Maharjpur, The Unknown Neighbour

When 3153 UP Gour Exp left Rampurhat station leaving us on one platform, on the day before Dol Purnima the morning light was yet to come. After getting fresh in the waiting room and having the day's first round tea, we occupied seats in an almost dark compartment of the local train for Sahebganj. The length of vacation being very short, the health of the wallet being thinest possible,we had no other choice but to select a less known small village at the Bengal -Jharkhand border.

We reached Maharajpur rail station at about12 noon and then reached the forest Bungalow after a trail of 15 mints. The compound could accommodate few football ground! The bungalow consisted of two extra large rooms with a canopy of Sal, Teak, Jarul, Sisoo etc trees. The floor was coated of a couple of inches dust, probably the place got visitors after years!! So we had to clean the room first to make it a little comfortable. There were no furniture at all in the rooms. The chowkidar brought straw for us, which produced a wonderful bed on the floor within few mints. Then we decided to have a bath in the river(The Ganges).

Next morning we started exploring the area. Small hillocks were all around the railway track.The whole area( from Rampurhat to Sahebganj) is under famous Rajmahal Range and made of basalt and modified rocks. Hot kachouris, Jalebis and tea constituted a nice breakfast. Local tribal peoples were engaged in collecting woods in the jungle. They earn their bread by selling these in the local market. In the mean time train for Rajmahal arrived. From Rajmahal station we took a tanga for only 100 rupees.


First we visited the "Singhi Dallan" which was bulit bya Mansingh at arout 1600 A.D. An excellent view of the Ganges is available from there. Though the three storied building is struggling for existence, a few wonderful Mughal Painting were carrying the last symbol of it's glorious past amidst the ruins. But few so called tourist had catalysed the destruction process by en curving there names on the paintings. Then we visited the "Jumma Masjid". On the way the Tanga driver showed us the ruins of an old mint. Around the Masjid there are mines of china clay. Though the horse was there to carry us, but the road was so horrible that we had to pull and push the cart several time to place it on the track from the mud!!. At the end we drove towards "Kathghar". The entire route was covered with stones of shapes and colours like rice, daal, wheat etc. According to the myth the local land lord once denied to give food to a poor bhramhin beggar. After that all the food grains of his kingdom became petrified. A small temple of Lord Krishna is there.We came back at the Bungalow at around 2 p.m.

Following the chowkidar's suggestion, next morning we went for a 4 km jungle trek to visit a tribal village and a falls. The entire region was blood red due to the fully blommed Palash and Shimul trees.


A very thin stream came from almost 80 ft to a small lake. Local people told us this becomes furious during July - August after few rainy days. We took a prolonged bath ,came back to our bungalow to spend our last night there.

Direction:

From Kolkata, Rampurhat by 3153 UP Gour Express. From there Maharajpur is accessible by Sahebganj Local. Otherwise Barhaora by Danapur first Passenger or Mujaffarpur Local, then Maharajpur or Sahebganj by local trains.

Shelter & foods

Though few hotels are available ast Sahebganj, but travelling from Maharajpur is better, because it is "pocket friendly". In 2001 the tariff of the whole forest bungalow was Rs.24 (not a type error!). The local shops around the railway station will make food for you if requested. Very simple veg food...Plz don't expect luxary is food or lodging in this place, you'll then be utterly frustrated. This place is not for those who want every comfort like those of luxurious resorts at every tourist places.

At GandhiSarovar..

Everybody was so mesmerised that nobody talked, no body shouted in joy, nobody tried to capture all the things through lens. I don't know how many silent moment passed.... probably I were the punishable offender to break that heavenly silence by the "clicks" of my camera. Peaks, peaks & peaks every where...with there snow capped heads ....

Panoramic view at Gandhisarovar

Gandhi Sarovar is a small glacial lake in the state of Uttaranchal, India at approx 3900 m. It is a 3.5 km modest trek from Kedarnath , the well known holy place to the Hindus of India. But this region attracts even agnostics & atheists as well like a huge magnet due to its heavenly beauty.

The still water reflects the image of Kedarnath peak. But with the progress of the day, wind starts to create waves in the lake which may disappoint the trekker. So early start from Kedarnath is a must to get the total beauty of this picturesque lake

It is believed that Yudhishthir, the eldest of the Pandavas have departed to heaven from Gandhi Sarovar. River Mandakini, a major tributary of The Ganges originates from here. Previously this was know as " CHORABARITAL" ( CHORA = hideden, BARI= water, TAL= lake) because due to continuous self reconstruction of the glacier, its water often not visible. After the death of Mahatma M.K. Gandhi, (whole India know him as "the father of the nation"), his ashes were immersed in Lake. Since then it is renamed as Gandhi Sarovar.



