Baranti- A Spring Retreat

Summer and weekend getaways in my part of the world are like chalk and cheese. Well, at least it was so until we visited the beautiful village of Boranti (Baranti) in the Purulia District, at about this time last year.

BARANTI FACTS:

Surrounded by the Panchkot Hill at one side and the Biharinath Hill on the other, Baranti is a beautiful tribal village, just 265 Kms away from Kolkata. It is a part of the Ramchandrapur Irrigation Project in Purulia District, where a water reservoir has been constructed by erecting a small earthen dam between Muradi Hill, at one side, and Baranti Hill, on the other.

The tiny village is set ablaze with the Palash flowers during spring, and you cannot but remember Tagore’s verses “Ore bhai phagun legeche bon e bon e”.

HOW WE GOT THERE:

We took the Chakradharpur local from Sealdah Junction at 11pm- reached Adra junction in the wee hours of the following morning- took another local from Adra and got down at Muradi (4 stations away).

From Muradi we decided to take a rickshaw ride to Boranti instead of a car, as we wanted to get a flavor of the local villages and their whereabouts. That 30 minutes rickshaw ride was something that was just so right! The meandering village roads took us to our destination amidst lakes, hills, and the rustic smell of the Sal, Mohua and Palash.

WHERE TO STAY:

There are just a few hotels cum homestays to choose from:

Lake Hill Resort
Akashkmoni Resort
Aronyok
Palash Bari – are among them.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS:

• Garpanchokot is only 12 kms away.
• The famous Panchet Dam – 22 kms.
• You can also visit the famous Joychandi Hills (just 21 kms away) – this is the site where Satyajit Ray’s ‘Hirok Rajar Deshe’ was shot.

 

We covered all these in a Tata Magic rented from our homestay. Took us some 4-5 hours.

 

THINGS TO DO IN BORANTI:

May I just say that the best thing to do in Boranti is just sit back and let it be! Take that idyllic walk by the lake, watch the local villagers in some strange tyre-boats, trying to catch a fish or two, reflect on the reflection of the hills on the lake, fill your lungs with the smell of Mohua, gorge on the splendor of the Palash trees in full bloom all over, watch the sun setting over the lake… and all these while you munch on a morsel of muri (puffed rice) and beguni served with homely warmth on our verandah! Can life be any easier!

And if you want more there, is the constant symphony of crickets and strange noises from the surrounding forests to give you company for the rest of the evening and night, when we were asked not to stroll around outside.

 

 

TIP: do not forget to take an early morning stroll to the adjoining village and the surroundings.

 

 

 

Thus went by the two days in Boranti, with nature, peace and the Palash still fresh in our souls.

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(Devlina, in her own words, is “Just another Bengali woman proud of her Rabindrasangeet and Rosogolla roots ….. a psychiatry resident, still picking up the shells on the Freudian shore !”
For her other articles on Blong…Shong, Click Here)

Other  Weekend getaways from Kolkata:

Ideal Idle Idyllic Times