A Riverine Nirvana : Sundarbans

Sundarbans is the location for them who like nature in its wildest forms. Sundarbans offers you a very extra ordinary natural scenic views and a journey through a riverine waterways for a lifetime experience. We experienced this journey throgh riverine waterways of Sundarbans on 23 and 24 January 2009.

It is also the perfect place for the ordinary holiday makers who desire to be away from hustle bustle city life for few days. Its only 100 KM from the city Kolkata.

Sundarbans, literally means beautiful forest, is a combined forest spread in Bangladesh and India. The vast swampy delta of the two great Indian rivers, Brahamaputra and the Ganges extends over areas comprising of mangrove forests, swamps and forest island all interwoven in a network of small rivers and streams. Sundarbans is the biggest mangrove forest in the world and is a treasure island of bi-odiversity. The Sundarbans has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The part of the forest within Indian Territory is called Sundarbans National Park and is in the district of South 24 Parganas of West Bengal, India. The Sundarbans National Park is the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger. The tigers have adapted themselves very well to the saline and aqua environs and are extremely good swimmers. Nowadays, a behavioral change being observed in them as they are frequently coming to the villages despite of presence of natural food like deer, pigs etc sufficiently.
Sonakhali (100-kms), Raidighi (76-kms), Canning (64-kms), and Najat (92-kms) from Kolkata (Calcutta), which are all near the Sunderbans and have access to the riverine waterways leading to it. We reached Sonakhali jetty at about 1030AM and took a journey by Launch to Sajnekhali. Reached Sajnekhali at about 0230PM and checked in in the WB Govt. Tourist Lodge.

(Seven points where seven rivers meet)

We visited two watch towers at Sudhanyakhali and Dobanki through waterways while watching both the banks. While moving on waterways, various types of trees can be seen on the banks. While sailing to Dobanki you can see the Saptamukhi, the seven points where seven rivers meet.

(Sunset at Gosaba)

Bada Imambada : Lucknow

The Bada Imambada or Asafi Imambada was built by Nawab Asaf-ul-Daula in 1784 as a relief work during the terrible famine that year. Apart from the galleries in the interior, there is no woodwork anywhere. The interior vaulted hall, measuring 162 feet in length, 53 feet in width and 50 feet in height, is said to be one of the largest apartments of its kind in the world.

From the outside, a staircase leads to a series of artfully designed labyrinths (bhoolbhulaiyan) where it is very easy to get lost. You can wander through the zigzag narrow galleries for hours without finding your way out! It/’s a very eerie sensation, moving towards the sunlit corridors that seem to be going out, only to find that you are actually deeper in the labyrinth. