MANDASARU - THE NATURE'S TRAIL OF EASTERN GHATS

 

Despite changing our travel schedule thrice, we did not get a reservation in the Wooden Cottage, the only place to stay in Mandasaru. With a lot of despair, it was decided to have a day trip from Daringbari, so-called “Kashmir of Odisha” by some tourists and local residents.

The distance was just 32 km and there was ample time for leisure driving through the meandering roads, hairpin bends, and forests of Phulbani district of Odisha.

We could rarely find vehicles overtaking us or coming from the opposite direction and hence we moved like “King of the Road” through the national highway.

In between, we had photo stops at few spots wherefrom the misty mountains of Eastern Ghats with lash green coverage could be seen on the horizon.

We had to keep the speed of our vehicle in control as occasional fog in some locations disturbed our visibility and it was pertinent not to take any risk in the hills especially when we were from the plain land.  

The sunlight was playing hide and seek among the tall shaded trees and the weather was perfect for enjoying nature’s trail. The temperature was hovering around ten-degree census and we had to remain contented with full sleeve sweater or jacket to combat the chilled wind.  

We learnt that there were no special tourist attraction spots in Mandasaru, but the major attraction was remaining close to nature for the entire day.

As we reached Eco-Tourism Park of Mandasaru, the location from where the entire valley was visible, we had to purchase tickets to enter the park. But before entering the park, we had a heavy breakfast as we started from Daringbari with the mission to enjoy as much time as possible in Mandasaru.

Hence, we did not waste time for breakfast in Daringbari and there was not a single food joint on the entire stretch to have breakfast.

As we entered the Eco-Tourism Park, the undulating path through the flower garden led us to a watchtower wherefrom we had a panoramic view of the entire range of Eastern Ghat Mountains and its valley.

On one side of the park, there were two wooden cottages on different levels which were fully equipped with all modern amenities and the French windows gave ample opportunity to have a view of the valley from the room itself.

Since both the rooms were occupied, we had to be contented having seen from outside and peeping into the common area maintaining decency.

The food was supplied by local female members of self-help groups who were also catering to the food supply of the tourists who were on a day tour but on pre-booked order basis. However, snacks and beverages were available on a continuous basis.

We had a stroll of few locations within the boundary of the park wherefrom the views of the valley and ridges were clear and had a good physical exercise having ascended and descended rocky steps.

There were few other tourists mainly from the district and state who had also come to enjoy the winter vacation. Some of them also had carried their own food and were enjoying the place as a picnic spot.

Before going for stroll, we had booked lunch in the restaurant which included typical Indian food consisting of rice, lentil, vegetables, fish, and pickles. The charge was reasonable and our objective was not only tasting local cuisine but also helping the ladies of the self-help groups who were toiling hard to support their families.

During the course of interaction, it was learnt that the major concentration of tourists was during winter. But the coronavirus had refrained the advent of tourists in the current year. It was also understood that since there were only two rooms in the cottage, the same remained booked on a continuous basis since the lifting of vehicular movement in the district.

Since we had already covered major spots within the Eco-tourism Park, we decided to return to Daringbari after lunch.

How to Reach

The distance between Daringbari and Mandasaru is 32 km and can be covered in around one and half hour keeping in consideration the hilly track and restricted vehicular speed. The distance between Brahmapur (nearest railhead) and Mandasaru is 150 km that can be covered in almost four hours. The distance between Bhubaneswar, the state capital, and Mandasaru is 255 km that can be covered in around six hours.

It will be a pleasant drive from the plains through hilly roads with sharp bends, but damaged roads at few spots may irritate the drivers and passengers to some extent.  

Boarding & Lodging

The only place to stay in Mandasaru is an Eco-Tourism cottage that can only be booked online through their website. There are proposals for setting up a few homestays outside Eco-tourism Park which are under consideration.

Since the entire kitchen of the park is handled by the ladies of self-help groups, the varieties of cuisines are limited and mostly stereotype. Hence tourists may not expect food as per their likings and tastes.

There is a roadside joint outside the park, where a local person can supply simple breakfast or evening snacks as also beverages. Few food joints adjacent to the park are shut down because of the low concentration of tourists.

What to Do

The place is within the lap of nature, where serenity and tranquility are the main USP. The chirping of birds, view of sunrise and sunset, misty mountains may soothe the eyes of the tourists along with a touch of a cool breeze. A leisure walk through the jungle trail or interaction with the local tribal people may bring a change of monotonous urban lives.

My Experience

Though I have not gained experience of staying overnight in Mandasaru, but apparently, it seemed that stay for a couple of days might be prescribed for urban tourists to rejuvenate their energy.

The view of lush green mountains, the sound of a flowing spring, wakeup call by various kinds of known and unknown birds and sound of cool breeze touching the leaves of gigantic trees in the park would be a different experience.

Since the place had not experienced the rays of development; a short stay would definitely induce fresh oxygen into our lungs and help to reactivate our zeal and enthusiasm.   

However, the ladies working in the eco-tourism park were taking adequate care to protect themselves and also tourists to prevent everyone from being infected.

After we had already covered major spots within the Eco-tourism Park, we decided to return to Daringbari after lunch.

LITTLE ANDAMAN - THE LEAST EXPLORED ISLAND

 

It was my second trip to Andaman & Nicobar Islands. During my first trip, I had the opportunity of visiting North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman and Nicobar islands extensively covering a period of almost one month. However, I did not have chance to visit Little Andaman on account of communication problem.

Incidentally, one of my close friends working in Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) was posted in Little Andaman during the period of my visit and it was a grand invitation from his side to visit Hutbay, the headquarters of Little Andaman.

As scheduled, I along with my family boarded MV Dering, a small ship, connecting the islands that left Ferry Warf of Portblair exactly at eight o’clock at night. We were to cover a distance of 120 km from Port Blair to Hutbay in around eight to nine hours depending upon wind velocity.  

Since it was too early for dinner, we carried the same with us and the seating arrangement was in the form of push back chair.

Since it was night, we did not have the opportunity to have a view of the roaring Phoneix Bay, other than lights of Port Blair gradually fading away as the ship started pitching in deep waters.

We reached Hutbay exactly at five in the morning. My friend was waiting in the jetty with his jeep for welcoming us. It was a smooth ride of around fifteen minutes to APWD guest house located near his official quarters.

After lunch, we had a good sleep compensating the gap of the slumber of the previous night.

In the evening, we had a stroll in the Netaji Nagar Beach within the town and market area to have an overall view of the settlement. It was a small town with basic amenities available and a few government offices and a hospital with minimum facilities. Unlike many other places, there was no power and water shortage in Hutbay. However, the entire island was dependent on the capital for major consumables.

We had a plan of staying in Little Andaman for two to three days so as to cover major sightseeing locations within our total Andaman trip of around twenty days.

Being Saturday, my friend took us along with his family to a distant village where there was Ongi settlement.

We had an experience of seeing massive palm plantation in the island and learnt that a portion of the palm oil consumed in the mainland was supplied by Little Andaman.

The tribe stayed in a village on the seaside within the forest area. The road was muddy and the jeep had to be steered cautiously to avoid being stuck in the loose soil of the village road. On the way, we came across a wild boar and few species of birds.

As we reached the settlement, we were warned by my friend not to take any photograph of our visit as the visit without government permission was strictly prohibited.

We were introduced by my friend with the head of the settlement who was being addressed as “Captain”. The houses were mostly made of bamboo poles and wooden planks, slightly above the ground to avoid moisture and onslaught of serpents and other deadly insects.

We had interaction with the captain as language was a barrier in case of other people and had an idea of their lifestyle, custom and related aspects. It was learnt that they had a marital connection with the tribes of northern Sumatra in Indonesia as the distance between the islands was not much.

We were offered pork and local liquor by the family of the captain and we were glad about their hospitality.

On the way back, we made a visit to a lighthouse overlooking Harminder Bay. Since the caretaker of the lighthouse was known to my friend, we were allowed to climb the main balcony wherefrom we had a panoramic view of the entire beach, forest area and blue waters of Harminder Bay.

It was a beautiful sight from the top of the lighthouse where we could enjoy the mixture of colours of nature viz. blue, green and golden. The sky was clear and the gulls flying around in search of food and cool breeze from the sea soothing our bodies and minds.

It was claimed that the lighthouse was second highest in Asia after Dondra Lighthouse of Srilanka. However, the facts could not be verified as there was no documentary evidence of the same.

The next day, being Sunday, we had the privilege of availing the vehicle of my friend as the office was closed. Our main trip to Butler Bay was more of a picnic than a visit. We had a glimpse of Whisper Waterfalls and White-surf Waterfalls which were also considered as tourist spots of the island

We carried food and beverages with us since nothing was available locally near the beach. We spent the entire day on the beach enjoying every moment as the next day was scheduled for our return journey to Port Blair.

Sea bathing and basking on the beach was part of our programme and we were warned by the local people to avoid some portion of the beach because of the presence of quicksand.

Despite being mid-winter, the temperature beside the sea was enjoyable and cold sea breeze made the environment more comfortable for us. The virgin beach of Butler Bay, with minimum tourist and just one snack joint, was found to be an excellent place to relax for a couple of days.

Though there were arrangements for scuba diving, snorkelling and other water sports, the absence of tourists had forced the services to remain closed.  

However, there was an accumulation of nimbus cloud in the afternoon and it started drizzling in the afternoon. We had to pack up early and return to our guest house.

As we started packing our luggage, we found that the intensity of the rain had increased considerably adding with gusty wind and hailstorm.

The sudden change of the atmosphere put us in anxiety as our ship was scheduled to depart the next morning at around five o’clock.

We were praying for a change of weather condition but by night, the wind speed had accelerated many folds accompanied by heavy rain and frequent lightning.

At around midnight, my friend called up and told that the ship scheduled to leave Hutbay had been cancelled due to bad weather condition and we had to stay back till the situation normalized.

We were in a total dilemma as the next part of our programme at Port Blair would get disrupted. But there was no alternative for us.

We were stuck up in our guesthouse for the next two days and found that the supply of consumables from Port Blair was not possible. As a result, the dwellers inclined to hoard and there was a rush in the consumer stores of Hutbay.

The situation improved on the third day with an occasional depiction of rays of sun and reduction in the velocity of the wind.

It was announced that the vessel for Port Blair would leave next morning if weather condition remained stagnant. However, on account of an increase in passenger traffic, the reservation of seat would not be considered.

My friend, through his official influence, managed to purchase tickets for us and we had a sigh of relief, subject to improved weather condition.

On the fourth day morning, we ultimately boarded the ship, which was packed with passengers, goods, domestic ruminants and birds. It was more of a steamer than a ship with limited space and minimum comfort.

However, our main intention was to return to Port Blair, wherefrom we would be able to avail at least flight to the mainland.

As the steamer started its journey, we found that the waves were rolling on the main deck and at times flying fishes, those jumped on the deck, were grasping to death.

Continuous rolling and pitching made the passengers sick and many people were found to be vomiting and ultimately lying down on the deck being dehydrated.

It was a horrible journey for around eleven hours from five o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon dancing through the turbulent waves. It was impossible to consume food because of drastic upward and downward movement of the vessel adding with the sick people all around.

By the time we reached Port Blair, the steamer had turned to be hell with signs of the soiled deck, excreta of animals and birds, wasted food mixed with saline water of the sea.

Our clothes got drenched with splashes of sea waves and our baggage had gained more weight, being soaked in seawater and we were totally exhausted trying to keep ourselves steady in such a terrible situation.

How to Reach

There are regular ferry services from Port Blair to Hutbay. However, there can be a disruption of services due to adverse weather condition. Majority of the ferry does not have an arrangement for sleeping and passengers have to remain satisfied with push back chair system.

There are helicopter services from Port Blair but the same remains booked due to frequent travel of government officials.

Boarding & Lodging

There is only one hotel in Hutbay with basic amenities. The tourists can also book guest houses of government departments keeping in consideration of last-minute cancellation.

There are few stand-alone restaurants where limited varieties of cuisines were available, the majority of which are Indian palate

Major Sight Seeing

The virgin beauty of the island is attracting tourists to remain secluded from the busy world. The sparse and thin population disintegrated human settlement is the major attraction of the island.

The major beaches are Netaji Nagar, Harminder Bay and Butler Bay which remains mostly empty as a limited number of tourists comes to Hutbay from Port Blair because of the uncertainty of communication.

There are two waterfalls viz Whisper and White-surf which are occasionally visited by locals during holidays and picnic seasons but mostly remains empty.   

The movement in the forest area of the island is restricted and requisite permission has to be obtained for entering the protected area.

My Experience

Keeping aside the horrible return journey from Hutbay to Port Blair, it was a nice experience of having an overall view of the lives of the islanders who remained far away from modern cities and towns. They seemed to be satisfied with the minimum basic needs available on the island.

The major attraction of the island was scenic beauty of the beaches that had remained a virgin for decades. With the increase of frequency of the water transport system, few tourists took the venture of reaching the island with an uncertainty of return vessel.

We received the hospitality of my friend but in general, the locals were very much cooperative and supportive.

It was definitely an addition to the kitty of my travel experience where I could visit such a remote place where lives are difficult but that did not wipe the smiles from their faces.

Photo Courtesy: Google

   

 

BHITARKANIKA - TRIP TO MANGROVE FOREST OF ODISHA

 

It was exactly nine o’clock in the morning. After the completion of formalities of the forest department, our boat started through the canals of Baitarani and Brahmani Rivers into the mangrove forest of Odisha.

Sometimes the canals were becoming wide and sometimes so narrow that we could touch the leaves and branches of mangrove trees near the banks on both sides of the canals.

We were on a boat, passing through the largest mangrove forests of Odisha, Bhitarkanika.

It was a sanctuary conserved by the forest department of Odisha where plenty of estuary crocodiles could be seen.

As we proceeded, the scorching rays of the sun were preventing us to sit on the open deck. But we were firm on our stand and our major objective was to locate crocodiles basking in the sun either on banks of the canals or floating on the top layer of the water.

Our guide was constantly keeping eyes on both sides of the canal to locate the basking crocodiles.

As we penetrated into the deep forest with sunlight peeping through the branches, we could locate crocodiles sporadically either floating in the water near the banks or basking in the sun.

Some of them could not tolerate the arrival of the mechanized boat with the humming sound of the engine. They hid in the water beyond our visibility.

It was a pleasant sight that herds of newborn crocodiles suddenly disappearing in the water creating minimum sound and raising their heads at a distance after the boat left the spot.

As soon as we could locate big crocodiles of size between 15 foot and 20 foot, the crew stopped the engine of the boat so that we could move closer to obtaining photographs.

It seemed that the entire network of canals through which we were passing was full of crocodiles.

We learnt from our guide that the brackish water of the rivers, with shades of mangrove trees, was one of the best breeding places of the estuary crocodiles.

Further, the crocodiles mainly depended on fish and other small water creatures which were available in plenty in the entire belt which restricted movement of the crocodiles to the open water of the rivers.

The forest was also a nesting place for many types of birds. The crocodiles also fed on the newborn birds which fell down from the nest till the birds flew to other places in the month of October and November.

After travelling for around two hours through the canals, the boat made a halt in a place called Hunter Island. It was a big island within the mangrove forest where the kings of yesteryears used to come for hunting birds and other animals.

As we proceeded from the temporarily constructed jetty through the forest path where roots of mangrove trees crisscrossing each other, we reached an open land.

We came to know that there were deer, varieties of snakes, monitor lizards, migratory birds on the island.

A hunting tower was constructed during the reign of kings, which was in dilapidated condition. A Shiva temple and a Durga temple stood as witnesses of the previous century but still worshipped by the local visitors.

