had a close look at the walls.Before coming here as part of the research I did on the temple I found a very good description mentioning some unique and unusual sculptures found here.There is a Chinese women,a Tibetian monk and a giraffe(which is an animal unique in Africa and not found in India).We couldn't find any of them.As the writer of that article correctly suggested taking a guide is a must if you want see the above mentioned sculptures and also for more anecdotes and information.We abandoned our search for these after sometime and took some pics.And then we did what I always insist on doing at these kind of monuments.Sit somewhere and watch the whole thing from a distance.Also Konark is a World Heritage Sight.It deserves your respect.Soon it was evening and we still had to go to Puri before night time  We asked around and an auto wala took us to the tiny and open bustand of Konark. From here we boarded a small bus to Puri. This was the worst part of the whole trip.The conductor shoved in so many people that I couldn't breathe properly.Thankfully we all got seats to sit.That was the only relief.It took the guy an hour and 15 minutes to cover a distance of 30km. I was angry and upset by all this but everything changed the moment I saw the Puri beach in front of us.The sound of the water was like music to my ears.There were so many people on the beach and on the roads.This was a welcome change.We soon checked in our hotel and went out on a walk.Everything looked so full of energy.People were buying stuff from the roadside shops,there were mouth watering food stalls,souvenir shops,little kids excitedly running towards the water,frantic parents running after them,couples lost in their own world and guy gangs like ourselves laughing.We strolled along the road along the beach until we found a nice open air restuarant. We went in and having made up my mind to eat only seafood on this trip I ordered chilli prawn curry and rice.The food was finger licking good and the great atmosphere with the sound of waves crashing and the people talking over it soothed my mind and any traces of anger resulting from that bus ride finally gave away and I was in a totally upbeat mood now.After the dinner we walked back to our hotel and tucked in for the night.

A video of our trip to Puri and Konark

In Review : 2012

I know this is late for a year review but I will proceed anyway.Last year was quite good for me.I visited places in four states in India.

The Gol Gumbaz

           Back in march last year I visited one of India's most underestimated and unappreciated places, Bijapur in Karnataka.The Gol Gumbaz rates as one of the most awe inspiring monuments I have seen in my life.The size and grandeur of the Gumbaz is huge and magnificent.Along with the Gumbaz the huge Jama Masjid,the huge Canon,the huge fort all make an exciting journey to Bijapur

Geographical Center of India

          Next in August I went to Nagpur in Maharashtra for writing an exam.Writing an exam did not held me back from doing as much as sight seeing as possible.Armed with printouts of routes to take from my hotel I covered some significant places like the Geographical centre of India and the Small but interesting museum  Nagpur has nothing else to offer except these two.There are malls,movie theatres and amusement parks but by know you may be knowing i am not the kind to go to those.

Singhanpur Caves

          Next in August I moved to Raigarh, Chhattisgarh to pursue my PG in Thermal Power Plant Technology in Jindal Institute of Technology.A whole new exciting and unexplored state was calling me and I promptly responded by making my first trip to the Singhanpur Caves near Raigarh.The climb to the top of the mountain where the caves were,was awesome and my eventual trip report about it was appreciated in the Indiamike forum cause its still unknown among many.Next I went the Mahanadi to have fun in the river.The place was beautiful.

River Mahanadi

Indian Coffee House,Kolkatta

           In December I went to Kolkatta,WestBengal with Abhishek. This was my second visit to the city of thinkers and artists and this trip was to meet deepanjan,my childhood friend who moved to Kolkata.We met, we roamed the streets of Kolkata,we ate the street food,spent time in the gardens of Victoria Memorial,tried lots of different types of fish dishes and all in all it was an awesome end to the year.

Kolkata,The City of Joy

This was my second visit to Kolkata.The first one was back in my second year of Engineering when my dad took me there and from where we went on to Agartala.This time I had Abhishek and Deepanjan,Bengalis themselves to help me.

The plan to go to Kolkata was spontaneous.It emerged from the fact that we had five holidays ahead of us and our plans to go to Orissa coudn't materialise properly with a number people dropping off from it. So abhishek and me,having decided that is was a long time since we had met our friend deepanjan, decided to go to Kolkata.So within an hour ,we packed our bags and off we went.Luckily for us, a group of abhishek's friends were going to Kolkata the same night and we joined them.We took two general tickets and in the train we bought sleeper clas tickets from the TC and adjusted with abhishek's friends.A million thanks to them.We took the 8 30pm Howra Mail from Raigarh.

