Shells, starfishes & a bunch of friends: Part 3

Midnight nuisance

Around midnight, everyone went back to their rooms with a tough task at hand. I took to the comfort of the sofa bed in the ground floor relishing over the events of a day well spent. I smiled remembering CK's joke about renaming Papori's starfishes as alpha, beta and gamma. Gradually, sleep got better of me as thoughts changed to dreams. I wondered why Ina, Mina and Dika were taking a motorcart ride while I sat down on the beach resolving official issues on a strange laptop. Somebody was shouting at me from the cottage asking me to come back.
“Partha... wake up!” somebody shook me up. I sat down trying to figure out where I was. Upasana's scared face told me something was wrong. “There is something up in our room.” she said.
“Ok... don't panic. Let's check it out.” We went up to the second floor and heard some strange chirping somewhere in the room. The silence of the night made the noise scary. Finally, we concluded the noise to be coming above the thatched roof. Common sense told us that it was perhaps a bird although we couldn't rule out a snake. But then, snakes don't make that much noise on rooftops. The chirping finally stopped after sometime.
“Don't worry! Go back to sleep” I tried to convince the girls, “It's just a bird and it won't harm you……just a little frightened to see your faces.” Upasana mumbled something as I stepped down the stairs back to my sofa bed. “Call me up if you feel too scared.” I shouted back from the ground floor.

A confusing morning – scores settled

The morning brought in a new confusion. I woke up to find that we had apparently missed our appointment with the rise of the Sun God. A look at the hands of my wrist watch indicated it was already six in the morning. “Traitor!” I cursed my mobile alarm. An investigation into this crucial failure showed that I had messed up while setting the day of the alarm. Lazily though, I got up and limped to the entrance to draw away the curtains. And lo.... surprises never cease to amaze me. This one was more of a shock. The main door was open. “Did I forget to lock the door last night?” my heart skipped a beat, “I think I did or maybe... I didn't...” I looked around to see that my wallet was still on the table. Further scrutiny confirmed that nothing was stolen from the room... everything seemed to be in its place. Mixed feelings of relief and confusion shrouded my lazy morning brain as I stood at the doorway thinking over the incident.

“Good morning Partha !” a familiar voice rang through my ears. Surprisingly, the voice came from outside the cottage. A familiar lanky figure came jogging towards the cottage. “You missed the sunrise!” CK said with a smile. “Oh!” I said, still trying to come into terms with what was happening. “It was you, not me!” I smiled back. It was his turn to be confused. “Don't worry! You left the door open and I was just concerned as to what happened.” I added, in an attempt to explain the situation. CK nodded, then as an afterthought said “You guys didn't budge an inch when I tried to wake you up, so i went alone.” I felt angry with myself and then with Mani and the girls. “It was beautiful... and there were lot of people on the beach to witness the event,” he added, while I swallowed back my anger. I looked out from the door towards the blue sea. It was still early and worth taking a walk down the beach. We missed the big event but then it was still a beautiful beachside morning.
“Get up lazy bums! It's morning and you missed the sunrise.” I shouted from the ground floor. Mani grumbled. Upasana's voice came ringing from the second floor, “What is the point of waking up if sunrise is already past?”
She always has a logic ready however wild it may be. “Maybe because it would be worth it”, I shouted back.


Fifteen minutes later, the troupe of sore eyes and yawning faces finally assembled together for our beach venture. It was an enchanting sight at the beach. The sun was warm and a cool breeze brushed our faces. The horizon was filled with quite a few small boats; early risers out for work unlike us. A group of noisy teenagers played Frisbees nearby . “Dhat dhat dhat.... dhatdhatdhat...” a motorcart came to a halt beside us and the driver looked at us expectantly.
“This is fun!” Upasana shouted over the din of the engine. The motorcart of dangling legs and excited faces raced along the beach while the morning sun lifted our spirits. On the way back, Mani decided to take on the driver's job. It was an amusing scene with the driver and the girls trying to give directions to Mani in their own way. While the driver's instructions were concerning the clutch operation, the girls went all out shouting at Mani to give back the control to the driver. Five minutes later, we landed safely in front of a tea stall and there were sighs of relief.

The morning passed on and before we realised it was time for us to leave Mandermani. A morning breakfast of maggi and coconut water at the seaside stall was just about perfect to celebrate the end of our stay in this coastal village.
We went to the reception to clear out the last of the formalities and the payments.
“It was an owl, Sir.” the receptionist said when we inquired about the noise last night.
“Ahaa...it was an insomniac one.” I replied, much to the amusement of a few tourists checking in.

