1) From Kolkata, it takes about 5-6 hrs to reach Sundarban.
2) How to reach: Sundarban can be reached only by waterways. From Kolkata, suburban trains can take you to Canning (64 kms) from where launch services are available for Sundarban. Otherwise, you can avail of buses to reach Raidighi (76 kms), Najat (92 kms), Sonakhali (100 kms) and Namkhana (105 kms) from where motorboats will take you to Sunderban.
3) Where to stay: Best to stay at Sajnekhali Tourist Lodge (run by WBTDC, Booking at 3/2, B.B.D Bag (East), Ph: 2248-5917/5168/8271, 2210-3201/3199). However, if you don’t like restrictions (you’ve to be back at the lodge by 6 p.m and can’t leave your room and roam in the area as it’s not allowed), try staying at the private resorts (would definitely be a costlier option, with tariffs varying between Rs. 3000 to 5000 per head for 3D/2N), the Tiger Camp and Tiger View Point being two of the renowned ones.
4) When to visit: Winter Season (from December to February); our guide told that the best time for tiger sighting is the month of February.
5) Permits & Access: For conservation reasons, there are some restrictions for the visitors. Joining WBTDC group tours or package tours of private operators would save you a lot of trouble though the best option is to go on your own, hire a guide and boat and then enjoy the flora and fauna at morning and afternoon (when it’s low-tide time) and spend the rest at watch towers (the best being Sudhanyakhali, where most of the tigers are sighted).
For permits, foreigners can contact:
The Joint Secretary (Forest),
Govt. of West Bengal, 4th Floor, G-Block,
Writers' Building,
Calcutta- 700 001.
Tel: 225-5601 Ext: 411/754.
For visiting the tiger reserve, permission is given by:
Field Director,
Sunderban Tiger Reserve,
Port Canning.
Entry Permits can be obtained from Bagna, Canning and Sonakhali for STR (Sundarban Tiger Reserve) and at Namkhana, Canning and Raidighi for Western region of Sunderban Forest.
6) Places to visit: The Sajnekhali Tiger Reserve, Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, Sudhanyakhali, Dobanki, Netidhopani (a temple that’s 400 yeas old), Bhagabatpur (crocodiles), Kanak (Olive Ridley Turtles), Holiday Island (Barking Deer). [We could visit just the first four in this list]
(We booked ourselves for the 3D/2N package of Tiger View Point, with pick-up and drop facility from Science City. The total cost: Rs. 3400 per head. Our tour began on 21 March.)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
A rare phenomenon
On Friday, the 21st March, we will witness a rare phenomenon when three different religions will have their festivals...all on the same day. So, while the Hindus will be celebrating Holi, the festival of colors, the Muslims will be busy with the rituals of Fateha Doaz Daham and the Christians would be observing Good Friday.
It would truly be a reason to say loud cheers to the secularism that our country holds aloft. So, here's wishing everyone a very happy festival and an extended weekend that begins tomorrow.
It would truly be a reason to say loud cheers to the secularism that our country holds aloft. So, here's wishing everyone a very happy festival and an extended weekend that begins tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Suicide @ Central Metro Station
Yesterday, the metro rail services had gone haywire in the morning as a man jumped in front of a Dumdum bound train in his suicide bid. When I reached the station @9.20 a.m, I heard the announcement that trains were plying till Maidan. After some deliberation, I decided to get down @ Park Street and to take a bus from there till B. B.D. However, the only train standing at the station was already jam-packed and when it was announced finally that it would go till Dumdum, some more jostled into the already packed boggies. That train finally left @9.40 a.m.
I took the next train, getting into position right after the previous train had left or otherwise, I would have to stand all the way. Finally, I reached office @ 10.20 a.m, a good 30 minutes late from what would have been my original time.
The sad part of the story was that not a single word of solace was uttered for the man who died on the tracks. Instead, everyone was cursing saying "Morar r somoy pelona ei office time chara?" (Couldn't he find some other time than the rush hours of morning?)
I took the next train, getting into position right after the previous train had left or otherwise, I would have to stand all the way. Finally, I reached office @ 10.20 a.m, a good 30 minutes late from what would have been my original time.
The sad part of the story was that not a single word of solace was uttered for the man who died on the tracks. Instead, everyone was cursing saying "Morar r somoy pelona ei office time chara?" (Couldn't he find some other time than the rush hours of morning?)
Problem of 50 paisa
Recently, I've been forced to cultivate a hobby of collecting 50 paisa coins....all because of the shrewd autowallahs (especially those whose vehicles ply between Jadavpur 8B bus stand and Baghajatin) who always demand the exact fare of Rs. 2.50 and never give back the change if it's Rs. 3.00. If Rs. 5.00 is given, they would make you hear some sweet nothings (though these dialogs are quite somethings, at least to me) and then reluctantly give back the change. However, if your stars don't favor you, you may encounter someone who would drive the auto forward without giving anything back saying "Khuchro nei to othen keno?" (If you don't have change, why do you board the auto?)
25 paisa is already an extinct species and I feel awkward whenever I get a single coin of this denomination (coz if it comes in pair, my 50 paisa problem is solved). So, until the 50 paisa follows suit, my turmoil would continue.
25 paisa is already an extinct species and I feel awkward whenever I get a single coin of this denomination (coz if it comes in pair, my 50 paisa problem is solved). So, until the 50 paisa follows suit, my turmoil would continue.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
A hillarious forward that I got in my mailbox
God created the donkey and said to him. "You will be a donkey. You will work un-tiringly from sunrise to sunset carrying burdens on your back. You will eat grass, you will have no intelligence and you will live 50 years." The donkey answered:"I will be a donkey, but to live 50years is much. Give me only 20years" God granted his wish.
