A Winter Getaway some moods, some moments
Sumantra Sinha
The space in my home, from where I work, overlooks a large tree which remains green most of the year. I find its luxuriant foliage very pleasantly soothing to the eyes. It is a roost for birds of various kinds – some seen throughout, and some, around this time of the year only.
Yes, it is the season again when my city starts donning her favourite garbs which she had carefully stacked all year long. It is the time of the year once more, when cool winds blowing in from the hills tread softly into our lives. We reflect on how the times had been, with the year going by, start planning enthusiastically on our much awaited holidays, polish those party shoes and start to decide the menu for the Christmas lunch and New Year’s Eve dinners.
With the advent of winter, the heart yearns for the outdoors. A bit of a respite from the daily routine – the steering wheel in your hands with your faithful steed, racing down the highway, a nip in the air and the light morning mistlifting slowly across the fields. This is about my recent drive tour, on a mid-November morning, to a small village tucked away from the usual hustle and bustle, as if to judiciously preserve its sylvan surroundings.
Just before the eve of winters, to escape briefly from the daily grind, I had recently travelled to a quaint hamlet in Birbhum. This part of the district is known to all as the domain of our very own ‘Bard of Bengal’, Rabindranath Tagore. The place which I am talking about is a housing estate with a cluster of row houses and bungalows, far from the madding crowd and has quite aptly been named ‘Abokash’ which roughly translates in English as ‘leisure’ or ‘vacation’. It is a bit off Shantiniketan (which has become quite crowded, with time) and is positioned more towards the ‘Prantik Housing Colony’, being about 3 kms from Prantik Railway Station, 8 kms from Bolpur and just 1 km away from Kankalitala temple.
A pleasant drive (rough estimate 4 hours) will take you there, it being about 170 kms from Kolkata via the Delhi – Kolkata National Highway (NH 19) till Shaktigarh which entails a brief stoppage to sample their famous ‘langcha’ and then towards Bardhaman, which lies about 104 kms from the city. The highway stretch, when I drove down last, is relatively good but can be a bit tricky with poor quality road felting in patches and quite a few diversions due to ongoing construction work, but these aren’t hurdles enough to deter a drive enthusiast.
From Renaissance Housing estate falling on your left, take a right turn on to Bolpur – Shantiniketan State Highway and keep driving on for around 60 kms through places like Orgram and Gushkara, crossing the bridge on Ajoy River and then driving into Bolpur. From here, drive straight on towards Prantik, cross the railway level crossing here and traverse the Prantik Housing Colony. From here take the road towards Kankalitala temple, cross Adityapur High School falling on your right till you come upon a narrow motorable trail on your left going through to Sarbanandapur village and you finally reach the housing estate –Abokash about 5 minutes from where you turned left into the village.Weaving your way through a cluster of hutments lined with ponds and trees, with families of ducks and goats frolicking by, you cross a small bridge on the Kopai river and there it is!
The Khowai area where the customary local market or Haat is held is a short drive away from the property. It has an array of ethnic indigenous knick knacks for sale, very typical of this part of the world. It promotes local artists and cottage industry and proves to be a quaint shopping experience. The Bhubandanga shopping area and the Shyambati bazaar selling fresh fish and vegetables is also easily accessible from here.
This housing estate is essentially an ownership complex with apartment/bungalow owners mostly from Kolkata, coming down over the weekends and on holidays. The property being so close to Shantiniketan, which most Bengalis are quite emotional about, holds a special charm because of the quiet and unhurried country life surrounding it. Another plus which I found is the Kopai River running close to the boundary walls, which is a pleasant sight (though it hardly has much water except during the rains) and the Kankalitala temple being quite close by.
The apartments and bungalows have kitchen areas. If cooking is not an option, then food can be ordered in through Swiggy & Zomato apps catering to many take-away(s) and restaurants in the vicinity and in Bolpur. Also, there are small eateries close by, offering pocket friendly simple yet tasty dishes.
The property has comfortable air conditioned guest house facilities inside the campus for non-owners who wish to stay here, contact details of which are – Mobile nos: 97347 47929/98300 30791/98300 77629. Bookings can be done over phone and in advance. Season time is mostly post Durga pujo and during the winter months featuring Poush mela around December and Basanta Utsob in March.