“All done!” Mani said, putting in his final signature on the register. It was noon when we finally boarded our Sumo. A few minutes later, we were back to driving on the beach on our way back. There were people enjoying the waves in the afternoon sun and new tourists were still pouring in. As the Sumo climbed onto the tarmac, it picked up speed. All of us were tired. The girls had already dozed off. But this tiredness was refreshing in a kind of way, breaking the monotony of office life. The music from the stereo player hummed on a sweet melody. Much as I wished to stay awake, the eyes refused to do so. We drove past a milepost which declared that we were still 116 kms away from Kolkata. “We would need another.... mmmmnnn... two hours... maybe less....” I couldn't remember much after that till I woke up amidst the blaring horns of Kolkata traffic.
Welcome back Home!


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Shells, starfishes & a bunch of friends: Part 2

Destination Mandarmani

“Blueee... sagar ke dil main...blueeee...jitne khazane...” blared out from the speakers in perfect sync with our feelings as we took in the overwhelming sight. Mani had miraculously hit the jackpot this time. The vast expanse of water lapping up the shores provided a grand visual impact. The beach was wide and largely undisturbed. Our Sumo crawled down the road onto the beach followed by loud cheers. One of the unique aspects of this beach was that there were no proper roads to the resorts lined up facing the sea. We had to literally drive on the beach to reach our hotel. It was pure delight to see the line of beautiful resorts on one side and the sun simmering on the waves on the other. I could make out the silhouettes of people playing with the waves at a distance. I just wished to get down and run for the waves.

Driving on the beach was tricky. There were puddles of water here and there that asked to be avoided. The Sumo growled now and then as the driver changed gears frequently while maneuvering over the soft sand. In due course, he got the beast to prowl efficiently on the new surface and we were back to enjoying the sights.
We had planned our overnight stay at the Sana Beach Resort. It was one of the more famous names that we heard back in Kolkata. We had however voted not to book any rooms without having a look at them and perhaps even manage to draw out a discount in a face-to-face finalization. “Abbey... we crossed nearly a mile of resorts... but no Sana.” Mani quipped. “Aayegi mere yaar... Sana aayegi... aur kahan jayegi?” I grinned. There was always this nagging thought though, “What if we came in the wrong direction?” Another mile went by. Everyone stretched their necks and strained their eyes like a bunch of lemur cats searching for the eluding Sana resort. “Look up ahead... the last one.” Mani pointed out ahead. A signboard declared that the destination had been reached, “Welcome to Sana Beach Resort!” More cheers followed.


The resort was spread over a large area and decorated with taste. Another surprise awaited us when we reached the reception.
“We need two rooms: one for girls and one for boys. What options do you have?” I asked at the reception.
“Sorry sir, we are out of rooms at the moment” the manager said. I scratched my head as Upasana gave me a ‘I told you so’ look.
“Bad idea” I thought.
“Sir, you can check out our Presidential Suite and our Maharaja camps. They are the only ones available now.” the manager gave us a glimmer of hope.
“Camps won't be bad” Papori said.
“Should we check out ‘Diganta’?” Mani suggested about another resort that he had heard about.
“How much does this Presidential suite cost per day?” I asked the manager.
“It's 7800 rupees without tax. It is a cottage with two bedrooms and a drawing room and should be able to accommodate five of you” he replied.
"Two rooms taken together will cost you near about the same amount. Let's check out the suite. What say?" I asked the group as some enthusiasm came back along with hope.
The ‘Presidential Suite’ was a beautiful cottage with tinted glass walls and thatched roofs. There were three levels inside the cottage. The ground floor was the drawing room. There was a bedroom on the first floor and another one on the second floor.
“We are taking this suite” Upasana declared, “And this bedroom on the second level belongs to us girls!” I smiled and looked at the others. The decision had been taken. We went back to the reception to finalize the suite. To his credit, Mani had eventually managed to squeeze out a ten percent discount on the total amount. The driver's accommodation was arranged as well.


“Sir, we don't accept cards here.” the manager couldn’t help dropping another bomb when Mani took out his credit card. “There you go....another twist to the story. Guys do we have enough cash?” I wondered aloud. The nearest ATM was twenty kilometers away and we didn't want to waste time and energy to this end. A rough calculation showed that we would be able to manage for the night, provided extravagant expenses were curbed. “Phew...we can finally stay here.” I let out a sigh and went back to our cottage. The lodging issues finally stood settled.

