[senindra]

On 2nd January I was standing in front of CCD on Wood Street and discussing along with my bulleteer friends where to go on the 3rd as 4th I'll be flying off to Ho Cho Minh till the 20th. Till 10 in the evening no one could suggest a place. I drove to the petrol pump near Wipro tanked up, garaged my car and hit the bed.

A bulleteer friend Arijit suggested we meet in the morning at 6 AM at Saturday Club and then decide where to go. Waking up at 6.30 already meant I was late. However after I checked my phone I had an SMS saying make it to 6.30.
I finally made it to Saturday Club at 6.45 AM

Arijit parked the bullet and got into the car. We drove off towards the Kona toll plaza without deciding where we were going.

7 AM: We pay Rs.10 and drive off on the Kona expressway which is not in the best condition.

7.40 AM: We stop at Shefali Dhaba (?) for breakfast right after crossing Shaktigarh langcha shops.

Here we still do not know where we are going. Finally we decided we can go to Shantiniketan and visit our bulleteer friends. Unfortunately none of us had the number of any. I called up my brother in Leeds, woke him up at mid night, got cursed, told him to SMS me the number and hung up .

Finally Arijit and I made SMS's/ Calls to our friends in Shantiniketan and informed about our plans.

















8:20 AM: We leave Shefali Dhaba and drive towards Shantiniketan. After crossing the Panagarh Bridge I made a call to my friend at Shantiniketan and asked him to meet us at Jarman Dhaba. On enquiring how long it would take from Panagarh Bridge to Shantiniketan, I get the answer " Tomar chalano te 1/2 ghonta laagbe" (With your driving it would take half n hour).

After taking right from Darjeeling More, the road is really beautiful with small bad patches right upto Bolpur.

At 9:40 we finally parked at the Jarman Dhaba and made calls as none of them had arrived.

A small tea break. Some pictures. Little adda. At 10.30 we headed to the University to meet another friend.




















After arriving at the University and catching up with our professor friend he wanted us to give him a ride till Palsit railway station from where he would take a train to Pandua to attend a family picnic. We just had to wait till 11.30 till he finished giving out question papers to his students.

11.20 AM : We leave the campus and head out of Shantiniketan. The first 10 minutes were chaotic.

11:40 AM : Stop to buy ciggys.

Then we drove off towards Kolkata with two short breaks. One at Shaktigarh to pick up Langcha and the second one at Palsit to drop of Sudev our professor friend at the Station.

Attachment 85388

2:00 PM: Kona Toll payed and entered Kolkata.

Duration of Trip : 7:00 AM - 02:00 PM
Fuel : One Full tank
Kms : 430


Best wishes from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Indra

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[Sudipto-S-Team]

Up and down Shantiniketan is 430 km ?????? Which detour did you do? Anyway, congrats for finally making it to SKtan. Didn't Easternbulls have a few members from there?

[BlackPearl]

nice pics @senindra.

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Up and down Shantiniketan is 430 km ??????

Kolkata-Panagarh = 150 Kms
Panagarh-Illambazaar = 25 Kms
Illambazaar-Bolpur = ?? I have forgotten but should not be more than 20 Kms.

[senindra]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Up and down Shantiniketan is 430 km ?????? Which detour did you do? Anyway, congrats for finally making it to SKtan. Didn't Easternbulls have a few members from there?

Sorry for the goof up. The trip meter was set to 0 the previous day while tank up and the 430 reading is after travelling atleast 20-25 odd kms after entering Kolkata.

And yes Eastern Bulls does have a few members there.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

nice pics @senindra.

Thank you.

[me_sid]

Indra Hi, nice pics just that the distance be around 490 Kms thats from Kasba where I stay. We also did the same trip on 19-21 Dec 2008.

The Gang :

a) Xeta and xeta's Boss ( read wifey)
b) Shuvd and shuvd's love ( Silk Revver that is)
c) Me and my home minsiter in our Baleno.

