Winter Trip To Shantiniketan

Its 7 ish in the morning and I am driving along a laterite road. Peeking through the thick fog, common in winter, are mustard fields stretched afar. Scores of date palm trees appear in the distance, in front of which lies a thatched hut. The road takes us near the hut where a couple of men are seated besides a roaring fire. They are boiling the sap from the date palm to make patali gur. A casual conversation strikes as I get down from the car and then I am handed a glass of cold khejur er rosh. As the earthy, sweet juice goes down my throat it makes my wonder yet again that rural Bengal can really get enchanting during the winter. 

Mustard fields,for me, heralds winter in these parts

We had planned to spend a wintry weekend at Shantiniketan yet again.  And with that as the objective, on a cold Saturday morning, we were cruising on the 6 laned Durgapur Expressway, initially to have our dose of Aloo Parathas at the Hindusthan Hotel.

Breakfast at Hindusthan Hotel, Durgapur Expressway

For long we had wanted to stay at a resort in the proximity of the Shonibarer Haat and had chosen the Ram Shyam Village resort. This resort had created an impression in one of our earlier visits to its restaurant. The entry to this resort (and all which are situated in the vicinity of the Haat) is through a narrow concrete road and if you are driving a bigger vehicle during the peak "Haat" hours, be prepared to face traffic from the opposite direction, which can be quite unnerving. We had booked a room in the new building overlooking the swimming pool. The rooms were well designed with elements of modernity and a faint touch of traditional village structures. The balcony is a nice place to be to watch the sun setting over the Sonajhuri forest with a cup of coffee grabbed in your palm or an evening drink. Soon after checking in to the hotel, we were on the way out since we had "booked" our lunch at Bonolokkhi.

The fragrant ghee, dal, dhoka and shukto, served on a sal leave plate were predictably tasty. Though the chewy mutton was a dampener from its melt in the mouth version in the earlier visits. Post lunch, we saw the late afternoon winter sun cast an yellow glow as we ambled and explored the backyard of mango groves and mustard fields.we reached the Haat in the evening light, had tea, listened to Baul musicians singing before retiring to our warmly lit room.
The Kebabs and fish fingers which we had ordered for snack or the Chinese dishes were tasty. Though the serving portions could have been more. During our stay we also felt that the service could be improved further.

A view of the swimming pool from the balcony

The rooms at Ram Shyam Village Resort

The next morning we woke up quite early and went for a walk. There was a small pond with ducks swimming, small tracts of mustard fields caught the eye, dew had settled on the foliage and beyond the barbed wire, acres of now barren cultivation fields and date palm trees appeared in the shroud of fog. My experience of previous winters told that the sun won't be up till 10 AM and with those thoughts we went on a drive to explore the villages around Shantiniketan where we had a cold Khejur-er-rosh, the experience of which I have described at the beginning of the passage.

Palm trees, with pitchers hanging to collect khejurer rosh

The Khejur er rosh being collected before making patali gur (jaggery) 

After checking out of the hotel, we drove to the Rami Chandidas Shiv Temple Complex at Nanoor. Quoting from the Birbhum tourism website:

It was the residence of the medieval poet Chandidas and one can experience the ancientness by seeing the Bishalakshi Temple and the surrounding temples. A mound is located near the temple and it is known as Chandidas Dhibi. This Chandidas Dhibi is entangled with rich unrevealed history, the mystery of Chandidas and resonates with the sweet verses which used to mesmerize Chaitanyadev. Chandidas is the greatest poet in the Vaishanav literature and therefore, this place witnesses great congregation of Kirtaniyas on Magh Purnima.

The temple complex at Nanoor

Before departing for Calcutta, we visited the Ghare Baire restaurant for lunch, a local favourite, where we ordered fish and chicken thalis. We were seated on the chairs placed on the lawn, under an umbrella with slices of benevolent winter sun rays falling on our faces. The ghee-kachalonka,served with most thalis at Shantiniketan,set the tone for a full blooded Bengali meal which leant heavily towards favourites like aloo bhaja, aloo posto,shukto. The serving portion of the fish must have been at least a 100 gms. The lunch ended with a soft Roshogolla. we had heard a lot about the restaurant and this first hand experience makes us feel to come back to this place yet again.
While returning we took the longer, yet scenic Ilambazaar - Panagarh road. 

The Lunch at Ghare Baire restaurant

So that was Shantiniketan for us in this year's second visit...discovering something new and staying in touch with the old.