The Beach


It was around 2.30 pm when we came for lunch. A satisfying lunch of Indian and Chinese delicacies settled the complaining stomachs.
Later in the afternoon, we came out to enjoy the serenity of the beach. The sound of the waves lashing the shores created a soothing rhythm for the heart. Mandarmani beach was quite different from other beaches in a pleasant way. It was peaceful, not many souls had visited this beach which meant that it was much cleaner than the crowded ones. I stood there looking at the distant boats on the horizon for sometime while the sea water lapped up my feet. It was enchanting. Away from all the worries of life, my heart felt thankful for the peace and calm. I knew that I could sit down looking at the sea for the entire day without getting bored.
“Dhat...dhat..dhat...dhatdhatdhat...” my moment with silence was broken by the arrival of a colorful motorcart. “Dada... ek chakkar pura ghooma ke layenge... aayiye..” the driver shouted above the din of the engine as he parked his vehicle beside me. I looked at the others. Upasana and Papori were delighted. They climbed onto the motorcart for a photo session. The driver insisted that we take a ride along the beach. We decided to save it for later. Somehow, we always tend to follow the unwritten rule: save the best for the last.

As we walked along the beach, we noticed some small mounds in the sand and some small creatures moving around. At the first sight, they seemed like some big ants coming in and out of those holes in the sand. A closer inspection however confirmed those as little crabs. They were quite a few in numbers and it was amazing to just look at them moving around the sand. Infact they were fast enough not to allow me to take a proper photograph. Camera shy people!


The waves in Mandermani were low and slow and allowed you to go far into the sea then you could otherwise. It was sheer pleasure walking through the waves and at times picking up shells left behind on the wet sand. On one instance, we made a startling discovery. Amongst the shells, we found a live starfish and then we found some more. The moving tentacles made a dent in my confidence, but I found a way around to pick one up with a shell. Papori christened a trio of the lot as Ina, Mina and Dika before they were washed away by the waves.
Time just passed by and before we knew it was sunset. The sun continued on its descent in the western sky, creating a myriad of colors. As the evening set in, the bluish sky was gradually tinted with a reddish hue and the sun turned into a large orange fireball. It was a magical moment to watch the sun gradually disappear into the horizon. This one moment was enough to justify our trip to this beautiful place. Well, someone missed it though. CK had spent the entire afternoon sleeping in the cottage. The scores would however be settled soon as we would find out.
“Hey CK, you missed a most beautiful sight.” Papori said when he finally joined the gang at the tea stall. “What else did I miss?” CK asked as he browsed through our recently clicked photos. We filled him with the details including Papori's newly christened starfishes: Ina, Mina and Dika. The evening wore on as solar powered lights lighted the few tea stalls along the beach. A few people had put up a volleyball court on the beach. The tides had brought in the waves closer to our resort. We sat down on the beach watching the volleyball match and chattered on about life and experiences. Now and then, cold drinks and delicious pakodas would ask for attention and we would oblige.
On our way back from dinner at the restaurant, we noticed the time of sunrise being put up on the reception board. “Sunrise at 5.34 AM.” Mani read out. That was indeed a challenge to most of us. I couldn't remember when I had last seen a sunrise; maybe, during my last college exam four years back. I couldn't help smiling at the thought. “Guys, please set your alarms at 5.00 am,” Upasana asked. “We shouldn't miss the sunrise.”


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Shells, starfishes & a bunch of friends: Part 1

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson

The Journey

Some things in life look simpler at a distance; the tougher part is implementing it. Waking up early is one of them! And to add to that, a Saturday morning in cool November surely makes five more minutes of sleep seem like heavenly bliss. Yet, the very thought of our journey to the sea side managed to draw the sleepy legs out of slumber. A quick shower of cool water shrugged away the remnants of sleepy confusion and replaced it with the expectations of our weekend trip. The idea of a trip to Mandarmani was conceived amidst the boredom of office routine. A mere suggestion took the form of a plan and in no time transformed into a full fledged tourist schedule. A chain of mails and a couple of calls later, we were ready: Papori, Mani, CK, Upasana and me - the group had been decided.
It was 7:15 am and there was still no sign of the Sumo we had booked or rather, the people that were supposed to come in it. At 7:45am Upasana called up Papori and spoke animatedly. I sat at the dining table and sipped my morning tea, waiting for them to end their conversation. Gossiping and girls go hand in hand. “Mani is in the bathroom and CK just woke up” Upasana said, making a face as she put down her mobile. “Well, boys will be boys.... And I should go back to sleep” I said, inviting a hard glare from those small mongoloid eyes that challenged “You just dare!”

Another forty five minutes later, a white Sumo with dark tinted windows stopped in front of our house to fetch its second pick of travelers to the beach. Our journey had finally begun to a small coastal village along the shores of the Bay of Bengal. Mandarmani, as it is known, is situated at a distance of around 180 km from the heart of Kolkata. It is a fast developing seaside resort village of West Bengal and arguably much cleaner than it’s more famous cousin, Digha. Records state it to be the longest drivable beach in India.

