Holiday Diary: Day 3 - Return to Kolkata from Sundarbans

Day 3:

Up again early, but no woodpecker today. A bunch of stray dogs were milling around though. This pack was given biscuits yesterday by Anand and they decided that they needed to give us company for as long as we were around probably hoping for a few more treats. Today my wife Radhika woke up early too and decided to join me for tea. Since she was up too, we decided to leave the kids asleep and go for a walk.

We pottered about a little within the resort. I've not shared those pics with you.

A little bridge to divide the south and the north of the small resort. Over the regulation water body:)

Yes, Sunflowers!!!

Chotu and Ali joined us so we had our guides for this walk. Our resort is almost on the banks of a river and we walked along it to get a good look at the expanse of waters and explore the inland areas that we couldn't do yesterday..

The bunds are made of mud and sand with occasional reinforcement of bricks and was about 6 feet above the water. This was built just a few years back after a cyclone wiped out settlements along the bank. In fact the school building is still visible as you can see in the photo below. You can notice that the earlier extent of land extended upto that tree and piece of land on the right of the picture below.

the abandoned school building

the land gobbled by the sea post the cyclone

The Govt had got the bund raised to this level to prevent any further tragedies like the previous one.The human settlements were moved 200 mts inland.

We went through that village and marvelled at how simple these people's lives were. They lived in mud huts with the regulation dugout pond in front of each house. They owned livestock such as sheep, ducks and occasionally chicken. They harvested fish from the banks and some of them were breeding prawns.

Simple eco friendly homes

the regulation water body in front of their home

sheep for livestock

Both Radhika and I wondered how it would be to live like this, with no cares in the world about EMIs and traffic and myriad other pressures of the city life. Here it's about the tides, the weather, the crops or the harvesting, about social life and chatting with family and friends. It seems so idyllic and we wondered whether it is possible for us to live like that.

We wended our way back to the resort and got our kids ready for our travel back to Kolkata. After breakfast, yes , you guessed it, aloo parathas, so aloo again, we lugged our baggage out. We had an entourage to accompany us to our vehicle.

the faithful four

Our first transport for the day was the local equivalent to the taxi, bus and private car.

our vahanam for the day - the kuppavandis

We bumped along (un)happily for half an hour missing a few near collisions with oncoming speeding vehicles and almost knocking down a few unsuspecting pedestrians. We passed a barath (a wedding party that was headed to the marriage) in a procession of local taxis and limos (hic). But seriously, it is really cute to see that all of what we do is done, but in a more eco friendly, simple and non ostentatious manner. Lovely life style. Showed us how else life can be lived.

We finally reached the dock in one piece with all our bones intact.and found that today our boat was the larger more stable variety than the one we got when we reached this place. We were grateful for this and were told that today the waters are choppy and the smaller craft may be unstable or unsafe.

Anand loves being photgraphed, as you can see :) with Radhika and Ali

There were only four of us and Chotu and Ali on board on this big boat. We saw other boats that were loaded to capacity with 50 people or more and we were told that this is the local ferry bus that carries passengers across for Rs 1/- per head. Unbelievable piece of news. Now we know how far one rupeee can carry you.

Finally we arrived on the mainland and happily boarded the Tata Sumo that had been parked there by Ali two days back. And we headed back into Kolkata.

I must share with you my impressions of Kolkata traffic. Every driver behaves like he has the right of way and ploughs along irrespective of who else is on the road. There were so many close missed in that 4 hour drive that I must have developed 40 more gray hairs in that journey. In one instance the car actually pushed a lady who was walking and she turns around and glares at Ali but he just ignores that look and continues as before.

The cops are not bothered when someone drives in a one-way or cuts the red light and the drivers are aware of it and breaks all traffic rules with impunity. Chennai seemed like a safe place to drive, so you can imagine how bad it must have been.