As I had two onboard speed governance system my speed was resticted to the standard 120 with occassional 160+ when these two systems were on sleep mode. Reached Shantiniketan by 11.00 ( started at 8:00). I particularly liked the drive through the "laalmaati" on the banks of Khowai river in the evening.Had loads of fun and maasti, and frankly a very memorable trip, thanks to xeta, nibedita and shuvd. While coming back short lunch break at "Jiran" and pit stop at the usual "Lengcha Bhaban" total distance travelled 520 Kms.

[sabret00the]

Going to Shantinikentan tomorrow morning. What would be the best route from Burdwan onwards. Can anyone guide me? How far is it from Burdwan?

[SmartCat]

As I had two onboard speed governance system my speed was resticted to the standard 120 with occassional 160+ when these two systems were on sleep mode.

My cousin used to carry a towel to beat the "speed governor". Generally, the speed governors can detect the speed only by looking at the speedometer, and not by the engine note or the fast moving scenary.

So, whenever the speed governor used to beep loudly at higher speeds, he would put the towel on the speedometer binnacle and go about his usual style of driving.

[Captdey]

Originally Posted by sabret00the

Going to Shantinikentan tomorrow morning. What would be the best route from Burdwan onwards. Can anyone guide me? How far is it from Burdwan?

Exit NH2/DExpessway burdwan opposite Renaissance township,
Take Talit - Guskara - Bolpur ( NH2B) till bolpur through
the green rice bowl of Bengal.

The latest updated I received was good road.

57 kms Burdwan - Bolpur Station More.

Cheers

[noidea]

roads are really good especially the drive from panagarh. Often spotted a few deers in the drive through the forest.used to do the trip every other weekend until the naxal problem erupted in bankura. used to visit a rural hospital there.

[sauravdc]

Originally Posted by Captdey

Exit NH2/DExpessway burdwan opposite Renaissance township,
Take Talit - Guskara - Bolpur ( NH2B) till bolpur through
the green rice bowl of Bengal.

The latest updated I received was good road.

57 kms Burdwan - Bolpur Station More.

Cheers

Thanks ...
Took your advice and just completed a trip to Bolpur through NH-2B. (2nd to 4th Sept '11)
Kolkata to Burdwan -- Usual 4 lane GQ
By-passed Burdwan following HN-2 and then turned right followed by immediate left to Talit.
Road condition till Guskara is excellent, even after the rains. Two laned highway, smooth with occasional dents. Fair traffic.
Beyond Guskara road tuns patchy with potholes gaping every now & then. Had to be careful to negotiate them. Traffic reduces.
Road condition deteriorates after Bhedia with more potholes than roads.
Crossed the bridge on Ajoy river and road virtually ends. Drive through villages on lunar-crater surface till the junction of Ilambazar-Bolpur road.
Turned right for Bolpur. Road condition good. Odd potholes after the rainy season.
Total distance 180 kms from BBD Bag.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

I think the worst part of this road is under the overhead railway line just before the Ajay bridge. A distance of perhaps 10 meters. But it's a nightmare with clogged water and you never know what lies underneath. That's why I take this route only in winter.

[Samba]

Let me share my latest experience on Kolkata - Santiniketan route.

Yesterday at 3pm realized there is not much work to do, so how about going for a short highway drive ? Took our old yet trusted Fiat Uno and headed via Durgapur expressway. Soon we crossed Burdwaman and its just 4-30pm. Planned of heading ahead further and ended up reaching Santiniketan and Kankalitola by 5-40pm. Witnessed a nice sunset and headed back to Kolkata by 10-20pm. A short joy drive turned out to be a 337kms drive. Was amazed by the capability of our 13 years old Uno with over 100,000 kms in the odometer! It still has enough juice left to cruise easily at 3 digit speeds shaming much costlier cars in the highways!

Now some information on the road condition.

