Jayanti - Part 2 - Weekend Destination - Dooars - Beautiful Colours of West Bengal - Destination East - Incredible India

Jayanti Part-2

We are just outside the Alipurduar station. Its 1 pm now. We are bargaining with car drivers and autowalas for a ride to Jayanti - our todays destination. Soumendu is calling his friend Dharma to get to know the reasonable price range for the ride. Finally we fixed for an auto rickshaw. Lets buy some liquor from here.

Our auto rickshaw is running like an express. After 20 minutes ride we have reached Rajabhatkhawa. Its the entry point to the Buxa Reserve Forest. We are paying the entry fee for ourselves and Soumendu's camera (its the bigger one than Soumya's). Yeah right, we got two functional cameras for our trip. Again we have started our journey. We are running through the jungle. I am thrilled imagining a leopard is running behind us to get on the auto from the open backside (to enjoy a free ride of course!).

The road map from Alipurduar to Jayanti

( Please don't judge by scale ;) )

we are now in our cottage. We have reached Jayanti at 3 pm. We crossed a river on our way. There is no bridge on that river. We got to know from the auto driver that the river's name is Bala. Our auto crossed through the river bed but we were not swept away by any strong current. How courageous we are. (Actually the water was not visible on the surface of the river bed). ;)

The cottage we stayed

We booked a four bedded room. We are taking bath one by one (keeping it simple as usual!). Rats and moles are doing exercises in our stomachs.

Its 4:30 pm now. We have finished our lunch. Now we are going for a stroll to the river Jayanti. The Jayanti village is at the bank of the river Jayanti. (No idea about how many girls in that village are named Jayanti!)

Crossing the river Jayanti after sunset

A dog was waiting to make its life meaningful by following the great leaders who would come from the land of the south. Finally the moment has arrived and you can clearly see it from the above picture.

The bed of the river Jayanti is very wide. There is not much water visible on the surface of the river. Most of the water flows under the rocks and pebbles of this wide river bed. There is a ruin of a railway bridge on the river. It was built by the East India Company in the year 1915 over the river Jayanti to transport dolomite stones. At the time of its construction, this bridge was 52 feet high. But now its leveled on the river bed. The bridge did not fell on the river bed but the river bed has risen up to kiss its back.

We have now crossed the river. Its becoming dark now. We are seeing trees are standing firm on the extended river bed. There are many tree trunks scattered everywhere. Flash floods have brought them from the upstream of the river. We are now walking towards Bhutia Basti. Soumendu and Soumya are taking snaps of a tall tree standing firm beside the road. We found a bench beside the road and I utilized it for some time. We are walking slowly. Suddenly a peacock screamed raucously in the jungle beside us. Our guide of this stroll is the caretaker of the cottage. He is telling us that there is a salt pit where the peacock was calling.

We are walking towards Bhutia Basti

We have reached Bhutia Basti. Its a small habitat of people who previously worked in the dolomite factories. Kerosene lamps are put on in every hut. We crossed the village and then embarked on the river bed again. We are walking upstream the river towards Jayanti. Its a moonlit night and and we are walking on the river bed. Its amazing.

We are on the riverbed in the moonlit evening

Its past 9 pm. We have finished our dinner. It seemed costly to us as we have found the egg curry is priced at 40 rupees per head. But anyway its a winter night and our stomach is happy. We are sitting on the porch. There is a nice arrangement of chairs and tables here. We are sipping Blenders Pride with Thumsup. This is the first time I am taking Blenders Pride and it feels smooth to me. I am a novice in this practice. Feeling lighter now. We have put off all the lights and enjoying the moonlight. Soumya is talking about elephants. I am imagining a baby elephant wearing a pink dress is riding the slides in a park. 
Next part:  Good Morning Jayanti 

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Next part:  Good Morning Jayanti 

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