We reached kolkata the next morning at 7 30 am.We said our goodbyes to abhishek's friends and started looking for a hotel around the howrah station.We got a decent hotel nearby.We then called deepanjan and around 10 am he arrived .All that while we were strolling on the British era Howrah Bridge.Here we had a small discussion about the days plan and firstly decided to go to the Esplanade area.So accordingly we boarded a ferry across the River Hoogly to Babughat.From there we walked past the Eden gardens,the maidan and then finally reached the college street and the new market area.We had hot kati rolls here and from there we went on to the famous bakery,Kathleen.Here we had some nice pastries.We then rambled along to the british era Hogg market.Here we sat down and just took in the atmosphere.Kolkata has this strong residual british influence still left in it and it can be seen everywhere.The buildings being the strongest reminder.I spotted some buildings here which were constructed as back as in 1886.After some time here musing about Kolkata, we went inside the market.Everything from keychains to jewelery could be found here.

Sweets at KC Das

New market was next on the list.Here we strolled along looking at the various stuff the stall keepeers had to offer.I bought some small hand bags as souvenirs.Then in the afternoon we went to park street.As deepanjan had some work near Jadavpur University we went there by catching a metro.After his work was done we casually walked around and luckily for us there was a fish stall and eager to have some seafood I quickly orderd fish fry and prawns.Though I was dissipointed by the taste I was content with the fact that I tried something new.Evening came and we went back and decided to have some kebabs in a nearby restuarant.So we went to this 'Singhji ka Dhaba' where we had three types of kebabs and some chicken.We ate our fill and when we were done it was time to part.Deepanjan was to take the local back to home from Howrah.Once again we boarded the ferry from bapughat and had some wonderful views of the city.The howrah bridge was wonderfuly and subtly lit up and was a delight to look at.We parted ways near the Railway Station and abhishek and myself made our way back to our hotel content with the days travels.

Indian Coffee Prince

The next day started off in real earnest.Abhishek and myself got up,had some excellent breakfast of kachori nearby and discussed our plans for the day over breakfast.After this discussion we decided to go visit Rabindranath Tagore's home which has been converted into a museum.Its called Jorashanko Takhurbari.After much asking around the sharp bylanes we found ourselves standing in front of the entrance to Ravindra Bharati University.We strolled inside looking around the small but beautiful campus.Soon we entered the actual home of  Rabindranath Tagore.He came from a rich family and that showed in the size of the house.We skipped in and out of the numerous rooms looking around.There was a whole section dedicated just to the relationship between Rabindranath and Japan.There were 

Hotel Prince

pictures,manuscripts,books,clothes and other items related to him.Apart from us there was a big group of students and a couple of other visitors.There was a chinese couple also.Anyway we spent some time here,took some pics and left the museum in a couple of hours.From here we went to the famous and iconic Indian Coffee House where the likes of Rabindranath Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose used to come.It is Kolkata's favorite hangout place or what is locally called 'adda'.We had some delicious chicken pakoras and chicken something.The ambience of the hotel was great.

Tram

Our next stop was the famous Victoria Memorial.By the time we reached there by taking trams,buses and metro( just for fun) it was evening.We spent some time in the sprawling gardens around the british marvel and took some great pics.It was dark soon and we made our way to new market next.Everything was beautifully decorated here,with Christmas round the corner.At a roadside stall we had some delicious momos and kebabs.Soon it was dinner time and we went to the famous Prince hotel.We had two types of fish here,Pabda Mach and bowal mach.From here we called it a day and went back to our hotel and the next day we started back for Raigarh.

Highlights of the trip

1- Muffins at Kathleen Bakery.

2- Rasgollos at KC Das.

3- Fish Dishes at Hotel Prince.

4- Rides in Tram,Metro,Ferry and Bus.

5- Snacks in Indian Coffee House.

6- Momos at a roadside stall in New Market.

7- A Walk on the Iconic Howrah Bridge.

8- Rabindra Nath Tagore's House.

9- Walks in and around Hogg Market,New Market and College Street.

10-Chicken and Egg Rol from Hot Kati Rolls.

River Mahanadi at Chandrapur,Chhattisgarh

As I laid down on my back on the sun baked sands of the River Mahanadi,there was stillness all around,the sky was crystal clear with not a speck of cloud visible anywhere,and the only sound I could hear was the low murmur made by the water.The stillness was ocassionally broken by the squeal of a bird or the sound of children playing at the river bank in the distance.I covered up my legs with the sand for that warm,intoxicating feeling that comes with sand exposed to sunlight.I looked up at the sky,at the vast blue clear expanse and with the stillness in the background,I felt like I was in a different world,detached from the world, I felt at peace.

   That was my best experience of the trip me and my friends made to the River Mahanadi last Sunday.