God created the dog and said to him: "You will guard the house of man. You will be his best Friend. You will eat the scraps that he gives you andyou will live 30years. You will be a dog. " The dog answered: "Sir, to live 30years is too much,give me only15 years. " God granted his wish.
God created the monkey and said to him: "You will be a monkey. You will swing from branch to 
branch doing tricks. You will be amusing and you will live 20 years. " The monkeyanswered:"To live 20years is too much, give me only 10years."God granted his wish.
Finally God created man...and said to him: "You will be man, the only rational 
creature on the face of the earth. You will use your intelligence to become master over all the animals. You will dominate the world and you will live 20years."
Man responded:"Sir, I will be a man but to live only20 years is very little, give me the 30years that the donkey refused, the 15years that the dog did not want and the 10years the monkey refused. " God granted man's wish.
And since then, man lives 20 years as a man, marries and spends30 years like a donkey, working and carrying all the burdens on his back.Then when his children are grown, he lives years like a dog taking care of the house and eating whatever is given to him, so that when he is old, he can retire and live 10years like a monkey, going from house to house and from one son or daughter to another doing tricks to amuse his grandchildren. That's Life..... MY FRIENDS............
(Courtesy: Bhaskar Bhattacharjee)
Tollygunj Local
A colleague of mine has nicknamed the Kolkata Metro Railway as Tollygunj Local. The reasons are a plenty….all of which make the “pride of Kolkata once upon a time” a mere local train now.
Firstly, with the rush during the office hours, a gap of 7/8 minutes isn’t ideal to run the trains. Unless you board the train from the terminal stations (Tollygunj or Dumdum), you will be squeezed in the bogies. You may even have to leave one or two trains just to gain a foothold and an entry inside the bogies. The situation seems especially problematic for the Tollygunj bound trains from Dumdum in the morning and the vice-versa in the evening. Though I’m lucky to be traveling on the opposite route both the times, I have witnessed the pathetic condition in which people travel. Also, the rush with which the passengers jostle to get in and out….it is just a matter of time before some accidents happen. Now-a-days, even the metro-culture that was once the pride of the city has vanished (people often used to say that Kolkatans have poor manners on the road but once in the paatal, they are an epitome of courtesy). Many stations have their murals removed from the walls and the skeletons of these empty walls stare at your face. The clocks and the gates often refuse to function, causing unnecessary delay. As I use the Central Station, I can vouch for the fact that almost everyday after 7 / 7.15 p.m, the clocks of this station work according to their own whims and fancies…the digits not showing now, dancing then, a blink-&-you-miss show of the digits, and then…..all goes blank. As a regular traveler, I know the timings of the train and so can increase or decrease my pace accordingly to board the trains but I really feel sorry for the first-timers who often miss the train by whiskers due to these good-for-nothing clocks.
So, unless the authorities do something to improve the overall situation and run the trains at quicker frequency (at least during the office hours), it would not be long before our pride becomes a pale shade of its earlier days of glory. As a Kolkatan, I won’t love that for sure!!!
Firstly, with the rush during the office hours, a gap of 7/8 minutes isn’t ideal to run the trains. Unless you board the train from the terminal stations (Tollygunj or Dumdum), you will be squeezed in the bogies. You may even have to leave one or two trains just to gain a foothold and an entry inside the bogies. The situation seems especially problematic for the Tollygunj bound trains from Dumdum in the morning and the vice-versa in the evening. Though I’m lucky to be traveling on the opposite route both the times, I have witnessed the pathetic condition in which people travel. Also, the rush with which the passengers jostle to get in and out….it is just a matter of time before some accidents happen. Now-a-days, even the metro-culture that was once the pride of the city has vanished (people often used to say that Kolkatans have poor manners on the road but once in the paatal, they are an epitome of courtesy). Many stations have their murals removed from the walls and the skeletons of these empty walls stare at your face. The clocks and the gates often refuse to function, causing unnecessary delay. As I use the Central Station, I can vouch for the fact that almost everyday after 7 / 7.15 p.m, the clocks of this station work according to their own whims and fancies…the digits not showing now, dancing then, a blink-&-you-miss show of the digits, and then…..all goes blank. As a regular traveler, I know the timings of the train and so can increase or decrease my pace accordingly to board the trains but I really feel sorry for the first-timers who often miss the train by whiskers due to these good-for-nothing clocks.
So, unless the authorities do something to improve the overall situation and run the trains at quicker frequency (at least during the office hours), it would not be long before our pride becomes a pale shade of its earlier days of glory. As a Kolkatan, I won’t love that for sure!!!
Chatterboxes
Women are always blamed to be the one who speak and have no time to listen. I wonder how far is this true? I don’t want to cite my example in this regard coz I am a self-professed chatterbox myself. However, I have seen men too speak a lot (with a lower decibel limit, though) at a stretch, laughing, bitching and doing all that for which a women is often pulled-up.
Isn’t the time ripe to do away with this gender-bias? At least when it comes to the matter of chatterboxes, I feel that you just need the right kind of catalyst (in the form of a listener) to get going coz unless you have an attentive audience, talking isn’t fun. What’s your take, friend???
Isn’t the time ripe to do away with this gender-bias? At least when it comes to the matter of chatterboxes, I feel that you just need the right kind of catalyst (in the form of a listener) to get going coz unless you have an attentive audience, talking isn’t fun. What’s your take, friend???
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