TRIP TO JHARKHAND

Travelling excites me since childhood. Fortunately I have got a group of friends who always have their travelling shoes on. This time our destination was quite different from those mountain trekking, it was all about finding solace in some remote parts of Jharkhand. So after much discussion and debate we decided to visit a place which is very remote in itself. Ghatshilla as the name suggests is a desolate place in Jharkhand along the banks of the river Subarnarekha.  

Ghatshilla in Jharkhand

We were pondering over which time to choose as most of us work in private organisations and asking for a leave is like 'Taboo' in such organisations. Thus after a lot of brain storming we decided to travel during the winter months in order to utilise the Christmas holidays to their fullest. Thus the dates were finalised from 29th December, 2015 to 2nd January, 2016. As we had decided the trip well in advance we did not have to worry about the bookings and it all fell in place quite smoothly.( Please note one has to reserve their seats beforehand in order to have a hassle-free journey). We departed from Howrah at around 8 AM on 29th December and reached Ghatshila at around 2.30 PM the same day. This time we had five people in our group including my younger brother.

Fifth member missing Sandipan Mandol

After reaching Jharkhand our priority was to look for any kind of stay as it was vacation time and a humongous number of tourists from Bihar and West Bengal had gathered there to spend their New Years eve. We generally prefer not to travel during the peak season but this time we had to compromise. After much negotiation we managed one guest house near the river Subarnarekha. 

Our Guest House near river Subarnarekha.

A funny incident happened that I would like to share here. After we went to our respective rooms and settled, the owner of the hotel informed us that she would not be able to serve us lunch as it was already very late and that if we wanted to have it we could give him money and she would arrange it else where. The funny part was that she took money from us and arranged our lunch with a group of tourists who came for a picnic near the river with limited food. They took money from the hotel owner but provided us with minimum food fearing their supply would run short. Without much fuss we completed our lunch. After finishing lunch we retired to our respective rooms and waited till it became a little cooler for us to attempt any sort of exploration of the place.
There is not much to see in Ghatshilla except a hill top from where one can get some sort of panoramic view. We explored each and every corner of the locality where we stayed in search of some sort of scenic beauty or any other kind of entertainment for us but failed and realised that the place was even worse than what the locals had explained to us. The only exception was the Manasha Devi Temple (Goddess of Snakes) which was located on the top of a hill.

At the entrance of the Manasha Temple

The entrance to the temple was full of shrubs and grasses so we had to watch our steps to check for any traces of snakes or some other kind of animals as the name of the temple suggests.

Trying to locate any traces of snakes or other animals

While coming back from the hill top we went to the railway station to book an Auto for our next day plan. There we found a quality sweet shop near the railway station serving hot Rasgollas (A type of Bengali sweet dessert). Not to mention that we had our fill of stomach. That night after returning to our guest house we chatted for long hours near the banks of Subarnarekha. Our topic of discussion was life outside our Galaxy . It was pitch black and was pin drop silent with no one in the vicinity which added to the gravity of the topic. I was really excited altogether.

Sitting in the balcony of the Temple 

The ancient Manasha Temple

Panoramic view from the top of the hill.

That night passed without any further adventure. Next day we woke up early as the Auto that we booked the previous day was scheduled to come at around 8 AM. In spite of our best efforts we could only start our journey towards Dimna Lake at 9 AM one hour late from the scheduled time. The driver was a humble person to say the least and easily mingled with us. We stopped for our breakfast at a road side dhaba near the national highway. The food that they offered was very delicious to say the least.

Unnamed road side Dhaba

Waiting for the delicious breakfast to be served

We ordered all kind of Punjabi foods like Alu ka Paratha, Dal Makhani, Shahi Paneer along with lots of tea.

Delicious

After finishing our breakfast we were all set for a long auto drive through the national highway (NH-53). It was an exciting at the same time a horrifying experience and I will suggest people to avoid travelling in an Auto on the national highways only to save a few hundreds of rupees just as we did. We reached Dimna Lake at around 12.30 PM but were disappointed to see thousand of people partying around the lake and littering here and there as it was close to new year's eve.

