Short Sundarban tour from Kaikhali side - - to and fro (unconventional Sundarban tour) for 120/-

Tour plan (in brief) :

2.1.2016.

1. Train from Ballygunge station (in the heart of South Kolkata - nr Gariahat) - 7.25 am (which comes from Sealdah in 10 minutes from local train station side) - Ticket Rs 10

Lakshmikantapur Local , Kakdwip Local or Namkhana Local

Get down at Joynagar Majilpur Station after 1 hour at 8.30 am

2. From Platform No. 2 side of the station go to the main road and get numerous Auto Rickshaws (Rs 18)  to Jamtala Ghat - 45 minutes. After getting down walk for 5 minutes and cross the bridge 

## We (Arun, Dodi, Debashree and me) had our breakfast of Petai Parota (@ Rs 8/- for 100 grams) and tea - Rs 3  ! And 150 gms of Petai Parota is enough for me !

3. From Jamtala Ghat, get a  Auto Rickshaw  to Kaikhali for Rs 12

(Just opposite direction is Piyali Island from Jamtala Ghat - FOR PIYALI - From Jamtala Ghat, get a Auto Rickshaw to Kella . Piyali is at Kella.
While coming back from Kella - one can go to Dakshin Barasat Railway Station and board any Sealdah bound train from Platform number 1; Trekker fare from Kella to Dakshin Barasat railway station – Rs  16; Boat ride on Piyali river – Starting from Rs 100 - negotiable )

 It takes around 30 minutes.

4. The entire bank of river Matla at Kaikhali has concrete embankment. 

At Kaikhali there is a Tourist Lodge, run by Ramkrishna Ashram, Nimpith.THE LOCATION IS SIMPLY JAW DROPPING ! You have to book it from Nimpith. Kaikhali is a small land adjoining the confluence where Matla and Nimaniya rivers flow in to the Bay of Bengal. This place has river banks full of mangroves like Garan, Golappata, Hogla.

The river near Kaikhali is more violent and makes sound. The river in Piyali island is gentle.

 We found that boats can be booked for Rs 800- 2500 depending upon time (upto 6 hours) and size of boat . So it is wise to go in groups of at-least 10 people. Some boats take tourists in the depth of the jungle where tigers are claimed to be seen. 

We took a boat, sharing with local villagers and paid Rs 20 for one hour journey like a local and reached Jhakkhali (jhar = storm in Bengali). It is a nice little place full of green trees. We reached Jharkhali through a narrow creek. I have never travelled in such a narrow creek. Large steamers cannot enter this creek. Only local boats can ply.

One can walk around that village and then go to butterfly park.

There is a Butterfly Park with an entree fee of Rs 30 with almost no butterfly and inside the park there are two tigers (can be seen from a distance). In it there is a children's park , a watchtower . 
For going to this place you have to walk for 5 minutes from Jhakrkhali small ferry ghat and take a shared auto for approx Rs 10 to take you to the butterfly park. Just beside the butterfly park, there is a big ferry ghat.

The return journey had a soothing feel as the sun was a bit gentler and the sky revealed its blue colour. The boat journey was truly spectacular. The river was so vast that the other bank appeared to be just a light mist. The water was gleaming like silver and it was really hard to keep our eyes open.

Return :

There is a last bus waiting at Kaikhali ferry ghat at 5.30 pm - which takes you to Jaynagar railway station.

SOURCE : Most of the information is taken from these blogs.

http://www.tirthatanay.com/west-bengal/piyali-island/

http://tourfreaks.blogspot.in/2014/01/kaikhali.html#.Vp6ss5p961u

What to do when smart phone drops in water ?

It happened to me recently. I recently dozed off during a boat ride on 5.12.2015. (Saturday) After 30 minutes I saw my mobile is lying in water. My phone is Xiaomi Red Mi 2 Prime. It costs Rs 7,000. After coming back home in the evening, I tried to switch it on (my mistake) , without any success.


1. I rushed to their service centre (7.12.15. - Monday) . After 10 minutes, they said it is dead. But they can repair it. For new LCD you have to pay Rs 2,850/- and for new mother board you have to pay Rs 3,000 !

2. Then I took it to my trusted mobile repairman (Stall no. 38 in Deshapriya park market). After trying for 1 hour, he said nothing can be done. He did try to clear the sulphur desposition. He said water is like cancer to a mobile phone !