We reached our hotel by 1.30 pm and sent off Chotu and Ali with fond farewells tinged with regret that we didn't get to sight our tiger or any other respectable animal that we could have shown off as trophies of our visit to the Sundarbans.

After lunch we were not allowed to rest for a well-deserved nap since Akshaye didn't want to be deprived of his moments in the swimming pool. So we dragged ourselves into the pool and after a 2 hour gruelling time in the pool got back to the room for a bath and lie down. This hotel has a pool in the basement and the waters are so cold even on a hot day that our teeth were actually chattering for the first 30 mins.

In the evening we took off by taxi to New Market which is in old Kolkata because we wanted to get a taste and smell of this great city. We were lucky to get our first glimpse of the tram,

the old and the not-so-new - the tram and the yellow cabs

This city's roads is ruled by the yellow cabs. All Ambassadors of varying vintage, they are lords of the roads and can turn where they want, stop traffic when they feel like and run down vehicles if they get in their way. Wow! They don't have any suspension and are as bad as our autorickshaws. But they are dirt cheap. A trip to New Market from Landmark Hotel (near Science City) was only Rs 150/- A distance of about 7 kms. As cheap as our autos. And as uncomfortable.

New Market is actually a really old market with an annexe that is the new new market. New Market was opened for the English populace on January 1, 1874. New Market was formally christened Sir Stuart Hogg Market on December 2, 1903 and is filled with so many shops selling everything under the sun. It reminded me of our Moore Market in Chennai where we could bargain to our heart's content.

Then we took a ride in the metro to get a feel of the famed Kolkata Metro. It's only when we entered the train did we realise that this is a non AC version which is similar to our MRTS except its underground. It was packed to capacity and we quickly got out in the next station and took a cab back to our hotel.

Day 3 is over and our Sundarban trip was over. Tomorrow and day after we are to spend in Kolkata. See you tomorrow:)

Holiday Diary - Day 2

Into the Sundarbans jungles

I woke up early, around 4:30 am and I found that the sky was already lightening. It looked like 5 am in Chennai. It struck me then, that darkness had fallen early the previous evening, around 6:00 pm itself while in Chennai it would be around 6:30 this month. So Kolkata was probably 30 mins before us in actual time. (probably a difference in longitude).

Since I was the only one up at this time, I pottered about the small lawn outside the room and did my early morning stuff in the lap of nature - no, not morning ablutions. But Gratitude diary, meditation, breathing, prayer, etc.... It was fabulous to be out here and enjoy the morning bounty that nature threw at me.

There were so many kinds of birds flitting about the place. A woodpecker was trying to break through the window.

early morning visitor

wants to build a nest here?

By the end of that hour, I was hungry and roused up someone from the kitchen to get me tea. We were to start early with breakfast at 7:00 am and depart by 7:30 to go into the Sundarbans by boat. So I woke up my family and got them ready for breakfast which was a very simple one – just poori bhajis. By 7:30 we were all out on the dock just outside the resort and boarded our transport for the day – a boat that was far more spacious and sturdy than the one we travelled on yesterday.
It had a deck on top with a small platform for us to sit and watch the sights. Below that it had a room with six beds which the crew presumably slept in.  It was manned by a captain and his first officer who was also the cook.

We were eager to get a glimpse of the royal Bengal tiger in his own abode. But Chotu and Ali kept reiterating that it was not something that can be guaranteed. They said, we’ll see crocodiles, deer, birds and an assortment of reptiles but the tiger is very elusive and we’ll be lucky to get a glimpse of one.

We were taken to a forest office to get permissions for entry into the protected area where we had to give a photo ID and a forest guard was assigned to accompany us for the day. There is a small museum adjoining this office which had pictures and info on the fauna and flora in this region. This was now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Govt was mandated to protect it the way it is.

This was our first glimpse of the tiger

  

And other creatures of the Mangroves

There is a watch tower there in this enclosure from which we could not see any moving creatures – except birds. We were told that a tiger was captured a few days back close to this office and was under treatment in this center. But we were not allowed into the compound where it was kept.

