Drive to Keonjhar from Kolkata in August 2014

Keonjhar is a land locked district situated in the northern part of Odisha. It is surrounded by Singhbhum district of Jharkhand in the North, Jajpur in the South, Dhenkanal and Sundargarh in the West and Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak in the East. Baitrani River originates from Keonjhar plateau. To the West is a range of lofty hills which contains some of the highest peaks of Orissa namely Gandhamardan (3477 ft.), Machakandana (3639 ft.), Gonasika ( 3219 ft.) and Thakurani ( 3003 ft.). About half of the area of Keonjhar district spread over 4043 sq. km. is covered by forests of northern tropical moist deciduous type and contains Sal, Asan, Piasal, etc. The river Baitarani comes out of Gonasika Hills and flows to the north touching the border of Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. It again flows East entering Anandapur Sub-division and the district of Bhadrak.




Route from Kolkata to Keonjhar and back :




Total distance from Kolkata (West Bengal) to Keonjhar (Odisha) is 370 km. The popular route is to drive on NH6 via Kharagpur, Baharagora, Bangriposi, Bisoi, Jashipur, Rajanagar, Keonjhar.
The return journey from Keonjhar to Kolkata was via Panikoili, NH5 upto Balasore, NH60 upto Kharagpur, NH6.

Itinerary :



Day 1 : During India's Independence Day holidays in mid-August 2014, Indian Roadie Soumitro Bhattacharjee left Kolkata at 9 am with his family in his Mahindra Scorpio and reached Keonjhar at 4 pm. Keonjhar is about 7 hrs drive from Kolkata via NH6. After Baharagora the road is in a bad shape upto Jashipur. Jashipur is one of the main entrances to Simlipal Forest. Lunch break at road side dhabas can be at Jashipur or Bisoi.

Day 2 : After breakfast left for sightseeing. Though there are plenty of places, the first day's attraction were 1. Sanghagara 2. Badaghagara 3. Gonashika 4. Khandadhar Falls. Returned to our hotel in Keonjhar for the night.

Day3 : Visited Murgamahadev Temple, Sitabinji, Maa Tarini Temple at Ghatagaon. At the end of the day again returned to our hotel in Keonjhar.

Day4 : After an early breakfast we checked out from our hotel in Keonjhar. The first halt was at Kichakeswari Temple at Khiching. The second halt was at Bhimkund. Thereafter, it was the return drive back home to Kolkata.


Main attractions of Keonjhar :

A. Sanghagara








6 kms from Keonjhar town and situated by the side of NH6. It is a small (100 ft) but beautiful waterfalls. It is a very good picnic spot. Buses and hired vehicles are available at Keonjhar for reaching Sanghagara. Hotels in Keonjhar are the best option for accomodation.


B. Badaghagara




10 kms from Keonjhar town. It is yet another small (200 ft) but exciting waterfall. It is one of the most popular picnic spots of the district. Buses and hired vehicles are available at Keonjhar. For accommodation tourists will have to stay in Keonjhar.

C. Gonasika

Surrounded by a series of valleys and wooded hills of varying colours, the place is famous as a centre of pilgrimage for the temple of Brahmeswar Mahadev established by the side of River Baitarani. In fact, this is the place from where the river starts flowing. A little away from the point of origin, the river goes underground (and hence called Guptaganga) only to resurface after a short distance over a stone projection looking like the nostril of a cow. The scenic beauty of the place is simply charming. It is 33 kms from Keonjhar. Buses are available for 24 kms. For the rest of 9 kms tourist will have to go either on foot or by hired vehicles. For accommodation tourists will have to stay at Keonjhar town.

D. Khandadhar




A sparkling waterfall of 500 ft. amidst lush green forests. A shower in the cascading water is a great experience. This waterfall is a smoking waterfall because of the smoke like appearance created by the spray of the plunging waters of the waterfall at this spot. The spot is ideal for picnic. It is 60 kms from Keonjhar town (of this about 40 kms is fair-weather road and Jeepable). There is no accommodation facilities at the spot.

E. Murgamahadev




It is situated by the side of a perennial spring of Thakurani Hill in Champua Sub-Division of Keonjhar District. It is famous for the temple of Murga Mahadev. The spot is 70 kms from Keonjhar (of this, a 6 kms stretch is fair-weather road). Regular service buses are available upto Bileipada (64 kms) from Keonjhar. No accommodation facilities is available at the spot. Tourist will have to stay either at Joda (11 kms) or at Keonjhar (70 kms).

F. Sitabinji



Situated by the side of River Sita, the spot has gained prominence as a place of having ancient fresco paintings on a rock shelter called "Ravan Chhaya" which is looking like a half opened umbrella. The painting depits a royal procession. It is 30 Kms from Keonjhar (25 kms on Jajpur - Keonjhar road upto Katarabeda and 5 kms from there). No accommodation facilities are available at the spot. Tourists will have to stay either at Keonjhar or at Ghatagaon.

G. Ghatagaon




50 kms from Keonjhar town on the NH215 towards Cuttack, the place is a popular pilgrimage spot in Odisha for the shrine of Goddess Tarini Pitha. A P.W.D. Inspection Bungalow, Tarini Yatri Niwas of Tarini Trust and a Panthasala of Tourism Department are available to cater to the accommodation needs of pilgrims.

H. Rajanagar

It is famous for the ruined palace of erstwhile Keonjhar King. Also Raghunath Jew Matha, Dadhibaban Jew temple and Chadei Kudoor are other attractions of the spot. Migratory birds gather here (Chadhei Kudoor) in winter. Rajanagar is 27 kms from Keonjhar. Tourists will have to visit the spot by hired vehicle. No accommodation facilities are available in Rajanagar. Hotels are available at Keonjhar town.

