North East Road Trip - 2: Shantiniketan - Raiganj - Murti river - Guwahati

Day 9, Jan 4.  

Writing this while stuck in a blockade set up by protesting Adivasis across several districts of West Bengal. We left by 6.30 in the morning, thinking to make good time on what was a more than 9 hour journey. Little did we know that our journey was going to get several hours longer.

It was around 12 noon that our route along NH 16 was blocked by a police bandobast.  After that, resetting our Google map each time, we tried 4 different routes, each time by smaller and smaller roads. We nearly got through a small country road, but apparently just a few vehicles ahead of us, they blocked this road too. No option now except to wait it out. If as we hope, they lift it by 6 pm, we will be lucky to make it to Santiniketan by 10. Informed Avijit, who had kindly booked our room in the guest house there. In the meantime, the hunger which was building up because we had decided to skip lunch to make up for the lost time, was assuaged somewhat by a hot omelette from a small dhaba on the side of the road. The friendly owner pulled out a charpoy for us and, more important, let me use the toilet.

There were no police when we got here, but 1 or 2 have arrived. Clearly, they have no orders to forcibly lift the blockade, which is just as well. So far everything is peaceful, though there have been raised voices whenever anyone has tried to sneak through.

 

Tried to google to see if there was any news of this protest. So far, it is off the radar of the news sites. But it is clear that there has been some protest by the Adivasis in West Bengal almost every month.  What are their specific demands now? Will we get to know?  So far, it has been a quiet protest, not even slogan shouting. But just now can see someone being chased with lathis and a crowd gathering. Incidentally, they seem to be letting through only school buses and vans. According to some passersby, this particular bandh is government-supported. Trust politicians to exploit what must be real grievances.

The real hardship for us began after the blockade was lifted at 5 pm. A 120 km journey took us 5 hours of very hard night driving, mainly in unbelievable congestion amidst an unending line of trucks. By the time we reached Santiniketan at 10.15 pm, we were wiped out, especially since we had had nothing substantial to eat after breakfast. The nice hot meal thoughtfully arranged by Avijit at the Ratan Khuti guesthouse and smilingly served even at that late hour, helped to put life back into us.

Day 10, Jan 5.  

There is a lot to be said for the old fashioned charm of the Viswa Bharati University. The huge trees and spaciousness. Everything and everyone moves at a slow pace but with old fashioned courtesy. 

Left only at 9.30, with some trepidation after what we went through yesterday. But except for Google putting us through a couple of short hair-raising spells through narrow crowded vegetable markets, the rest of the ride was very   

pleasant. A mild winter sun stayed with us the whole day. As did fields and fields of beautiful yellow mustard flowers.  A high point was seeing the Ganga, as broad and limitless as the sea, at the Farakka Barrage.  Another curious sight was that of plenty of old Ambassador cars, especially in Malda and Uttar Dinajpur districts. So this is where the Amby ended up after the model was discontinued!   

An interesting part of this trip has been observing the similarities and differences among the different peoples and cultures. The Bengalis we have encountered have been mostly friendly and even unusually forthcoming and helpful.  But a few have been taciturn and even surly. In terms of infrastructure, West Bengal seems some decades behind some of the other regions through which we have motored, especially in the South. There seems to have been some systematic neglect by the powers that be in Delhi. 

We made our state-run hotel in Raiganj in good time. Since yesterday, the climate has become clearly colder, and I am glad I packed my woollens.

Day 11, Jan 6.  Despite our hotel being right next to the highway with trucks rumbling by whole night, the combination of tiredness, cold and a heavy razai gave me my best sleep in weeks.

Again, it began as a foggy, dreary day, but fortunately the sun began to cast its mellow light after 10.30. What a difference sunlight can make to one's mood in winter!  This part of North Bengal, and especially the Chicken Neck, is quite different. You feel the presence of Bihar, and then the Himalayan states close by,  although we could not see any mountains, to Kannan's disappointment. And of course, Bangladesh is close by as well. Suddenly, the road signs are pointing to Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Gangtok and Guwahati.  We began entering tea cultivation country, and the mustard fields were fewer.  This is also Gorkha country, and it was nice to see cheerful, friendly people of Nepali origin.  Had lunch an hour before the end at the small Amigos Restaurant run by some of them. Nicely situated overlooking pretty fields.

The last two hours, I was struck by the waterworks in this area. This is the land of the Teesta and Mahananda rivers, as well as several smaller ones. There is a profusion of canals, aqueducts and barrages, all well advertised. Our drive ran along a canal for almost two hours.

Were happy to arrive around 3.15 pm at the West Bengal Forest department's Banani Resort on the Murti river. We have a lovely suite with plenty of windows   overlooking the river. Stepped out of the back of the compound down to the river with its pebbly banks. Sat on a rounded stone with my feet in the crystal clear water. What more could one ask for!

Day 12, Jan 7.  