We left soon after, minus Chotu and Ali but but plus a new addition – the forest guard. This guard was full of information that he felt duty bound to share with us. It took him half an hour to realise that we were just politely pretending to listen to the same lines repeated over and over again. This forest is 2570 sq kms and there are 273 tigers here as per the last census. It covers 54 islands and the submerged areas inbetween.

As we chugged along the waters we passed a few other large and small crafts. Large in a relative way. One such craft, an all black one, we were told was a Bangladeshi vessel that was passing through trading. Apparently Bangladesh was just 50 kms away and India and Bangladesh shared a river as a border. It’s only then that I noticed that most crafts were plying our Indian flag while the Bangladeshi one was looking very different and didn’t seem to have a flag. I might have missed seeing it though, so don’t quote me on it.

The landscape was so different than what I’m used to. The water was choppy with small waves and very muddy. The banks were dark grey in some places and dark green in others. Trees were at the waters’ edge and some of them were even under water. Grassy slopes, grass growing out of water, gnarled roots, thick dark mud, red leaves on the banks… The colours, sights, smells were all so different from any other place I’ve ever visited.  But no sign of any animals. Then I noticed that there was a net at the banks and I was told that beyond the net was the forest and it was there to prevent the tiger from swimming across to the opposite bank and get into unprotected areas.

notice the fence?

Within half hour we turned off the river into the actual forest and this turn was guarded by a patrol boat of the Forest Guards. We were now finally in the Reserve Forest – the Mangroves of the Sundarbans. We had our eyes peeled out for any sight of the royal tiger or the crocodile. We waited and waited and waited…..

We saw small boats with scantily clad tribals stopping at the banks and getting into the forests. Our guide told us that these were honey collectors who are allowed to go in and collect honey

Honey collectors in their country boat

He also says that these people lead very risky lives because invariably one of them get attacked by a tiger when they go inland to collect honey.

Soon we realised we had company. A buzzing sound filled our ears and we realised we had uninvited visitors on board a small swarm of bees. Akshaye was leaping about trying to avoid them but that didn't stop them. Soon we kinda got used to them except for Akshaye who kept an eagle eye out for them and tried avoiding them.

The landscape which was so beautiful when we started soon became monotonous. My kids were restless and my younger son Akshaye, swore that we were going in circles and that he’s seen the same patch of forest, the same driftwood and the same floating leaves just a little while back and that we were wasting time.

Our tempers were getting frayed, and we were ready to call it off by noon. Just 4 hours had gone and we'd already lost hope that we will get to see our cat today.

Just wave after wave of water and bank after bank looking all the same and without any serious creature we could boast about, even the guide started feeling sorry for us. Luckily our cook had made some lunch for us and we all attacked it hungrily. There was plain fare - rice, dhal, brinjal and more potatoes. Looks like potato is the staple vegetable in this region.

After lunch, our guide took us to a dock which was attached to an observation tower. The water hole had an otter and a monitor lizard lazily swimming in it. After a one hour wait there a few deer were spotted in the thick bushes but they didn't venture out to expose themselves

observation tower with a water hole and observation lines cut into the forest cover.

After an agonising wait, we were done looking for this elusive creature and decided to call it a day and return to the hotel. 

We sadly wended our way back to the dock near the hotel and dragged ourselves to our room. 

Tomorrow we are planning to start early to reach Calcutta in time for lunch. Akshaye wanted to get into the swimming pool and didn't want to waste any more time here.

Night was more potatoes in the form of aloo parathas and aloo curry. Gawd help!

Holiday Diary May 2013 - Day 1

Trip to the Sundarbans: Day 1

This is my first trip to the Sundarbans in West Bengal. In fact, this is my first trip to West Bengal and East India. I am travelling with my family and had planned this whole trip as an adventure cum relaxing family holiday and was looking forward to visiting this part of India.We landed at Dum Dum Airport, what a name! The airport was like any other in India and we were picked up there by our transport that was to take us to the Sundarbans. This Sundarban trip was organised by a company called Sundarbanchalo run by Vivek Nayak and his brother Chottu and the latter was there to pick us up along with Ali the driver in a Scorpio SUV.