While going, drive to Burdwan was a breeze i was maintaining a steady 90-110km/hr. Just after crossing the Burdwan bypass took right and the first left. The road beside the famous 108 Shiva temple. From there Bolpur is 52kms. The road is in excellent condition. You have to cross one level crossing. The road is comparatively narrow and full of turnings. The local buses drive like maniacs. They never honk or slow down in the turnings. You have to cross a number of villages so have to drive slow. The most irritating thing in this road are goats. They will come from nowhere in front of your car so have to be very careful. By chance if you hit a goat the local villager will give you a tough time. So average speed you can maintain is between 60-80km/hr. Anything more than 80km/hr is not very safe in this road. At the end near Bolpur we had to cross a culvert below the railway tracks. Oh god its in worst shape. You have to be very cautious. In case you misjudge the road your cars underbelly will be scrapped. I managed carefully without scrapping but the sumo behind me scrapped badly. During rainy season this is a strict no for small cars. Driving through this route Kolkata- Santiniketan takes 2.5 to 3 hours. By this road Kolkata to Santiniketan is 150kms which is 30kms shorter in case if you take the Panagarh - Moregram- Illambazar road.

After reaching Santiniketan had a short drive with in the township and headed to Kankalitola via Prantik. Did a darshan of Ma Kali witnessed a beautiful sunset from there and started our return journey by 6-30pm through Prantik and the famous Sonajhuri stretch.

The beautiful sunset.


Our old yet trusted Uno.


While returning back we decided to take the Illambazar , Morgram Panagarg route avoiding the route by which we came.

Drive till Panagarg was not very comfortable as the Moregram road is full of potholes and all the vehicle coming from opposite side were in highbeam. With my 13 years old car with not so powerful light it was difficult negotiating through that road by not hitting any potholes. Some how driving carefully i managed to reach Panagarh by 7-40pm. Had a nice masala dosa in a dhaba at Darjeelingmore and started from there by 8-10pm.

As soon as we started we were behind a long que of trucks in a traffic jam at Panagarg. Driving through the left side managed me to go ahead of a number of trucks. Driving in a zig zag way some times on left and some times on right side of the road managed me to cross the Panagarg stretch in 15minutes. Soon we were crusing on the Nh with a cursing speed between 90-100km/hr and reached Kolkata by 10-20pm.

Over all i would prefer the Kolkata - panagarh- moregram- Illambazar- santiniketan road(180kms). Its a NH and much more fun to drive till Panagarg. Plus day driving at Moregram wont be a problem too. I prefer driving more on NH rather than small narrow roads passing through villages as in case of a break down too, you would get better help in a Nh.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Samba

Let me share my latest experience on Kolkata - Santiniketan route.

Nice, crisp & short. However, few more snaps would have done justice to your nice trip.
Shantiniketan is a nice place. I visited Shantiniketan in the last week of January. I also utilized the trip to visit the Deul park. The total drive for me was more than 700 kms from Ranchi. You can have a look at my travelogue with some pictures here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ul-ranchi.html

Do try to share some more pics of the place, in case you clicked some.

Thanks,
Saket

[Samba]

Originally Posted by saket77

Do try to share some more pics of the place, in case you clicked some.
Thanks,
Saket

Hello Saket, glad to know you liked it. But this drive was totally an unplanned one so i didn't carry my camera. Have taken these two pictures from my mobile phone. Let me share few pictures in and around Santiniketan from my previous trips.

On the way to amar kutir.


Glass house at Santiniketan


Talakdhaj


On the way to Kankalitola & at Kankalitola (A pithasthan)






A pottery shop at Santiniketan


At sonajhuri Santiniketan


A small stream on the way to Prantik


In and around Nanur.





At Phullora, its a pithasthan



In an around Hasulibak near Labhpur.( Its the same famous place mentioned in Tarasankar Bandopadhyay's Hasulibak er upakatha)




In and around Deul.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Samba

Hello Saket, glad to know you liked it. But this drive was totally an unplanned one so i didn't carry my camera. Have taken these two pictures from my mobile phone. Let me share few pictures in and around Santiniketan from my previous trips.

Thanks Samba for those wonderful pictures. Such an unplanned journey has a fun of its own. Most of my tours are also much unplanned, but never unorganized.
Great pictures too. Looks like they have been processed for HDR. Which s/w you are using for HDR processing?

Thanks,
Saket