  The plan developed when me and satya were having a casual talk about going somewhere near for timepass the day before.I suggested Mahanadi and because of a lack of interest from abhishek and raviteja we decided only me and satya will go.The next morning my room-mate sanket asked me to find out if other people were interested to come so that he could arrange a car if enough people were ready to come.

 I went out to the mess where people were having breakfast and told one of them about the plan.Slowly the news spread and at the end 12 of us were ready to go including Sanket,Abhishek,Satya,Rajesh,Pruthvi,Amit,Sai,Shashank,Siddharta,Poornesh,Anush and myself. Sanket arranged a tavera for us.we departed at around 11am.we reached Chandrapur 45mins later.

 Chandrapur is a small town 30km south of Raigarh with the famous temple,Chandrahasini being its most famous attraction,the river Mahanadi being the other.

Except Abhishek,Amit and myself everyone left for the temple.We strolled around and walked on the nearby bridge over the Mahanadi. In the middle of the river there is an island  which has another temple and the bridge continues from here to the other side.

   We got down to the river bank from a ghat built near the island mentioned above.We searched around for a clean place and after finding one,we got into the water.We played around and did all the things people generally people do in water,splash it around,hold breath and go underwater etc.  The speed of the water was very high and at spots where the water reached upto our chests we had difficulty in standing properly.After some time we spotted some rocks jutting out towards the river on the other side and abhishek and myself  made our way towards it so that we could do some diving or in our terms just jumping in the water from some height.The water reached as high as our necks at the deepest point and that scared us a bit but that was only for a moment and the water level dropped immediately after.Soon we reached the area and to our surprise there was a small lagoon shaped water body there.

The water was green and was shining in the sunshine.It was very tempting and inviting but we resisted going in as it looked deep.We looked around,climbed on the rocks,ran on the sand and as the place was too good we decided to go back,get our camera and come back again.So we did just that and took some great pics and videos of us jumping in the river.At around 3pm the rest came back from the temple,so we went back to our place.Here the 12 of us had lots of fun.But One thing that annoyed me was that everyone was too busy in taking pics than enjoying the pure bliss of an experience in a river.This led me to jokingly remark that we need to ban cameras the next time we go on a trip.But then somebody reminded me that everyone has his/her own idea of enjoyment .

That was true of course and I kept quiet.At around 5pm we wound up and slowly ,wearily made our way back to our car.while going back we stopped at a popular dhaba named,surprise surprise,'Popular Dhaba' where we had some delicious dishes made even more delicious by our own hunger.And that ended our second trip since we came to Chhattisgarh.

Location-Chandrapur
Distance- 30km from Raigarh
Car fare- Rs 1200 to and fro ( for a Chevrolet Tavera)

Singhanpur Caves,Raigarh,Chhattisgarh

Last Tuesday we visited the Singhanpur caves and Ram Jharna picnic spot.Let me tell you upfront Singhanpur caves is not for the casual tourist.You need determination and interest to see it.I had done my research on it before I came to Raigarh and imagined it to be something like the Borra caves near Vishakapatnam (the only other caves I ever visited) But this far from it.The approach to singhanpur caves is quite difficult.On the internet there are only three lines about this caves.
''Singhanpur is most popular for its ancient caves..
Singhanpur is situated 20 kms. away from Raigarh and has the distinction of hosting the oldest scupltures on earth. These sculptures are claimed to have been created in 30000 B.C. and look very similar to Mexican and Spanish sculptures''
What nobody mentions is the difficulty in reaching these caves.Let me give an account of the trip we made.
It was on Tuesday that we made the decision to go.My friends Abhishek,Satya,Ravi Teja,Mangesh,Sanket,Ashwin and myself completed the group.
Since we had no information on how to reach the place we had a little chat with a pan wala and he told us that it was better to hire an auto.So we hired an auto rickshaw for the whole trip.It cost us Rs 500, to and fro the hostel including the waiting charges.It is about 20km from our hostel, so around 23 km from Raigarh  on the Raigarh-Bilaspur highway.The Ram Jharna Picnic spot is on the right side.We got down here and went inside.The ticket cost is Rs5. It is an Eco park and we need to walk for about 1km inside.Mid way there is a Swimming 'tank'.Most of the time it is occupied by 'parivars'(families). So we weren't allowed to go inside. We skipped this part and proceeded ahead to reach the actual Jharna which isn't natural at all.There is a pipe bringing in the water from the mountain tops and a cement block has been constructed from where the water drops off creating a small stream of water fall.Here some boys were bathing complete with soap lather all over them.The place here was crowded with people and the smell of soap was in the air. Polythene bags and cups were strewn around making the place look somewhat dirty.Unless you are spiritually inclined it is better to skip this part.

