Talasari is in the Baleshwar district of Odissa, at West Bengal-Odissa border. It is not a so popular as Digha, though it is very near to Digha ( West Bengal). Talasari means series of palm trees. I planned this week end trip in the winter (2018) with a friend of mine. We got accommodation in OTDC Chadaneshwar. We went to Digha by Howrah- Digha train. From the station we took a toto for Talasari. After reaching there we had our lunch and then visited Chandaneshwar temple. It is a small Shiva temple.

In the evening we went to the sea beach. A branch of Subarnarekha river meets Bay of Bengal here. During low tide one can walk crossing the river to reach the beach, but during high tide, when the river is filled with water, there is boat service to carry the tourists to the sea side. We enjoyed sunset there and walked on the beach till the boat service was about to stop.

Next early morning we went to the river side to watch sunrise and waded through the river as there was no boat and the water level was low. But due to haze we could not see proper sunrise. It was pretty cold, so very few people were seen on the beach. We walked along the beach till the end. There were many sea weeds and specially lots of red small crabs were seen. As soon as they felt the vibration of our footsteps they went inside the sand bed.

In the afternoon we started for Bichitrapur Mangrove Sanctuary which is at the river mouth of Subarnarekha river. We had our lunch there. Crab was pretty cheap, and they cook only on customers’ order. We had to wait for sometimes because it was low tide time and boat service to the mangrove island started when water filled the river bed. The boat jetty is at the end of a canal. It was dry then. Later water level increased with the tide and we started. We reached the sanctuary within 15/20 minutes. It was a vast shallow land full of red crabs. But we could not enjoy much roaming around there because of few intoxicated men. They were behaving in an unruly manner. We roamed near the boat jetty and took few snaps. In the evening we came back and again enjoyed walking on the beach.

Next morning after breakfast we came back to Digha and visited Mohana of Champa river. There was a big fish market. I bought some dried fish. After having lunch at old Digha we took a stroll along the old Digha beach. Then we went to the railway station, waited in the station waiting room to catch the train for Howrah.

Rambha + Barkul (Odissa)

Chilika is a large brackish water lagoon situated at the coast of Odissa. It covers 1000 square kilometers approximately and is connected with bay of Bengal at Satpada. It is a great source of livelihood for many fishermen of Odissa. During winter many migratory birds come here from the countries of northern part of Asia.

This year I planned to visit Chilika in October for five days to avoid the crowd and noise of Kolkata Durga puja. I had no purpose to stay at home during those five days either. I planned to go to Chilika because the availability of train ticket for Berhampur was not so scarce as it was for New Jalpaiguri during Puja vacation. I booked accommodation in OTDC hotels from their office at Lenin Sarani for both the places.

I boarded Falaknuma Express in the early morning of “Sashthi”. The train reached Berhampur at 4-45 in the afternoon. I took an auto and reached old bus stand to catch bus for Rambha. It took approximately one hour by bus to reach Rambha. When the bus dropped me on the road, a generous person, who was going to the same place by his scooter for work at the same time, offered me lift on his back seat saying that OTDC rest house was quite a distance from the main road.

It was quite dark then. I could not see anything from the room. Next early morning before sunrise I went to the jetty from where the boats ply for local sightseeing. There were plenty of birds. I took photos of few of them. Gradually the sun rose from the back of the hill like a golden platter. Then I came back for morning tea. I requested the manager that if any group came and went for local boat trip he should try to add me with them for that trip, otherwise it would be costly for me. The manager assured me that he would help me to go for that trip. Before lunch an aged couple came. Normally people go for three destinations, but I convinced them that we should do all five. They agreed to do so. They were very nice to me and showed a lot of affection to me. We visited Breakfast island, Ghantashila, Bird island, Honeymoon island and Sankuda island. It was a two hours boat journey. I enjoyed every moment.

Next day I went to Barkul by an auto arranged by OTDC guest house. Barkul is 13km /14km from Rambha. I reached there just before lunch time. So after keeping my luggage in the room I went to the dining hall and took a crab preparation with rice. That was soft shell local crab of Chilika lake. It was tasty. I came back to my room and had a short afternoon nap. During my sleep I had an itching sensation, I thought there was mosquitoes, I switched on the mosquito repellent and slept again. When I woke up and went to bathroom, I saw in the mirror my swelling face and I found that I had rashes on my whole body also. I went to the reception to inquire about medicine shop. They took me to the doctor and doctor gave me anti-allergic tablet. Next day I was fit. I went to the jetty in the early morning. There was haze due to which I could not see sunrise. I wanted to go for a boat trip. I met a group who came on that day to offer puja to Kalijayi temple. I asked them if I could join the trip with them. Knowing that I was alone they offered me a free ride.

The journey was long. It took one hour to reach the temple. It was a pleasant experience. There were lots of Pankauri birds ( little black cormorant) and different types of storks, egrets, cranes, etc. But it was difficult to capture photographs from the running boat. I went with them in the temple and offered puja and made a wish there. After coming back to hotel I had my breakfast. The evening was spent roaming leisurely around the lake and watching birds.

Next day also after breakfast I went to Kalijayi Temple by OTDC boat. People visited different places like Rambha, Gopalpur, Daringbari from there, and for other local sight seeings , but I just went there to spent time peacefully and in a leisurely manner, which I did sitting most of the time on the balcony watching Lake Chilika, birds, boats, and activities of people. My return ticket was from Balugaon by Chennai-Howrah Mail. In the afternoon OTDC hotel reception arranged my auto. It was 7 km approximately from the hotel. I reached the station an hour before the train schedule. It was a small station and the train stopped there for 2 minues. Next early morning I came back to Kolkata when the city was fatigued by the merriment of the celebration of Durga puja and was fast asleep.