Visited Jhargram over the last weekend and stayed at the WBTDC, Jhargram Rajbari complex. I was pleasantly surprised by the facilities. The furnitures, rooms, staff behaviour and the entire facility was awesome and I will go out on a limb and and say I wouldn’t have expected these five years back.
Heat was fierce in the morning and after reaching we had some chilled beverages, followed by an authentic Bengali lunch (Rice,dal,alu bhaja,mutton kosha,jhinge posto,chutney) and an hours nap.
4ish in the evening when we were preparing to leave for the Dulung River (12 kms away), the weather turned stifling and humid. A quick cup of tea later as we were speeding through the rural roads and a few forests, a shade of darkness that made it look like night – the darkness of an impending storm.
From the Kanaka Durga Mandir, its a short walk to the Dulung river and just as we neared the clearing, appeared the sandy, brownish shores of the stagnant, greenish Dulung river. For a moment as we stood, there appeared too much light and there was a rise in the wind – a cold, seeping wind that punctured the heat and a deluge – a much needed one sending delicious shivers down the spine. The cicadas were crying through jungle, the smell of a new rain rose from the parched earth and the rain drops on the river brought back memories of paper boats of the child hood. We felt, as if, we were living in the promised land!
For accommodation one can also stay at the WBFDC, Jhargram – more scenic (refer to Golam’s travelogue on Jungle mahal). Theres another one, Kaushalya Heritage on the outskirts – that too is good (a friend had stayed here).