There we met the Austrian couple Helga & Kleine. The Lady publishes a news paper there , and Kleine serves for Austrian Army.

Our team with the Austrian couple at Gandhisarovar

We spend a couple of hours there together... exchanged email ID then they started descending to Kedarnath. We remained mum there for few more mints. Then followed them, but repeatedly looked back after every two steps, mentally we were hardly ready for coming back.

Looking back again and again

They were about 500 m ahead of us, we could see the happy couple meandering downwards to Kedarnath, two loops down..... suddenly a rock fell right on Helga's forehead and took no time to turn her T shirt red with her own blood!!! We rushed to the spot, her left eye was severely injured, popping out of the eye socket. I send two of our team members to Kedarnath to arrange a "Kandi"( a chair, carried by four person ) so that she can be evacuated to the helipad . The nearest equiped hospital were Rudraprayag /Delhi. So no other way except air traffic service could help. Though it was really painful, Helga kept her cool. I had a minimum medical kit with me, Kleine wrapped her head with the cotton. Already 35 mints gone, no help arrived from downhill, Helga started vomiting and making all of us panicked, blood started to flow from her mouth, nose. Realising the fact, that, delay of every single second was making the situation more complex, I requested the labours who were engaged in the road construction to carry her downwards. Two of them came forward, they carried her on their back almost one km, when the Kandi reached from Kedarnath. Kleine offered them money , but they didn't sell their humanitarian entity for some bucks. We rushed to the helipad and arranged a special flight for the couple to Delhi after 10 mints.

Gandhisarovar from Kedarnath(Part II)

After 15 mints walk, the bite of the cold became less penetrating. Though we continued following the stone embedded narrow path, yet sometimes with an intention to cut the distance, ascended straight along the rocky surface. There were signs everywhere along the road to tell the fact that the road construction was in progress.

On the way

But last 500 mtrs or so, there was no distinct roadways... we had to trek through a bolder zone. When we climbed the last hump, we became spellbound. The majestic Himalayas were observing her reflection on the Gandhi Sarovar.

Gandhisarovar from Kedarnath

We must reach there as early as possible, may be by 8; we decided in our closed door meeting(Plz don't think we had a very confidential meeting!!! we had to close the door to avoid the chilling cold of Kenadrnath.)

3km long route is not so steep, so 2 hours would be fine enough for a very comfortable, lazy walk. So we decided to start around six next morning.But our lady members were pretty reluctant to trek further higher.At least two of them were suffering from ankle problem and blister.So we followed the democratic process and the net outcome was that , we must trek to GANDHI SAROVAR.

Next day, we came out of the warmth of the bulky blankets at 5 in the morning, and we were on our way by 5.45 , covering our whole body under heavy woolen garments. Ratan ,my brother in law, ( eldest of the group)rang the bell of the temple wishing a nice journey. We crossed the river Mandakini and followed the right angel turn from the powerhouse. At 6.10, the first ray of Sun on Mt Kedar proclaimed the start of another pollution free day in the Himalayas.

First ray on Mt Kedarnath 

Gandhisarovar from Kedarnath(Part II)

At GandhiSarovar..

Deoriatal : a less known paradise

"Don't worry sir, main hoon na!" assured Raghubir Singh Negi, the owner of Negi Guest House at Sari village. We have just ascended from Kedarnath after a 14 km downhill trek to Gourikund and then five hours drive to Sari, the base camp for Deoriatal. I was dreaming about spending a moonlit night at Deoria since my first visit in 2003. In this five years I were there twice , but as a day trekker, night spending was still in dreams only.

So, in Oct 2008 , while chalking out the final itinerary, I kept two days for Deoria. My old friend Raghubir was well aware about my "unsatisfied desire". As soon as he came to know that we have two days for Deoria camp he said "main hoon na!" The ladies of the team threw Raghu out and captured his kitchen, boys started to collect wood from the nearby jungle to celebrate our successful trek to Gandhisarovar and myself being pretty relaxed got out of the hut to explore Sari.




Next morning, (Oct 13th, 2008) we started with a "Darshan" of Lord Shiva , my cousin sister prayed for his blessings for a clear weather. The dense tree cover on both side of the stone embedded route, blocked the sunlight, chirping of many known, little known and unknown birds helped to forget about the climb.



Two km trek came to an end soon , the magnificent view of Mt Chokhamba, Trishuli, Kedar and many more was just in front of us. We were at Deoriatal (2438 m).

Reflection of those peaks in the lake was ........ No, my vocabulary is not so strong.... I just can't express that beauty with some cliched adjectives.. You guys will have to feel that from the photographs.