As we took a forest path towards an interior portion of the forest, a monitor lizard of moderate size crossed the path within the twinkling of an eye and disappeared into the dense forest.

There were few water bodies on the island where we could find migratory birds swimming in the water, chirping, having broken the silence of the forest.

A small crocodile shifted from one water body to another at its highest speed.

As we tried to be close to the birds in and around the water bodies, the birds shifted their locations, being scared of the arrival of human beings. As a result, we had to satisfy ourselves having obtained photographs from a distance.

After strolling for around an hour, we started for returning to the jetty for the next part of our boat ride.

Our guide suddenly signaled us to stop for a moment. We saw a large male deer with branches of horn crossed the path in a very leisurely manner. The speed of the deer gave us the opportunity to take a few photographs.

We expected to see more deer in the same herd but we could find none.

Having returned to the boat, we started the next part of the journey through a similar type of canal into an isolated region, where we could see at least fifty crocodiles of different sizes till we returned to our starting point.

How to Reach

The distance from the state capital, Bhubaneswar to Bhitarkanika by road is 168 km via Cuttack and Chandbali. The nearest railway station is Bhadrak on the Kolkata-Chennai railway track which is 99 km followed by Cuttack that is 145 km.

Boarding & Lodging

The tourists can stay in the nearest town Chandbali which is around 48 km or at Dangmal village which is on the border of the mangrove forest. There are hotels in Chandbali and few homestays in Dangmal. The homestays are available with normal ambiance and food.

Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) has constructed a few cottages and tourist bungalows with eco-tourism park that can be booked online.   

Mode of Travel to Bhitarkanika

The tourists have to travel in Bhitarkanika by mechanized boat from Khola Bridge (a riding point) 8 km from Dangmal. The cost of the boat for around 4 hours will be around Rs.3000/- and the tourists have to pay entry ticket and camera charges as per the prevailing rate. An eco-tourism park has been constructed in Dangmal where tourists can have a nature walk against payment of entry ticket.

My Experience

Nature has been bountiful in the Bhitarkanika mangrove forest area where various kinds of flora and fauna have taken shelter and have grown within a cozy pollution-free environment. The abundance of crocodiles is found in the canals of the Brahmani and Baitarani rivers. Migratory and local birds can be found in the trees and bushes of mangrove forests.

It has been a new experience of travelling in the boat for more than four hours enjoying nature at its ultimate. The pleasant sunny weather and the cool breeze has been a catalyst to enhance the enjoyment of the trip and it can be assured that a trip to Bhitarkanika may boost the enthusiasm for nature lovers.     

 

THE MYSTERIOUS BABA OF NATHULA

 

As I stepped into the first lobby of the bunker, a cold wave passed through my body. I had to bow down to cross the door because of its height but I felt that I bowed down to pay tribute to the departed soul who left us long back.

The writing table, chair, pen, books, pieces of paper and all other belongings were lying on the table in such a fashion as if the owner had taken a break from his work and would soon return to his desk.

As I stepped inside the other room on the left, a single bed stretched with a clean ironed bedsheet, blanket and pillow was waiting for the owner who could take rest and would have peaceful sleep at night.

Every moment, every bit of belongings depicted a picture that somebody was present in the bunker.

As per the available records, the person staying in the bunker had left the world on 04 October 1968, more than 52 years back when he was just 22 years old.

Who was Baba Harbhajan Singh

It was Baba Harbhajan Singh, who became a martyr while combatting with Chinese soldiers at Nathula border of Sikkim.

He was an ordinary soldier in the Indian Army, posted in the Sikkim border like many other soldiers guarding our country. But he became and still remained extraordinary even so many years after his death as it was believed that Capt. Harbhajan Singh still guarded our border with the same dedication, for years together.

As per historical evidence, Baba Harbhajan Singh was guarding alone in the middle of the night near the Nathula border. There was a sporadic conflict on the border with the Chinese army during that period.

In the next morning, there was no trace of Baba at the post where he guarded the border. Despite a frantic search, neither Baba nor his body was found.