3. On the advice of my friends, I put it on the heated part of my computer monitor (I have old computer monitor) for 2-3 hours. Nothing happened.

4. Then on the advice of my friends I put it inside the rice bowl.

5. On Tuesday (8.12.15.) it suddenly started working ! However this is a moisture patch on the LCD screen.

To know what to do make it live Click here ........  & 

for water sippage in LCD - what to do - click here?

In search of Birds in West Bengal - Purbasthali

Chupichar, Purbasthali is one of the best places to see birds in West Bengal. It is a small place in Kalna sub division of Burdwan district, where on the banks of river Bhagirathi an Oxbow lake have been formed as the river changed course over time.  An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water that forms when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. This landform is so named for its distinctive curved shape, resembling the bow pin of an oxbow. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether it is cut off from the main stream or not. This lake is still connected to the river. The length of the lake is around 2-3 km. During monsoon when the water level rises, the whole area gets flooded, but in the winter when the water subsides, lots of small islands rise up. This has created a unique ecosystem where tall grasses and scrubs grow in abundance on these islands, making it the safe haven for the birds, both resident as well as migratory. Birds fly from North India, Africa, Siberia. I was planning to come here for last 4 years at least ! Orientation The place is called Chupi or Chupi Char by the locals. It  is only 8 km from the holy town of Nabadwip (of Chaitanya deb fame).  It is 8th stop from Kalna and 3rd stop after Nabadwip. The train station /Post office  is called Purbasthali. The Purbasthali water-body area basically comprises of two villages Chupi and Kasthashali. I read from a blog, Poet Satyendra Nath Dutta was born here. How to go there ?  Train  : It is better to take train. Road conditions are not good as on date. Train Train Name From Dep. To Arr. Travel 73151 SDAH JRLE DEMU SDAH 05.35 PSAE 08.18 02.43 37911 HWH KWAE LOCAL HWH 05.38 PSAE 08.16 02.38 37913 HWH KWAE LOCAL HWH 07.53 PSAE 10.21 02.28 31111 SDAH KWAE LOCAL SDAH 08.04 PSAE 10.49 02.45 37915 HWH KWAE FAST HWH 10.00 PSAE 12.27 02.27 37917 HWH KWAE LOCAL HWH 12.10 PSAE 14.29 02.19 37919 HWH KWAE FAST HWH 14.30 PSAE 16.53 02.23 53001 HWH AZ PASS HWH 16.00 PSAE 18.36 02.36 37921 HWH KWAE FAST HWH 17.05 PSAE 19.31 02.26 37923 HWH KWAE LOCAL HWH 18.00 PSAE 20.13 02.13 37925 HWH KWAE LOCAL HWH 19.25 PSAE 21.47 02.22 37927 HWH KWAE LOCAL HWH 20.25 PSAE 22.59 02.34 53003 HWH MLDT F PASS HWH 21.25 PSAE 00.07 02.42  5.12.15. We (Madhurantika, Debasreee & family) left by 5.38 am train  from Howrah and took Katwa local (fare Rs 25 and Rs 15 for half fare) and reached there at 8.15 approx. It takes around 3 hours to reach there, depending upon the time you leave from Howrah / Sealdah station. Tip: Either go early morning or the evening before to plan the boat trip in the early morning, to get the right angle of the sun. It makes a huge difference.  The ideal way to see birds would be to take a train in the afternoon. Then spend the night at Purbasthali and start early on the next morning at 6.30 am. Do not miss the early morning hot Rosogolla there ! There are two places to stay in Purbasthali : 1.Govt run guest house.  Rs 500/- per day - Parijayee Abash 2. Pvt run guest house – run by ‘Kasthashali Banabithi’ a body formed by the local people for preservation of the biodiversity of the lake area and the birds (Secretary of Banabithi - Nabi Baksh Seth - 97321 423 62). Our guide Sanjay is also a member of this group. We have been told that the room is very basic. So please enquire properly before staying. The room rates are Rs 400. Upto 4 persons can stay. There are 3 rooms. After we reaching there, we took a cycle van (Rs 10 per head) to go the market/bazar area which is the only place where you can take Packed lunch. (Electric car Toto's fare is also same). On the way we saw an old dilapidated Atchala and Pancharatna (5 Tower) terracotta temple. Actually the architecture of the temple is quite stunning. We bought some Petai Parota ( Rs 8/- for 100gm !!) and got it packed for eating in the boat. We met our guide  Sanjay Singha (9564 64 26 94) at the Bazar area. Before leaving, we ordered for our lunch. There is no restaurant there, in true sense of the term. My friends bought some locally made jhola gur and Patali gur (Jaggery) . We started our boat ride at 9.30  am with our guide Sanjay.  ‘Kasthashali Banabithi’ understood that this would be an unique opportunity to develop the area as a tourist destination and thus local economy would see an upsurge. Their vision is coming to reality and today ‘Purbasthali’ is an important bird sighting place of Bengal.