Meanwhile Raghu reached there with tents and chicken. We became very busy with our cameras. After a long photo session when we were just trying to drink the heavenly ambiance till the last drop, "Rabindrasangeet" (Tagore song) in a mesmerising voice came from the nearby jungle. Out of utter curiosity I followed the voice. An aged Bengali lady was wandering with that devotional song which expressed her deepest gratitude towards the nature.

In the afternoon , the sky became covered with cloud making me deeply annoyed. Though the rays of setting sun created dramas in the cloud, I was a bit frustrated.






At around 7 , the full moon took the responsibility of illuminating the valley but the cloud covered the whole range. The chicken curry appeared tasteless to my tongue....... spending night at Deoria in full moon remained partly unfulfilled....

On the way to Gangasagar mela

Kolkata is the entry point for the famous Gangasagar mela. Devotees from every corner of the country come here to get Sagar island. Govt of West Bengal makes a transit camp at Babughat for them. A little wandering with the camera in a mid January afternoon catch some moment of this camp life.

Baba (Sadhu) preparing himself for the mela

Someone is very happy with the arrangements

Somewhere Conflict between Yatris ( Devotees) for space/facilities can be seen

Someone is very relaxed and passing jokes with the fellow Sadhus

Some one is a bit anxious about the remaining part of the Yatra

Some one is playing with his musical instrument

Someone is very lonely and waiting for the boat

Even curious media is present there to cover the whole episode.

Some Naga Sadhu demonstrating his meditation technique

Some high tech Baba is making some important call along with Ganja



East and West makes a very interesting blend

Chau masks of Purulia

A complete Chau mask of Asura ( The Devil)

Chhau dance (or Chau dance) is a form of tribal martial dance attributed to origins in Mayurbhanj princely state of Orissa. It has several forms like Seraikella Chau,Purulia Chau, Mayurbhanj Chau etc. But all these forms are performed with beautiful masks. Chhau in West Bengal, referred to as the Purulia Chhau, has a distinctive character of its own.It has received international acclaim and scaled rare heights of beauty and perfection.Padmashree Sri Gambhir Sing Mura was most renowned exponents of Purulia Chhau.

The Chorida (Charida or Chirda) village near Baghmundi of Purulia district of West Bengal is famous for Chau artists and Chau masks. This village has produced many national and international award winners.In these village these masks are produced by a particular group of people who have been engaged in this business for generations (Sutradhara).In every alternate house, from the youngest to the oldest member of the family could be seen busy in making these extraordinarily beautiful masks.As it is impossible for the artists to show mood variations through facial expressions , the expression in the mask's face is very important to illustrate different moods. So it needs extremely high artistic perfection and knowledge of the epic and mythology for the artist to make the right mask which depicting perfect mood.

Making of the masks:

The making of Chau masks is a multistage process. It goes as follows -

Clay model of the mask is being prepared in the workshop of Phalguli Sutradhar

1. A clay model of a mask is first made and dried in direct sunlight to make it hard. This is the first step known as 'Mati Gora'. It is then covered with powdered ash.

Dried clay model of goddess Durga

2. Then layers of old newspapers moist with gum are pasted on this powdered layer. A thin layer of fine clay will be applied known as "Kabij Lapa". On drying, old torn cloth are pasted on it effectively. The mask is then polished, "Tapi Palish", with a wooden spatula. With a small tool, "batali" the features of the face are defined and cleaned. This is known as "Khushni Khoncha".

"Khushni Khoncha" of the mask with "Thapi" and expert hands

3. A layer of clay water is applied on it. On drying a layer of zinc oxide or "khori mati" is applied on it. According to the characters the mask is painted and decorated. The artisans are well versed in the use of colours.Dark yellow or bright orange are the colours used for Gods and Goddesses like Devi Durga, Lakhmi and Kartik. White is generally used for Lord Shiva, Ganesh and Goddess Saraswati. Goddess Kali is painted black or blue. A talisman or a tilak is applied on the forehead of Lord Rama and Krishna. The Asuras are painted in black or deep green with thick mustaches, protruding teeth and large eyes.

Mask of Lord Kartikay is being painted

4. Silver and golden foil cut in different shapes, string of beads, pith works, and coloured paper flowers, feathers of hens and peacocks are used for decorating the masks. A type of oil is applied on the mask for a fine finish.A fished chau masks weighs up to 3kg and costs upto 2000 INR.

An artist decorating the mask of
Devi Durga

Problems:

Making only Chou masks doesn't suffice a considerable lifestyle. Increasing costs of the raw materials, poor marketing, interfering middleman are some of the chief factors which cuts off the profit percentage to make the chau mask makers poorer day by day. So they have to make some other decorative mask which can be used as wall hanging. The workshops of all the artists are now full of such decorative masks staked together , ready to be marketed along with original chau masks.

Decorative masks

Asura mask

For more photos on this subject click here