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Tarapith,the ultimate place for the worshipers of Maa Tara. Tarapith is situated on the banks of the north flowing Dwarka river, in Birbhum, in West Bengal. Birbhum is a district in the western Rarh region of West Bengal. Birbhum is famous for its folk culture and the magnificent temple of Maa Tara. The temple is about 3oo miles away from Kolkata.

It was on 20th September, 2007 that my parents and I visited Tarapith. The climate at this time of the year is perfectly fine for a short weekend in East India. We left Dhanbad at about 9 o clock in the morning. The temple is about 140 kilometers from Dhanbad which took our driver not more than 4 and a half hours to cover the distance. We searched for a hotel close to the temple. There are a number of hotels at Tarapith. It may be a small town but the accommodation facilities are of no concern. Hotels were not booked as it was not the “purnima”or “amavasya”. We got the room and we rested there for half an hour. Having inquired the manager of the hotel about the crowd we decided to worship the goddess in the same evening.
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Any pilgrimage help savour the flavors of the soul as expressed in art, architecture, music, food, and every other aspects of living. It is an intricate experience, broadening our connections between the basic fabric of India and the human soul. Our life is so much shaped on the basis of these realizations which we achieve on this journey.

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Oh! Calcutta is not dying. It is a City of Joy

At the fag end of April 2008 I visited Calcutta on my way to Silchar and took some photos of the magnificent Victoria Memorial Hall. This is at the end of the beautiful and vast Calcutta Maidan which is known as the Lung of Calcutta. People stroll at the Maidan to get the fresh air. Victoria memorial was built by the British thinking that they can build a better monument than Taj Mahal.

Victoria Memorial Hall
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It was one of those hot and humid days in the state of West Bengal… in a town called Asansol, made famous by IISCO’s steel plant and various mining companies in the vicinity. Also made famous by a humorist poet called Hullar Muradabadi…

I was there on vacation, visiting in-laws and my cousins who are settled there. Having decided to take a breather from the hectic travel schedule of the past weeks, I was relaxing and decided to do the touristy bit towards the fag end of the trip. Only one outing in the entire 10-12 odd days I was there… that does not include the countless sessions in the Asansol Club’s Bar.

The decision to go to Maithon was made on a whim… we had nothing to do and it was a Sunday… usually a half day in most of the trading establishments… but due to the onslaught of the summer season, my elder brother was tied up at his showroom for longer than usual. Finally made it home by about 6 in the evening and decided to push for Maithon by about 6:30.

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