I. Kichakeswari Temple




Kishakeswari Temple, located in Khiching is the temple of Hindu goddess Chamunda alias Kali. Khiching was the ancient capital of the Bhanja rulers, located about 205 km from Balasore and 150 km from Baripada in Mayurbhanj district of north Odisha. The largest temple of the town is dedicated to Goddess Kichakeswari, the family goddess of the ruling chiefs of Mayurbhanj. The Goddess Kichakeswari was the 'ishtadevata' of Bhanj dynasty and was also also the State deity. The original temple, dates back to 7th or 8th Century, with repairs done over the centuries.
The main temple opens to devotees early at 5 am and closes down at 10 pm. It, however, remains closed between 12 noon and 3 pm.

J. Bhimkund



About 40 Kms from Karanjia, near Booring village in Thakurmunda P.S. is the sacred pool BHIMKUND on the River Vaitarani. The legend reveals that Bhima, the second Pandava used to take his bath in this pool when the Pandavas were passing their incognito life in Birat Nagar, said to be the present Kaptipada. Here river Vaitarani flows through a gorge in steps forming a series of picturesque rapids until it settles down in the pool called "BHIMKUND". It is encircled by precipitous stone wall. During Makar Festival in the month of January thousands of people gather here to take their holy dip. The place can also be approached from Dhenkikote (20 Kms) on SH11 connecting Keonjhar and Panikoili. The place is ideal for picnickers.


Hotels in Keonjhar :
Hotel Kashvi International
Madhpur, Keonjhar Tel: 06766 255323, 255324, Double Rooms Rs.2200-3000, Suite Rs. 3500

Hotel Shreekshetra International
NH6, Keonjhar Tel: 06766 250732, 257343

Panthanivas (OTDC Ltd)
Keonjhar Panthanivas, Judia, Keonjhar Tel: 06766 253603, 9238211629.
Website: www.panthanivas.com E-mail: otdc@panthanivas.com, otdc@ortel.net


(Content credit: Soumitra Bhattacharjee
Additional inputs by: Deep Banerjee)

'Kaash Flowers' - harbingers of Durga Puja 2015

'Kaash Flowers' - harbingers of Durga Puja 2015.
Clicked by Indian Roadie Suvanath Mondal at Khottadihi & Pandabeswar in West Bengal (September 2015).

Drive to Chitradurga Fort by Debarati Dasgupta in August 2015

A curious combination of symmetry and asymmetry, of natural defence and manmade fortifications, Chitradurga fort lies in the midst of a valley formed by the Vedavati River. It is built a range of seven hills that belong to the oldest rock of granitic formation in the country.

The fort, which traces its history to 3rd millennium BC, is associated with the royal dynasties of Chalukyas, Rastrakutas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar kings.

It achieved prominence under the dynastic rule of the Nayakas, who being the traditional local chieftains, initially served under the Vijayanagar rulers.The Nayakas were most responsible for the expansion of the fort between the 15th and 18th centuries. They were defeated by Hyder Ali in 1779. Later the fort was expanded and strengthened by Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. It passed on to the British after Tipu Sultan's defeat in Srirangapatna.

The fort is built in a series of seven concentric fortification walls with various passages, a citadel, mosque, warehouses for grains and oil, water reservoirs and ancient temples.

Indian Roadie Debarati Dasgupta was at Chitradurga Fort in August 2015 during her Mumbai - Puducherry - Mumbai drive with her husband in their Renault Duster. Chitradurga in Karnataka is 200 kms from Bangalore on NH4 towards Pune.

(Content source & courtesy: Debarati Dasgupta, Travelextasy)

Chele La, Bhutan conquered in January 2015 by Aritra Sanyal

Indian Roadie, Aritra Sanyal, an youngster in his early 20s is a resident of Burdwan, West Bengal and a 7th semester B.Tech (Computer Science) student at Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, Kolkata. His schooling is from Sri Ramakrishna Saradapith School. He rides a Hero Karizma R bike whenever he is at his hometown in Burdwan.

Days 1 and 2: Three friends, including Aritra, in individual bikes left Burdwan in January 2015, rode on NH60, NH34 and NH31 to reach Jaigaon (Indian side of the border with Bhutan).

Day 3: From Phuentsoling rode straight to Thimpu.

Day 4: After getting all the permissions from Thimpu for riding to restricted places, the three bikers rode towards Paro.

Day 5: Started early morning from Paro. There was heavy ice formation on the road after a few kms. Two of his mates could not make it to Chele La because they slipped on the slushy road and aborted the journey ahead. One of them even suffered a serious knee injury.
Only Aritra could make it to ‪Chele La‬ pass (3988 mtrs ASL), which is about 40 kms from Paro.
Haa Valley was just a few kms away, but Aritra too couldn't reach there because of paucity of time.
Aritra and his two friends, then directly road back to Phuentsholing. They exited Bhutan and stayed in Jaigaon for the night.

Day 6: They had planned to ride back to Burdwan. However, since there was an injured rider, they had to make arrangements to ship his bike back to Burdwan with the help of GATI, the logistics company. They changed their plan and stayed back in Siliguri for the night.

Day 7: Started from Siliguri and headed straight back to Burdwan via Malda (NH34 & NH60).

Aritra says that he will make a try for the same location once again, but with sufficient protection viz. ice-chains or ropes.

Car ride from India to Bangladesh might be a reality soon

The infamous partition of India forced my grandfather to leave Bangladesh (erstwhile, East Bengal) and flee to India on foot, leaving behind every piece of belongings.

Now I (Deep Banerjee) can dream of fulfilling a long desire of driving my own car to Bangladesh from India.