Orissa gaman

Birds Eye view  Today we travelled 105 kms in 6 hrs, but for once, that would not be a fair measure of speed. Although there was not much time spent on sightseeing before we hit Simlipal, our travel after the initial two hours of NH49 gave way to 20 kmph driving speed inside the reserve forest, which itself was for two hours more, including the time needed for issuing a vehicle permit. So all in all, the Punch displayed a mixed persona between a hare and a tortoise.  Weather was absolutely clear, if not slightly warm, and jackets remained packed till the evening.  Let’s a look at the day in more detail. Leaving Keonjhar (7.30 am)  As a town, Keonjhar is nothing to sneer at, with a pop of 1.8 million. Being a mining area, truck movements are pretty prolific, as we had seen yesterday itself.  We were in two minds about our travel strategy, both revolving around breakfast and allowed hours of entry into Simlipal. Initially we were under the ...

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...