This was a much needed day of pure rest, in relaxing surroundings. I think it was the first day since we left that we didn't drive anywhere. Luckily this place is so comfortable, and the grounds and the river behind us so attractive, that we didn't feel the need for any sightseeing.

Our hopes of seeing the sun rise over the Murti river from our bedroom windows were dashed by a thick mist that hid the river from our view. Despite layers of clothing, we froze. But then around 9.45 a gentle sun peeped through, and we rushed out to warm ourselves. Strolled across the bridge and ventured a few metres into the forest road on the other side. More than the warnings posted about not disturbing the wild life, it was the sight of a huge mound of fresh elephant poo on the road that made us not venture too far.  In an hour or so we were fully warmed up.

The staff whom we interact with are mainly cheerful and energetic Gorkha boys.  Our immediate neighbours are a friendly 3 generation family of Biharis.  They are amazed that we have driven all the way from Karnataka.  We have an exchange with 2 young men, also from Bihar.  They apparently make a point of visiting as many nature reserves and sanctuaries as they can.  They had driven the 600 kms from Patna all night and had arrived at 5.30 am! 

Am sorry to leave this place, but we must move on.

Day 13, Jan 8.  

Today is D-Day as far as this trip so far is concerned. We attained our goal of driving from Bangalore to Guwahati, the gateway to the North East and to our specific target destination of Arunachal Pradesh.  All thanks to Kannan's meticulous planning and driving.  Driving about 3200 Kms has however taken a toll on him, especially his shoulder and back muscles.

Anticipating a long drive, we planned for a 6 am exit from the Banani Resort, and actually achieved it. We left in a somewhat tense mood in freezing cold and dark and heavy fog. I must say I was quite relieved that the road we had originally planned to take through the forest with its wild animals, was shut at that time. For the next three or more hours we drove mainly through fog, with only occasional clear stretches. But after breakfast at a truck stop, the sun came out and in a short time it became positively warm inside the car.  We had to keep shedding items of clothing.  Kannan became almost dangerously drowsy.

We crossed around 10 am into Assam's Khokhrajhar district. This and the neighbouring Barpeta districts are Bodoland country, and we could see rallies and offices of ABSU and the Bodoland People's Front. The women wear a kind of sarong in a distinctive style. In one stretch we saw a good number of vehicles with red licence plates starting with BP.  It turned out that these were Bhutan licence plates! Bhutan is very close to this area, and the signboards were all pointing to it.  

The driving after the fog was much smoother than expected, and the road was reasonably good.  We got into Guwahati around 2 pm.  Decided to have lunch first at a Chinese restaurant with beer and city prices to celebrate our achievement, and then head to our homestay "Bougainvillea" in the heart of the city.  We were greeted by two cheerful caretakers.  We have a room and a small balcony to recuperate from our long drive and fortify ourselves for the next phase.  Someone has taken great pains to decorate this place with taste and thoughtfulness, which makes up for the compact size of the room.  The Wi-fi password is given in a note in the room without asking for it; there are actually two towels; a tea kettle with teabags etc; and a nicely decorated tray placed on the bed with toiletries.  

Day 14, Jan 9.  

Our homestay in Guwahati, Bougainvillea, is full of interesting contrasts. Just a stone's throw away from a busy major commercial thoroughfare,  RG Barooah Rd, but in a quiet residential area. No room to walk around at all, except on the street outside, but every balcony, sitting and dining area and front entrance is full of lovely, carefully tended flowering plants. And the owner is an artist with a remarkable eye for decorating each room tastefully but not ostentatiously.  The owners don't interact with the guests, but the warmth and friendliness of the two employees, Nirmal and Mintu, make it an agreeable place to stay. We find that Nirmal has spent 10 years working in different places in the South, and he knows a number of Malayalam and Tamil terms, especially culinary ones, and can pronounce them correctly!

Unlike our last trip to Guwahati some years back, this is a business stop. So we got to work right away. Got the car serviced and cleaned thoroughly, and gave 20 items of clothing for washing and pressing at a laundry.  Kannan had figured out, with the help of Google, how and where we could get all this done conveniently. After this, we had a long evening of rest while Kannan figured out our plans for the Arunachal part of the trip.

Day 15, Jan 10.  

Today was the day for stocking up on supplies. Found "Quick Shoppe" on the other side of the road. And a real find it was, because we got all the packaged food items we needed in one place. Picked up nice fresh vegetables from the street outside. The vegetable seller was an engaging and friendly woman from Bihar.  Then collected our laundry and ate lunch at the same Paradise Restaurant we had eaten in many years ago, well known for its traditional Assamese food.  Then repacked our stuff to be ready for the road tomorrow.

This is my third time in Guwahati, but this time tourism is in only in the back of our  minds. Our engagement with Guwahati this time is as the undisputed big metropolis of this entire region where you can get almost anything you need. We leave catching a good look at the Brahmaputra, which had been the central concern of the previous visits, to the coming days.

North East Road Trip Part 3 

North East Road Trip 1