Date : April 2008

6.30 AM Saturday 19.04.08

My train from Rourkela enters Howrah Station. Amidst the buzz Di calls “Head back home..will pick you up from there”. Pick me up for our trip to Talshari that is. A family trip. Mashi and family along with Di’s in-laws. A trip for two days in the isolated beaches of Talshari,Orissa. Obviously I jump in as a part of it. I mean a break from your daily schedule in a remote sea beach with the rustling sounds of the pine trees to keep you company. Who would not??? I got ready at lightning speed as soon as I reached home. And they are here – a red sumo, a brand new car. My cousins and I are packed at the back. We have it entirely to ourselves. Though frankly speaking there is not much space around. But obviously that does not diminish our enthusiasm any bit. Radio blazing, we head towards the sea. A quick break at Kolaghat. I order a poached egg and realise that it tastes way better when you have been on a vegetarian diet for 2-3 weeks (at the guest house at work). We reach Talshari around 2.30 PM. The OTDC cottages are cool. Neat and tidy without much frills but with all basic amenities. AC is a must in this sweltering heat and that works just fine. Lunch is pomphret, prawn curry. Fresh from the sea. Spiced up with oriya masalas. Heaven. The only thing you can do after this awesome lunch is take a nap and pronto we hit the bed.

4PM Saturday 19.04.08

Early evening we head towards the beach. There is a distributary of the Subarnarekha that lies in between the sea beach and our guesthouse. At that time the tide was low hence we easily cross it on foot. The water barely touches my calf. The beach is pristine. Clean. The pine forests alongside make for a pretty picture. Moreover it is a full moon or almost a full moon. The moon rises as soon as the sun disappears behind the pine trees. The beautiful moon reflecting on the sea. I could easily spend the entire evening at the beach gazing out to the sea. But alas, you do have to get back to reality. While returning the tide was coming in. The riverine was flowing steadily and the depth too seemed more. Judging by the surface we decided to cross the river from a particular spot. As we descended it got deeper and deeper. Suddenly I could no longer find the river bed under my feet. Even though I know how to swim, at that moment finding land under my feet was my only priority. Swinging my arms I started grasping the water in vain. Thanks to my Mesho who was only a few feet away. He pulled me out to where he was standing which was not all that deep. Slowly after that we waded out of the water. In a single file. Holding onto each other for support. Safely back at the hotel. The rest of the evening we spend visiting the Chandaneshwar Temple followed by a trip to old Digha. Old Digha does not have any beaches. It is all boulders and the sea thrashing over them. And it is crowded. Very crowded. When we returned to our guest house later it felt better. Sane. Peaceful.

Sunday 20.04.08

The next day we headed to the sea early morning for a bath and swim. While returning we had lunch at Mondarmoni which is another haunt on the shores of the Bay of Bengal slowly gaining popularity. Mondarmoni has beautiful beaches stretching for miles without any obstructions and you can drive on the beach. We sped across the beach on our sumo. Though I wish we could drive a little closer to the water. We reached Kolkata at night. We drove past the Eden gardens where Kolkata Knight Riders were thrashing the Deccan Chargers to victory

A bit hectic but nevertheless an enjoyable trip

Images from the internet