Henry Island Part4

Coming back from Bakkhali, we decided to explore the private beach at Henry island itself. The motorable road ended after a 5 minute drive, after which we had to make it by foot for 10 minutes.That involved crossing a rickety bamboo bridge jointly with a series of cows who patiently gave us the right of way.

On both sides were mangrove trees. Almost 40 varieties of these trees are grown here, one of the largest in Asia in terms of the different types under cultivation.

The area was obviously marshy, and we had to walk through the narrow muddy road, looking right and left at the glorious red mangrove swamp.

We then walked through a pathway amongst the casuarina trees--and the beach was right in front us!!!!!Desolate, with only a few cows grazing  far away towards our right, a lone fisherman trudging along with his net, and a solitary boat in the distance.

Amongst the trees, a good 20 feet above us swung a shark like fish--a grim reminder as to how much the sea had swept in a few days back.

The only sounds were of the wind passing through the trees, the occasional mooing of a cow, and Pluto's panting.

We started speaking in whispers at first!!!! Somehow it seemed unethical to break the silence. The sun set behind the treeline, transforming the sky into a collage of a million colours.

The twilight etched the leaves sharply for a few moments, before it enveloped us.

The clouds bereft of the sun loomed large over the trees.

The stretched out fishing net subsided onto the beach, its white globes disappearing with the fading light.

 

The lonely, dying mangrove branches stuck out for awhile as did a slate rock.

The water ripples started to disappear into the background of the sea. The fisherman cast his net for the last time.

We wended our way back after a mini spat between Pluto and the cows. The cows won because they stopped in the middle of the bridge, and we thought it prudent this time to  give them the right of way.

Nearer home the blue-black sky stared at us from the waterbodies, interrupted only by the splashes of a few intrepid fishes wanting to catch a view of the last light of the day.

 

Even Pluto became strangely silent.

That is the effect Henry Island has on you....

Metro Heights Durga Puja 2008--the last day

All too suddenly, the day of departure had arrived. The hectic preparations, the meetings, the discussions,the altercations,the consensus, the compromise and the anticipation had all led to this. Durga Maa and her children would depart, leaving behind an emptiness that is hard to describe. At this age,  the departure reminds and leaves us closer to our final reckoning.The ladies gather for the elaborate sindur khela with the deities. Then the traditional rituals as seen in the pictures and videos.

 

Impromptu jigs break out  to the incessant dhaki beats.Anybody and everybody joins in.

 

At the end of the day, I saw the empty pandal standing desolate, without a soul in sight. Only the Mangal Ghot remained. Perhaps that is the real meaning of these Pujas, the meaningful residue that remains long after the Dhakis have gone home. Goodness wins over evil. That is what we want and like to believe.

At least, for another year.........

Metro Heights Durga Puja 2008

After a film show on Sasthi (Bachna yeh Haseena and Jaane tu yeh jaane na), it was time for the cultural programme on Saptami. Starting off with a bhajan, followed by an amazing stotra recital, the programme starred the Metro Heights (almost all-ladies!!) choir. Effortlessly combining songs from different parts of India, often with the English or Hindi versions, and embellished by the dances by various age groups--the evening fascinated all of us by the variety of the performances.The dances ranged from the modern to the traditional, and one can only marvel at the hard work put in to get it all together.Let the pictures tell the story of the performers, colours and movements.

The Metro Heights song set to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" was an immediate hit and I will post a MP3 version shortly for all of you to hear.

On Astami Day, there was the traditional Anjali, followed by a community breakfast and lunch. In the evening, there was an enjoyable Game show with prizes of daily household articles.The Sandhi Puja was held late at night and pandal hoppers got going after that.

Nabami saw the traditional Kumari Puja, followed bya community Lunch, which though a little late ,was enjoyed by all. At night there  were Kirtans followed by a brilliant Dandia dance, in which the hypnotic beat had persons of all ages on their feet till late at night.

The Dashami day action will be on the next post.

Durga Puja 2008 Metro Heights

Durga Puja is on!!! Kolkata looks transformed by the lights and music. People seem to be more accessible, more accommodating, more communicable.The central point ,of course are the images of the goddesses.It is a miracle how in a decrepit corner of Kolkata, beset by poor light, dust,grime and overcrowding--such images are conceived, made, decorated and delivered. These images, then inspire in all of us, the feelings of awe, respect, devotion and resolve.

At our Metro Heights, the image is by the famous Mohanbasi Rudrapal . The making of the image is documented by these pictures(mostly taken by Vicky and who had to leave before the festivities). There is a story here--not the breaking stories of the TV channels, but a quieter, less strident version which somehow seems to be more enduring than many others....

Tomorrow is bisarjan when the goddesses will leave....

Somehow in our lives, we have started saying goodbyes more often....

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……