Birds eye view
Technically speaking, we are now on the return journey. In fact, Daringbadi was the 5th of the 9 nights outside.That also covered two of the terrains (sea, mountain) out of four. Satkosia (river) and Simlipal (forest) would be other two.
Today, we travelled 260 kms, which took 7 hours including an hour for various breaks. Not a long stretch, but we were cutting across from south to north, with Gmaps going for the shortest route, which was mostly through villages and localities, not so much the pristine NHs. Consequently, by the time we were close to lunchtime, my temper was no longer temperate.
We had a cool morning, but on the road, the mercury climbed to the thirties.
Let’s see how the day went.
Leaving Satkosia (9.30 am)
It rained in the night. Not the gentle pitter patter of Amjad Ali Khan tuning his tabla, but the thunderous drumming at the end of his classical recital. We woke up at the din and lay slightly disoriented, wondering whether a Reichter scale was involved. The next concern was whether the wind would uproot our tent and whisk it away, leaving us clutching our bedclothes below a sky that was doing a Mahadev dance above the Mahanadi. But luckily, the tandava dance was contained, and we fell off to sleep once more.
We woke once again at 6.00 am to a scenery which was a beautiful watercolour yesterday, but today looked like the infant artist had upset the water cup over it - the mountains were totally washed out and invisible.
We gathered our folding chairs and walked out the 100 metres to the edge of the Mahanadi, where the management had fenced off a portion of knee deep riverside, for visitors to get a flavour of the Mahanadi. Panna did the honours, plonking down in the foot-deep river, while I sat on a chair and contemplated the vast expanse of sand that the Mahanadi had exposed. The sun finally removed clouds from in front of its face and peeped out.
Packing, getting ready and having breakfast went like a well-oiled machine, and we found ourselves saying goodbye to this lovely location, albeit reluctantly.
Lunch at Pallahara (2.00 pm)
People leaving Satkosia usually travel east 120 km to reach Bhubaneswar. We were not run of the mill road travellers, and Google maps was suddenly faced with a request that we be sent northward to Keonjhar. Consequently, it was forced to work out a series of north-south village roads (stressful driving due to narrow roads full of chicken and goats) and east-west highway driving, which the sullen Gmaps kept to the barest minimum.
We broke for coffee, as usual, around 11.30 am.
Needless to say, our average speed was pretty low. By the time it was around 1.30 pm, my mind was firmly on food.
I have said it earlier, and I will say it again, whenever hunger strikes, food-joints vanish. It’s a cosmic conspiracy I tell you, because even Gmaps, as loyal a tool as they make them nowadays, quietly tried to woo me away from the highway into a village road (supposedly shorter), which, I could make out at a single glance, would not have any eating joint for the next 20 kms. I stubbornly stuck to good old NH49, and sure enough, just 15 minutes later, up popped Narottam Hotel, at an existential crossroad names Pallahar.
Panna got her mutton biriyani and I got my roti with mix vegetables. The world is a lovely place.
Reaching Keonjhar (4.30 pm)
We have visited Keonjhar twice earlier, once on a two day trip from Kolkata, and the second time as a stopover when returning from the Dakshin Mahayatra, so the locale was not unfamiliar.
The approach to Keonjhar requires one to cross a small mountain, and I had a good time racing against empty trucks (and they are a different avatar when empty, not the lumbering loaded giants sticking docilely to their lane).
The sun was preparing to slip behind the nearest hill when we rolled into Keonjhar Panthanivas, an OTDC venture.
During this trip we had stayed at both Eco-resorts, which are run by the Forest Dept, and Panthanivas, which are run by the Tourism Dept, and the former had always been better maintained and staffed, while the latter was always run-down. Of course, Eco-resorts have entered the game relatively recently, I guess, while Panthanivas chains have been eroded by bureaucratic apathy for much longer. Anyway, it’s just one night.
Truth be told, I was a bit tired today, and the bed looked inviting. An evening drink of hot chocolate for me and a salted caramel coffee for Panna revived our spirits (relax, these are not on the Panthanivas menu, but our own supply). We will chill in the room, watching serials, writing blogs (you bet!) and having dinner en suite.
Tomorrow we enter Simlipal national park in the morning, and will spend the night there.
Photo credits: Panna Rashmi Ray
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