HENRY ISLAND Part 3

We decided to go to Bakkhali the next day.The road was good and it was only 5 Kms away.The beach was deserted.The sea had come in a few days ago and washed away the shops.Within 4 days the shops were rebuilt and business restarted.As the blazing sun hit us mercilessly, we went for some shade and coconut water in one of the shops.Some animals were more lucky.

We sat down under the billowing canopy made out of sarees. The shopkeeper tempted us with "Lotke" fish. It is something like the Topse maach. Hot and spicy, we consumed them in a flash and watered it down with fresh dab(coconut) water. Pluto revelled in the attention that he got, and occasionally turned his puggy nose in the air.Bakkhali has about 20 decent hotels and could be more popular than it is.
As we wended our way back to Henry Island, what should we spot ,but these fabulous Windmills........Bengal continues to surprise even diehard residents like us.....


Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind...

Noel Harrison

HENRY ISLAND Part 2

The incredible feeling of silence engulfed us. The chortle of the Metho bak, the woodpeckers tapping away,the occasional salik, the cows mooing as they wended their way back to their gowal ghar, and of course the chirping of the crickets and the frog sounds or the occasional splash by an intrepid fish--could actually be heard!!!! Silence is a way of life there.
Of course,there are the rude, jarring interventions by the diesel driven pick-ups and the creaking of the cycle vans--but they are few and far between. Pluto The Pug panted away in the humidity, creating more sounds than all of us put together.

We sat beside the waterbodies on improvised bamboo seats and watched the darkness arrive. It came insidiously from the distance as the skies changed colour to blue-black, then spread over the distant trees like a soft blanket, blurring the edges till they blended with the sky.Then they darkened the nearby palm trees and the houses, and spread all over the water- ripples created by a playful breeze. We started to be recognized by our shapes and voices. Only Pluto barked at the family of cows walking on the uneven brick paths. Our camera flashes were intruding into this natural light play. The occasional tube lights on the passages glinted on the water ways.
Only the sounds of the cowherds driving the cows home could be heard in the distance.
We sat there with our thoughts, till the insect bites forced us back.
Our tryst with Henry Island had just begun.....

HENRY ISLAND—Part 1

Henry Island is a Fishing project 110 km from Kolkata. It has 9 huge waterbodies which are used for breeding fishes and supplying to local markets. Inside there is a resort called Sundari , maintained by Fisheries Department of West Bengal Government from December 2006. It is 5 kms from Bakkhali, a well known beach. We travelled through Diamond Harbour Road via Amtalla, Diamond Harbour (where the Ganges made a spectacular sight), Kulpi, Kakdwip and stopped at Namkhana, for a barge transport to the other side of the river.

There is a Panchayat fee of Rs 30 (updown fare) per car and a barge fee of Rs. 160 (one way) per car.Sometimes there is a delay for accomodating buses and lorries. The crossing takes 5 minutes but the loading process may set you down by one hour. You can see our trusted Scorpio crossing the river to the destination Ghat.

On the other side there is a smooth drive over a good road for 22 Kms, when a left turn at Henry Island turnoff takes you to your destination.

The booking has to be done at West Bengal Fisheries Department Salt Lake about a month in advance (Phone 033-2336470, 23586832, 65403292,03210225511, 03210266102 ). The rent is Rs.600/day for a double bedded room. There are no AC rooms now.The food is gorgeous in traditional Bengali cooking mode.Chilled, reliable ,ozonised water in sealed 2 litre bottles are available. We had prawns in the afternoon, Prawn and chicken pakoras in the evening, Bhetki fish in the evening, Puri—aloo dam for breakfast, Prawns for lunch, chicken pakoras and Pomfret Fry in the evening and Chicken in the evening for the 2 days we were there. Fresh fish has a distinctly different taste!!!!

However, there were frequent power cuts, smoothened over with an inhouse generator—though the voltage was not that stable. The biggest bugbear were the ants. Any leftovers were quickly attacked—and they could come anywhere in a jiffy.

More exciting pics in the next part……