A Trip to Jharkhand

Recently I had been on a trip to Jharkhand with my friends. It was a trip we were looking forward to a lot as we had left college about a year ago, and the first year of our professional lives had started to tell on us. So we arranged for leave and headed for the Chotanagpur plateau.

We boarded the Muzaffarpur Passanger from Sealdah at 5.45 a.m. and reached Madhupur after a six hour journey. The journey was quite enjoyable as we had lots of fun, joking and laughing all the way. On reaching Madhupur, we went in search of a hotel. It was the Christmas weekend and we were not able to book rooms in advance. We started to fear the worst after we didn't get rooms in the first two hotels we went to. Finally, we found shelter in Brajen da'r Hotel; a humble yet comfortable and spacious abode.

We decided to rest ourselves after the long journey. In the evening, we went out on a stroll, intending to have a look around. Madhupur is a nice place; and a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of an overcrowded metropolis. I was happy to see that in some parts of the country people still walked at a normal pace, without giving the impression that they are practising for a 'walking race'. We spoke to the hotel's manager and arranged for a cab to go to Giridih and Khandoli the next day.

The next morning, I woke up quite early; it was still dawn. I went out to the balcony where a chilling wind welcomed me. Cold and shivering, I braved the elements and admired the beauty of the morning. There was a tree next to the hotel and its branches against the clear blue sky formed an interesting composition. I could not resist the temptation to take a picture of it.

We had to get ready by 7 o' clock as the cab was scheduled to arrive by then. So after a round of tea, there was a maddening rush for the bathroom and only the strong and ruthless succeeded in getting there first. It was close to 7.30 a.m. when we were all ready to go and after a brief stint at a nearby shop for kachuri , we headed full steam towards Giridih.

The road to Giridih was lined with rugged terrain. Life in a place like that could not be easy, and it was evident from the looks of it. Rocks and dried up streams indicated a few of the difficulties faced by the local people. It is difficult to explain it in words. Its not just what meets the eye, its more of a feeling. It being December, the weather was pleasant. We stopped once for gas (it was an LPG driven vehicle) andwent along till we reached a Pareshnath Jain Mandir. The main temple was a two and a half hour trek from the base of the hill. We went till about halfway before deciding to give it up and head towards Usri Falls. So we packed ourselves in our vehicle and headed towards the main attraction of our trip.The falls was awesome. I honestly did not expect it to be as big as it turned out to be.

By the time we reached the base of it, we had already chalked out a route to climb to the top of it. While at the base, we sat there awhile, the spray from the falls brushing against our faces. The sight of the falls was wonderful. Everyone sat silently on the rocks facing the falls, gazing in amazement and appreciation. I took the opportunity to climb halfway up the falls and take a snap of my buddies lost in their thoughts. My friends decided to join me on my ascent to the top of the falls. We washed our hands and feet in the water. It was crystal but chilling enough to send a shiver down my spine. We even drank it and it felt good !!

After fooling around long enough at the top, it finally dawned upon us that we had to get down from the rock. I was the first one to achieve the feat. On turning around, I found some of my friends had refused to come down and were striking a pose for me to shoot. One of the banes of carrying a camera is that you cannot refuse to take a shot by giving excuses, especially when with friends. They will simply take the camera and take the snap themselves. So I took the picture without any argument regarding the importance of getting down and making our way to Khandoli, our last stop for the day. Somehow, after sometime, sanity seemed to prevail and we all made our way to the vehicle. We headed for Khandoli, a place we had never heard of before. So, we were excited to find out what awaited us there.

We stopped at a roadside Dhaba to have lunch. We had chapati and tarka dal with chilli and onion. The taste was divine. I am looking forward to going back to Usri for the food at least if not for the falls. Lunch was great, and we had a round of tea to savour the moment. The driver told us that the area was not safe after dark. This had a magical effect on us. Everyone seemed eager to get into the vehicle although it was far from dark. Whether it was really unsafe or the driver played a trick on us I have not been able to figure out yet. Anyway, the trip had been a success so far and we were hoping to end it on a positive note. So without much ado, we were on our way to Khandoli.

The road to Khandoli was a pleasant one. The day long journey had started to take its toll and most of us, including me, fell asleep on the way. The picture of the road was taken by my friend, Sudipto. Most of the stretch was beautiful. But somehow, that one seemed the best. Too bad that I missed it :o( We reached Khandoli late in the afternoon. The place has some unique features. It has a hill surrounding a lake where a dam of some sort has been made to improve the water supply in the neighbouring areas. It also has a children's park and facilities for trekking, water sports and paragliding. I was overwhelmed to hear all the things it had to offer. We met a person called Pramodji and he gave us detailed information about the various activities that take place there. We took his contact number so that the next time we go there, we can make arrangements beforehand.

We made ourselves comfortable with a cup of coffee and as I was looking around, I saw a couple of camels slowly making their way along the road. I grabbed my camera and ran to get a shot. Luckily, they felt the urge to feed themselves and it gave me the opportunity to get a proper shot.











There is a tower overlooking the lake. It was closed when we reached the place :o(

But I am sure the view from the top will be quite awesome. Here is a picture of it. On one side of it is the hill and on the other, the lake.

We came back to our hotel late in the evening that day. It had a been a wonderful day for all of us. As we sat in our room, talking about our journey, we couldn't escape the thought that the next morning we had to take the train back to Kolkata. The trip had been like a breath of fresh air after a year of stress. For a few days, we escaped our daily routine and had a blast. We will be going on our next trip pretty soon though, and planning for the same has already started :o)

This is the group photo ....
(I am not in it though :o( a photographer's curse)

Standing (from left to right): Karpha, Suman, Bhanu, Banka.

Sitting (from left to right): Kuntal, Ali da, Joy, Sudipto.