Dimna Lake near Jamshedpur

People partying around the lake

 We saw that many people were circling around the lake in speed boats and we decided to do the same, so we hired a speedboat and went to the other side of the lake. But it was rather wastage of money as the ride is only for 10 mins and they charge Rupees 400 each. 

Admiring nature

We left from Dimna lake at around 2.30 PM as we had other travelling plans to visit the famous Novelist and a renowned writer of Bengal Bibhuti Bhusan Bandhopadhyay's house in Ghatshilla.
We reached there at around 5.30 PM. I was very excited because as a child I grew up reading his novels which have fascinated me throughout. After reaching there we found that in the name of renovation his ancient house was completely demolished and a new house was built instead.

Bibhuti Bhusan Bandopadhya's house in Ghatshilla

I was disappointed to say the least but at least they tried to protect his manuscripts, clothes, etc. After enquiring I found that soon a library was in line of being built in that place after his name. It was a congested place. We returned to our hotel at around 7.30 pm and one thing I would like to mention that we stopped at the previous mentioned sweet shop near the Ghatshilla Railway station and had our fill with rosgollas again.

Our Hotel

That day we chatted till late night near the banks of River Subarnarekha. Then after having dinner we went to sleep as we had a lot to cover the very next day. We woke up early and unlike yesterday were ready before the Auto came. The plan was to visit the famous Dharagiri Falls and Jungle Mahal in Jharkhand.

On our way to Jungle Mahal

Road leading to Jungle Mahal

Common sight of an Indian village

  
Dharagiri falls is far away from Ghatshilla and we had our breakfast in a road side Dhaba and like the previous day the food which they served was delicious. We started for Dharagiri Falls at around 8 AM and reached the spot at around 12 PM. The scenic beauty was breathtaking.

Way to Dharagiri falls 

On our way to Dharagiri Falls we had to pass through a small tribal village of the Santhals and honestly speaking I was really disappointed to see the pathetic conditions in which they were spending their life. Each and every child was suffering from malnutrition.

Santhal Village near Dharagiri Falls

Panoramic view from the village

Our Auto stopped near the village from where we had to walk towards the Dharagiri falls. We were looking for some guide who can guide us, so our Auto driver suggested to take one children from the village as guide. So accordingly we were looking for the same and soon found out that the entire village wants to become our guide in the hope of earning some money. After much negotiation we choose one among them.

Jungle Mahal

Trekking our way to Dharagiri Falls 

When we reached the top of the Dharagiri Falls we were very disappointed to see many people from Bihar and Jamshedpur had gathered for picnic in this other wise picturesque environment, which I personally didn't like at all. Keeping all these apart it is a superb place to visit. The fact that astonished me was that this beautiful place was prohibited for the tourists for a long time due to Maoist activities and that we were standing at the same place enjoying what nature had to offer us.

Dharagiri Falls

Washing my face in Dharagiri Falls

An honest feeling that I would like to share believe me or not that as I was washing my face in the waters of the Dharagiri Falls a strange feeling engrossed me and made me realise that a huge number of magical places like these exists throughout India spreading over its 29 states  which are waiting to be explored by adventure seekers like us. People who believe than one can only seek adventure by travelling abroad were proven wrong once again  by our motherland. Places like these holds a magical mystery and satisfaction that adventure seekers would like to get engrossed in again and again.

Retracing our way back

 We left Ghatshilla with our memories enriched and a gladdened heart. One thing I must say travelling never disappoints anyone no matter in what state of mind you are in. On this note I would like to say one last thing, the day we return Kolkata from any of our trip we start making plans for our next trip in the train itself and Ghatshilla was no exception.

Until next time....

"Travelling- It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." Ibn Battuta  
Picture Courtesy: Piangshuk Mukherjee, Sandipan Mandol, Suman Karmakar & Arijit Ghosh.