Ram Jharna Picnic Spot

The only good thing that came out from the Ram Jharna part is that we found a local villager who agreed to take us to the caves.Yes,that right you need a guide to take you there.He warned us to be careful near the caves stressing that the honey bees,which are present in large numbers, get agitated easily and recalled an incident in the past when a youth disregarded his warning and that eventually led to this death.Anyway we took him with us and moved ahead.It was 2km more towards the champa side on the Raigarh-Bilaspur highway and then we reached a curve.(Upto this point a 4 wheeler can come but from here one has to walk) Here a small trail went in to the jungle and to the mountain above.We took this path with the guide at the lead. After a short leisurely walk on a green carpet of grass the actual rocky climb started.

  We climbed up holding onto rocks and bushes and overhanging branches.We crawled on all fours ,we stretched and jumped and hopped around and kept moving.The path offered some nice views of the Monnet Steel Plant below.The path juts along the side of the mountain offering some awesome views.It has a zig zag nature to it, leading me to think that there was a stone path here long ago.We skipped that part and climbed on a straight line as suggested by the guide.The sun was shining overhead and by the time we reached the top we were drenched with sweat.Slowly, as we emerged from the trees the sight of the imposing mountain top met us.The rocky mountain side with huge rocks jutting out presented an awe inspiring sight.

Cave 1

 The first cave was nothing much to talk about.There were two small caves of about 2 feet diameter. After some distance nothing was visible with darkness engulfing the rest.We moved on to the next cave.

Cave 2

This was bigger with a diameter of about 1.5m. A person could go in on his all fours.The place reeked of bat shit and we turned back in disgust after taking a look inside.The third cave was much better and here I had the most fun.This cave's opening was much bigger and a person could easily enter inside.The guide who was with us bade us to enter it with our mobiles flash light. I turned on mine but it didn't illuminate anything. I then took sanket's xperia and turned on its flash light and slowly went inside. I was the only one who was willing to go inside first.There was another group of people already there and some among them,seeing me going inside followed me. Satya also, soon joined in. I slowly and carefully swept the mobile all around the cave looking at the walls.The guide kept telling me that this particular cave has three sections more(thats why the better circulation of air) and told me to find them. I found the first to my right.
This was very small and I could hear the screeching of bats inside.Also the whole floor was now lined with bat shit and I was standing on it barefoot(eeeew!) because the guide told me that it had religious values and ordered me to remove my shoes.Straight ahead lay the second section.

Cave 3

This was a bit bigger and the guide encouraged me to go ahead. I declined saying there were bats ahead.He ignored that and chided me, asking me if I was afraid to go any further.This annoyed me and I moved ahead further and stopped just at the entrance of the second section.I was at the deepest section where one could go standing upright and without disturbing the bats.The sound of the bats was now very sharp and shrill and I knew going ahead any further would be foolish.(I thought to myself that if I ever want to become batman this would be the best way to overcome the fear of bats) From where I stood,I could see the third section of cave starting from my left.The floor of this cave was covered with water and bat shit mixed. I was the only person here at this point and I felt like in some kind of an adventure movie ,shining my mobile into the dark, looking for something.It felt great! and I was satisfied that all the hard work of climbing up was worthwhile.We spent some time here and since the auto wala, whom we hired was getting angry since we exceeded the time we agreed upon,We started back on our return journey.The climb down was a bit tricky as any slip would result in rolling down the slope.Eventually we reached down and made our way back to the auto. I looked back at the mountain and smiled in satisfaction that my travelling journey in Chhattisgarh has well and truly started.
      While returning to the hostel we made a stop at JSPL Hotel Amantran and had a good and hearty lunch.


In Brief
Singhanpur Caves
23km from Raigarh on Raigarh-Bilaspur Highway.
How to Reach- the last 2km have be covered on foot the rest can be covered with a vehicle.Hire a Guide at the local village or better ask the security guard at the Ram Jharna Eco Park.
Discovered by-C.W.Anderson in 1913
Also heres something from www.cgculture.in
''The first discovery of rock art in Chhattisgarh was made in 1910 by C.W. Anderson, an engineer in the Bengal/Nagpur Railways, ably assisted by C.J. Wellington (from 1910 to 1913). Mention of such work, especially at Singhanpur in Raigarh Dist., was made in 1918 (Anderson, 1918) and subsequently in a few publications. It was followed by the works of P. Brown (1923 a, b; 1953), A.N. Dutta (1927), M. Ghosh (1932), L.P. Pandey (1933), D.H. Gordon (1939), J.P. Gupta (1960, 1967), P. Mitra (1961) and S.K Pandey, (1969) and V.S. Wakankar (1973), adding considerably to our knowledge about rock art in this area''