On the third night, one of his close friends had a dream which helped the army to trace the body of Baba from a nearby place, where the body was stuck between glaciers.

Since then, there was a myth that Baba guarded the same border where he was last posted. Any sort of indiscipline was not tolerated by Baba and the soldiers were taught to be vigil during their duty through some invisible message. The army personnel without proper attire were also being warned by Baba.

Post Morturial Period

After discovery of the body, Baba was cremated with due military honours. But the soul of Baba did not remove himself from attending the duty and any attack from China was being warned to the army three days in advance which could make the Indian army prepare themselves for the combat.

Gradually Baba became a human God among the armies and civilians moving through the route and every vehicle crossing the bunker where Baba used to stay made a compulsory stoppage to pay homage to the departed soul.

Every year on 11 September, an army vehicle with belongings of Baba are transferred to New Jalpaiguri Railway Station wherefrom the luggage is being sent to Kapurthala by train. A berth is reserved exclusively for Baba which remains empty throughout the journey.

The personal belongings of Baba after reaching Kapurthala are being transferred to his ancestral village at Kuka. After a stay of one month, the luggage is being brought back again in the same fashion to the bunker of Nathula.

Though Baba has expired long back, but he earns a pension from the army every month like any other retired soldier. He has been promoted in his service career as per normal rules laid down in their system and presently he is considered as Captain of Indian army.

Baba Mandir at Nathula

As the soldiers posted in Nathula border had great respect for Baba treating him as their savior, a shrine was constructed just below the bunker where a statute of Baba Harbhajan Singh had been set up by the Indian army.

Presently it is known as Old Baba Mandir and the exact name of the location is Tukla.

The tourists intending to visit the bunker have to climb around fifty stairs and then can enter the place. The old temple has been constructed on the main road to Nathula just below the bunker.

A new temple has also been constructed a few kilometers behind the old temple and the massive structure of the new temple attracts the tourists on way to Nathula and Silk Route.

The army has also made an arrangement to welcome tourists with tea and snacks.

There is also an army canteen near the new temple where snacks and other consumables are available on a payment basis.  

There is huge snowfall in winter in the location but the army does not leave the post and remain there under the vigilant eye of the departed soul.

How to Reach Baba Mandir

The distance from Gangtok to Baba Mandir is 61 km and it takes around three hours to reach the spot. However, considering the border, permission has to be obtained from the competent authorities before visiting that route.

Generally, the tourists make a combined visit to Tsongo Lake, Baba Mandir, and Nathula Pass in one day trip. There is no provision of stay in this route taking into account the security aspect.

The vehicles are available on a hiring basis from Gangtok either in full or on sharing basis and the agencies take care of obtaining the permit.

My Experience

During my visit, I had the opportunity of interacting with one of the soldiers who were deployed for maintenance of the old Baba Mandir at Tukla.

The soldier frankly told that before posting he was least concerned about the invisible presence of Baba in that bunker and being a Naga Christian he did not have any belief in the stories which were heard about Baba.

As per routine, he had to clean the bed of Baba every night exactly at nine o’clock. After cleaning the room, when he turned back, he used to get a cracking sound of the cot, which generally was heard when somebody put his body on the bed. Though nobody slept in the bed of Baba, every morning he found that the bed sheet got wrinkled as if some person lied in the bed for the night.

The soldier also narrated that one night he was a little late in preparing the bed as he was on a call over the phone with his relatives. He suddenly felt a pat on his back exactly at nine o’clock at night as if somebody reminded him of his responsibility of preparing the bed for Baba.

The omnipresence of Baba Harbhajan Singh is being felt by the majority of the visitors who have entered the bunker. The photographs, ironed dresses, polished shoes, neatly arranged bed nicely kept belongings clearly shows that the belief of the army troops posted in Nathula border has a special respect for the departed soldier.

Baba is taking the responsibility of guarding the border through his invisible presence for more than fifty years. The loyalty to the nation shown by Baba during his lifetime continues to be present even after his death.