From Coast to Coast

The enchanting journey begins from Chandipur, Orissa to Digha, West - Bengal on feet.

It was my first coastal or beach trekking. I never loved to visit sea side as the consecutive waves make me numb and monotonous. My first choice was Mountains always. But after doing this trek I found myself in love with unexplored and less visited beaches and to unravel the beauty of fishing, different patterns of sands, high tide – low tide, sea animals and flora of the sea coasts, sea side villages and village peoples.

It’s a 3 days trek starts from Balamguri River Fishing Harbour and through the fishing village Majhichak we came to the coastal area. I found the first glimpse of unknown coast very uncanny. It’s full of dead bodies of Sea snakes, Jelly fish, Loligo, Hermit crab, Limulus etc. The Casuarinas welcome us to their paradise. The twinkling sand grains pretend talking to us their story. The uncountable waves sing their songs without any break and rest. Through this mystic environment we made our way towards Koshapol. It was a long trek as we covered approx 20 kms that day.

Before Koshapol we had to cross numerous rivers by feet and by boat. And this river crossing is so enjoyable that cannot be expressed in words and can only be experienced. We approached to Koshapol in the evening. It’s quite a big village. We stayed in the Panchayet building beside a school. We had our diner with Chicken Curry and Rice in a small mud hut nearby. From the market we bought hand-woven towels (gamcha). It was a moonlit night. We spent our evening on the rooftop by lying and singing songs.

Next morning we started early after breakfast. Today our destination is Dogra. It was also a long trek of approx 18 kms. It took the whole day through the villages of Orissa. We got few sand blisters in our feet. But the beauty of villages and the sea removes all pains and soothes our eyes. That time was the pick season of paddy harvesting. We have no idea but these seaside villages are fertile enough to grow vegetables, paddy and coconuts well by making soil dams to restrict saline water from the sea. The people are very much active in cattle rearing, farming and fishing.

We reached Dogra at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. We had our bath and took rest in the forest bungalow. This location is on the beach and it’s a famous local tourist spot. We enjoyed the night beneath the starlit sky and chicken, dal, rice and salad made by our bungalow caretaker’s wife. We had a nice sleep.

Next morning we headed for Taalsari. It was a short trek about 8-10 kms. The route was simple but through sands. From Kirtania ghat we boarded boat to cross Subarnarekha River. From the ghat its few minutes walking to reach the auto stand. It’s the end of our trek. So we were little upset but home was also calling. We carried in our souls the mystic maze of nature and adventure as well. And in this trip I fall in love with the Sea and coasts and wrote a love letter for them in my blogs.

By road we reached Digha railway station by Auto rickshaw and headed to Kolkata by Kandari Express. And now I cherish those moments by recapitulating my memories in the lap of sea shores.