Breakfast inside a cramped Sumo has its own share of drama. Boiled eggs, brown bread smeared with flavored cheese and assorted range of juices was in demand as hungry people satisfied their starving stomachs. Upasana on one occasion came close to smearing the driver's face with cheese as the vehicle took a sharp turn. “Lucky fellow, he escaped the assault.. he he..” I tried to visualize a surprised cheese coated driver and the apologies that would have followed thereafter.
After an hour into the journey, we stopped at a small town to get some music mp3s. Mani and I got down and finalized a couple of mp3s with the latest hindi chartbusters. However, latest hindi songs doesn't really mean that all of them would be good on the ears. Mani realized it the hard way. As he shuffled the player through ten disastrous songs, Papori chose to pick up the favorite line, “Who chose the mp3s?” Although a partner to the crime, I pretended to be asleep. Experience told me what was coming next. “Mani, you could have chosen some good songs you know....these are all crap... blah blah blah... dishum... dishum..” the girls had found their prey. Mani helplessly tried to jump to the next song only to find himself deeper into trouble. “CK, you went along with them, didn't you?” Papori asked. “No..no... I just got down for some fresh air.” CK defended. I smiled to myself. Some fifty pathetic songs later, a familiar melody finally brought relief to the ears and to Mani of course.


Amidst music, gossips and beautiful landscapes, the Sumo went into a cruise mode and covered more than half the distance in two hours. To a person used to crowded traffic, a smooth journey through the green fields was very relaxing. The small towns on our way brought about fond memories of home. “Wow.... look at that!” Papori's excitement disturbed my line of thought. The source of the hullabaloo was a strange looking three-wheeler that we had never seen before. A customized ride, I surmised as our Sumo zoomed past the vehicle. It was a motorized multipurpose cart: a open cart carrying passengers attached rigidly to the first-half of a motorcycle. The only public transportation in Mandarmani, we realized later. The girls were delighted as they clicked photos of every passing ride like amused kids and planned to ride one in Mandarmani.

It was noon and we had still not reached our destination. The excitement associated with the motorcart gradually faded as the journey grew tiresome. CK dozed off in between, while Mani tuned through the list of songs. Now and then, the girls would be excited to see something interesting. At one point of time, Papori even concluded that she could actually hear the sound of the waves. It was another thing that we were still about thirty kilometers away from the beach at that time.
Around 12:30 pm, we finally made our way through a dusty road to the beach. The vegetation beside the road changed drastically as we approached our destination. This time, we could actually hear the waves lashing the shores. The suspense built up as we waited apprehensively for a clear view of the sea. The trees gradually thinned out to unfold the secret of the blue waters.

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November rains and pakodas

"Did you hear that?" I asked Pranai as I packed my bag to leave office for the day. "Rains !" he exclaimed on hearing the skies rumble once again."And no umbrella." I added, grinning at him. Five minutes later, I found myself amongst the crowd at the entrance, all awaiting impatiently for the rains to stop. A cool wet breeze swept across my face as I stepped out of the door."Aaahh.... November rain," I said to myself enjoying the moment. Although November had set in, the temperature dip was still missing in Kolkata. The rains had made up for the missing element.I wished to go out and get soaked in the rain. But better sense prevailed for two good reasons. I didn't want to carry a soaked laptop back home . Secondly, I didn't want my colleagues to take me to be a crackpot. But the rains had set in the mood for a jovial evening. People carried that extra skip in their step as they boarded the office bus and kept on discussing about the fine evening. An old melody drifted out through the speakers of the bus and it was just about perfect to suit the ambience.

Kolkata rains bring along with it another aspect that is not so comfortable for the common man . Long traffic jams! We had somehow reached the AJC flyover without much stopover time, before we came to a standstill halfway through it. And when you get stuck atop a flyover, there is not much that you can do. There is only one way out and that is to keep your patience in check .
At a distance beneath the flyover, I saw a chaiwala brewing up some hot tea. "Ahaa... chai in this weather would have been perfect." I told my colleague beside me. "Yes, pakodas would've completed the package" he added, smiling at me. I thought about calling home to place a special pakoda request.

Inspite of the traffic jam, no one was complaining much. The rains had brought along a lot to cheer about. The torrential downpour had gradually changed into a drizzle. Parts of park circus area had been flooded. Little children waded through the knee deep water holding colorful umbrellas. Twenty minutes later on, the traffic finally started moving. The city looked a lot cleaner even under the streetlights. The glowing neon lights created a myriad effect combined with the rain.
As our bus took a right turn to enter Salt Lake, I picked up my ringing mobile. "Yes, I'll be reaching home in five minutes" I told Upasana. "What are you doing ?" I asked. "Making some pakodas for his Highness" she replied mischieveously. "Lucky me !" I couldn't help smiling.