Baranti, a picturesque weekend getaway near Kolkata

Inspite of a strong urge for a weekend trip since the last Christmas-New year week, we somehow couldn’t manage to chalk out a plan due to immense work pressure. Adding to it are the limited weekend destinations in and around Kolkata. At last, we managed to plan a short trip on my birthday weekend. Out of the limited choices available we chose the ‘hills’ over ‘beaches’.

The wife suggested a quaint place called Baranti around 35 kms SW of Raniganj from where we would visit Ajodhya hills. The village is situated near the bank of a dam reservoir nestled between two picturesque hillocks. A handful of accommodation options were available in Baranti. We were lucky to get accommodation in a very nice place called ‘Spangle Wings’ Resort.

Last year this time of the year, when we were in a different city, we got to see ample forwarded pictures of ‘Polash (Butea monosperma)- also known as ‘Flame of the forest’ bloom in and around hummocky terrain of Purulia, a district in West Bengal. The pictures of the country side looked absolutely fabulous and we were enchanted by the play of colours.

Winter in Kolkata is very mild and short lived and mid-February to March is the best time to visit Purulia for the famous ‘Polash’ or red flame flower.

You can reach Ajodhya Hills from Kolkata either by train or by road. There are plenty of daily trains to Purulia. But, we chose to drive since; driving in Kolkata is not a pleasure and I did not want to miss the chance to unleash my car in full throttle.

It was a five and half hour drive from Kolkata in between which we stopped for a quick breakfast somewhere near Singur and a even quicker stop for the famous ‘Lyangcha’ of Shaktigarh. The food was nice. After reaching our resort, we were welcomed by the gardeners employed in the resort and the dogs which stayed within the resort.

It was an unusual welcome but, we liked it. Finally, the manager gave us a good room and we settled in.

The location of the resort is on the bank of a dam reservoir on one side and the foothill of a small hill range on the other. The area is less touristy; hence it was just perfect for us. We had lunch which was pre-booked (you need to pre book the food) which was cooked home style and was sumptuous. In the afternoon, we went for a stroll near the reservoir and we were greeted by a fabulous sunset view. The sunset from the Baranti dam was really soothing and qualifies as one of the high point of our trip. The freshness of the air and calmness of the countryside was the very thing for which we had planned this trip.

Next day we hired a cab and visited Ajodhya hills. It is a 135 km long drive from Baranti. On the way, we had a small halt at Ramkrishna Mission, Purulia. I am not a very religious person, but, whenever I visit any religious/spiritual places, I like the positive energy it carries. The campus is nicely maintained with a wonderful garden blooming with bright and cheerful flowers. We had a quick tour of the campus, where they have maintained a small zoo of deer, peacock and other small birds.

Ajodhya is very close to Bengal-Jharkhand border comprising of stretches of hilly tracts. You can enjoy the view of uninterrupted nature. On the way, we had seen numerous ‘Polash’ blooming trees. The scenery by the countryside was very pretty and colourful. We stopped for lunch at a nice place called Kushalpalli resort. The resort is located in the heart of Ajodhya hill top near a small village. The resort is very well maintained. But, the supporting staff needs professional training. The food and service at the restaurant was average to below average. Barring this, we liked the overall feel of the resort. We had checked out a cottage room which had great views from the balcony. Lawns were great and they have a small lake of their own.

After lunch we went to see Bamni water falls which has a mythological saga. It is believed that, during the exile of Lord Rama, they stayed for a few days in Ajodhya hills. It was summer and there was a water crisis in the area. Sita asked Lord Rama to make a permanent solution for this water crisis, when he had pulled an arrow in the ground from which a well emerged which has never gone dry (www.indiawilds.com ). It was a trek down of several hundred feet to reach the base of the fall. But, we got contended (looking at the exhausted tourists on their way up) at halfway from where we could get the first view of the fall.

During our half trek, we discussed the rocks which we encountered on our way(Since we both are geologists by profession, we could not help ourselves but discuss geology!!). I usually get carried away with all the technical discussion, while the wife usually sweetly reminds me that we are on a leisure trip.

After that we went to see the Baghmundi upper and lower dam which was very picturesque. We stopped briefly here, had a walk around the dam, clicked a few photographs and slowly proceeded for our downward climb to Baghmundi village. While traversing through Baghmundi village, we saw interesting traditional Santhal tribe’s mask.

We winded our trip in a spot suggested by our grumpy driver (Lakhi kanta, he gave good service though). It is called Pakhi Pahar (Bengali; meaning bird hill) and has a unique story behind it. Chitta Dey, is a ‘crazy’ art lover from Kolkata who had great passion for drawing and sculpting. So much so that despite of many hurdles, he was successful in etching out figures of birds in a nearly un-climbable monolithic granitic hill (situated midway between Baghmundi-Balarampur road) in a span of three decades. Chitta Dey’s story is quite inspiring and teaches us a great lesson that, with firm determination, everything is possible. We just have to believe in ourselves. We loved Pakhi Pahar.

A thought crossed my mind during our return journey the next day. Although, it felt good to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a few days, but when we saw the local people leading day-to day life with very limited facilities we really felt huge respect for them. The trip was a great success in rejuvenating our minds amidst nature which was much needed.

Photo Courtesy: goes to One plus 3T, handled by Firoze and Ginia.