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.