We were treated to a glimpse of this great city, while being driven through a highway that was having a metro line constructed along its middle. The buildings here were much taller than Chennai - 30 floors, 40 floors and perhaps even 50 floor apartment towers.

In an hour we found ourselves on a narrow road heading out to 24 Pargansas where the Sundarbans starts.

The landscape and the people are so different from what I've encountered before. The landscape was perhaps a little bit like Kerala, lots of water bodies and greenery. But in this place, most of the water bodies were man made. Every house has a water body in front of it. This pond is just a dugout in front of the house that collects water during monsoons where people wash clothes, bathe, drink and wash vessels. The same water body is shared with their ducks and other livestock too. This is our equivalent of a water tank, wash area, toilet, bath and more. It is such a mesmerising sight to see pond after pond after pond appear as we zipped along that road.

The equivalent of our water tanks, bath, vessel sink, washing machine, wash area,  and more.....

And yes, Ali was zipping along the road, in spite of the fact that we were sharing the road with  assorted other vehicles, animals and pedestrians. Everyone was driving as though they were the only ones on the road and I was glad to reach our destination without mishap.

The most common mode of transport just outside Kolkata

The whole area was green, the local women wore bright colours and the autorickshaws were painted with motifs and brilliant colours and packed to the hilt with people sticking out from every opening. It is a miracle that people are reaching their destination at all. And in the 4 hours it took us to reach the end of our road journey, we passed 5 ambulances tearing ahead with their sirens blaring.

En route Chotu was kind enough to get us some sandwiches and cookies from a bakery and when we reached the end of the road, we were told to get all our luggage and we would have to go by boat now.

Rickety floating dock made of rusted metal and floating plastic cans

This boat was a basic wooden craft that could have the been the same model used 1000s of years ago.

What have I gotten into in this holiday?

Once started the boat was smooth enough to take us across the river without any trouble. In about 25 mins we reached the opposite shore and disembarked shakily across on to firm land again.

Ok! It's not so bad after all,.... yeah, ok, it's fun!

Enjoying the sea breeze and the salty air...

Here we were transported from the dock to the resort by what they call a rickshaw and what my son Anand called a "kuppavandi". The drivers of these contraptions, handled these vehicles like sportscars on a race track and flew us to our destination in record time.

Bus, private taxi, private car, all rolled into one.

Can you believe that in a few places there were speed breakers to slow these fellows down. The road itself is just a strip 6' wide in most places and 8' in others. Bricks laid on flattened mud with a thin layer of tar that was peeling off in many places exposing the bricks and even the mud at some places. It rattled our bones and shook many things in us - our idea of travel, self-respect, our belief of how the world is and a hundred other emotions we didn't know we possessed.

These people lived in stark simplicity and connected with nature. Time was of no consequence. Survival meant getting fresh water and the next meal ready. Life was food, family, friends, the earth, water, and all those things we take for granted.

Typical house in this area, very eco-friendly....

The only signs of modernity was Airtel mobile and satellite TV. No powered vehicles, no petrol bunks, no electricity most of the times but there were brilliant smiles, shining eyes, perfect complexions and a joie-de-vivre that you don't often see in people who own Audis, Bentleys and myriad other material possessions.

Finally we reached our destination by around 5:00 pm, too late to take the evening boat ride into the mangroves. But we didn't care. We were safe in our concrete room, after this adventurous journey. Drinking in the greenery, the bird sounds, the fresh air and a hut cuppa tea.

We turned in early after this arduous trip - by car, plane, SUV, walk through rutted paths, ancient boat, rickety rickshaw, wondering what was in store for us the next day.