Weekend Trip to Baranti

 It seems Purulia remains the district that has proved to be most elusive for us. 

Like, we have never been able to visit to Purulia in March to see the Palash and Simul trees flame red. Similarly, a visit to Murguma has never been successful despite having booked accommodations a couple of times. So, when we had booked our accommodation at Baranti, we were optimistic, yet skeptical because it too was in that ‘elusive’ list. 

We started around 7 in the morning and hit the Kona Expressway, then on towards Durgapur Expressway where the road ‘really’ opened. Heavy fog had limited visibility, so, the best was to practice caution: Drive Slow. 

This was a trip with my mom and aunt. After a filling breakfast at Azad Hind, we resumed the journey. Even though it was January, that day was particularly warm. 

We took the left from Chittaranjan Crossing and then on towards the State Highway towards Ajodhya Hills. Observed that the road condition had slightly deteriorated since my last visit. Google maps was fairly accurate and we took another left turn . At places, it was so narrow that it seemed to run through the courtyard of the houses. After a lot of navigation, we finally saw a few hillocks and the huge Muradi Lake. 

We had booked our accommodation at Palashbari and true to its name the resort was filled with Palash trees. After a quick lunch we went to the dam to watch the sunset behind the hill and that was a lovely thing! 

After night fell, a bonfire was lit. The beats of the ‘madol’ came from far. And we sat on the charpoy under an open sky, surrounded by the palash trees – drinking cups and cups of tea. My mother spent a few years of her childhood in Purulia and this visit brought those memories back to her. At night we had Roti, Chicken and Salad and called it an early night.

The next morning was very cold. But then we realized that we had forgotten to bring toothpaste. So, went to purchase it. Then, after having tea, all of us went for a short walk again to see the Baranti village – bullock carts, hand pumps for drawing water, little children running around barefoot, hay stacks, cattle being tended. We checked out around 10ish and went to visit the Panchet Dam – which my mom had visited during her school days. The ‘Garh’ of which she wasn’t aware, has been reconstructed now and we went for a short visit there too. It was teeming with tourists and resorts that have come up too. 

We also made a stop over at Asansol, and then it was a quick three and a half hours door to door.

But the sound of 'madol' still ringed in the ears.