Without him, we would have been clueless. Do not make the mistake of not taking his help. Not only he knows the routes in the lake, but also birds like the back of his palm ! We are astounded by the commitment of our guide Sanjay . He is trying his level best  to promote the place and save the birds from poachers.

He has been featured in leading dailies of Kolkata (ABP) at least four times, for his effort. His own house is engulfed by river and comes from a very poor background. He has hardly any place to stay. He got himself literate only in the year 2000 or so. Now he travels with books of Salim Ali in his hand ! some dedication ! Number of times he had to show me the name of birds from the book. He is carrying other books also. He has a binocular with him for spotting birds. He once accompanied Discovery channel in 2007 – they have gifted him the binocular for his great service. But he has binocular vision ! He has drawn attention to the authorities whenever there has been a case of poaching. His effort has not gone wasted.

The rates are Rs 100 per  hour for Sanjay and for the boat it is Rs 150 per hour. Even in February 2020 it has remained Rs 150 per hour. He can arrange everything including food,if you want. Since the weather was pleasant we enjoyed our boat ride a lot. I kept on asking various questions to Sanjay. He was courteous to answer all my queries.

What we saw :

1.      Lesser Whistling Teals – many

2.      Red Crested Pochards- many

3.      Cattle Egret, Great Egret - many

4.      Kingfishers - many

5.      Asian Openbill Stork - many

6.      Cormorant- many

7.      Black headed Ibis -many

8.      Green Bee-eater 

9.      Black Drongo

10.  Little swallow

11.  Common coot

12.  Bronze winged Jacana

13.  purple moorhens

14.  Little-ringed Plover

15.  Common Greenshank

16.  Indian Pond Heron - many 

17.  Osprey 

                                                  Photo credits : Madhurantika Moulick

Garganey

White breasted Kingfisher

Red wattled Lapwing

Pond Heron

Purple Heron

Purple Moorhen

Marsh Sandpiper

We returned back to the shore at around 2.45 pm. There is a personal tragedy. My mobile (smart phone) fell inside the boat, when I dozed off ,while returning back to the shore (water sips inside the boat all the time and it fell into that water) and was declared dead in Kolkata !

We had a quick lunch  and took 3.32 pm Katwa local to reach Kolkata at around 7 pm.

Train Train Name From Dep. To Arr. Travel 53004 MLDT HWH F PAS PSAE 00.01 HWH 04.30 04.29 37912 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 04.12 HWH 07.00 02.48 37914 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 06.08 HWH 08.43 02.35 37916 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 06.48 HWH 09.25 02.37 37918 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 07.29 HWH 10.20 02.51 37920 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 07.57 HWH 10.55 02.58 37922 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 11.13 HWH 14.05 02.52 37924 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 14.47 HWH 18.05 03.18 37926 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 15.33 HWH 18.48 03.15 31112 KWAE SDAH LOCAL PSAE 16.19 SDAH 19.30 03.11 73152 JRLE SDAH DEMU PSAE 17.00 SDAH 20.20 03.20 37928 KWAE HWH LOCAL PSAE 19.17 HWH 22.42 03.25 53002 AZ HWH PASS PSAE 23.34 HWH 03.50 04.16 Tip 1: Do not forget to get a good pair of binoculars and a camera with a good telephoto lens otherwise be content just with the boat ride and by viewing the birds from a distance! Tip 2 : If you are going to go to Purbasthali please carry your own food. Tip 3 : This area is arsenic prone hence avoid drinking water from tube wells. Note : We again went to Chupichar by Car in 2020 (February) Source/Credits :  wikipedia,  e-rail,  Madhurantika for pics and some of the write ups, https://sagar-sen.blogspot.com/2015/01/purbashali-paradise-for-birds-at-chupir.html field notes and others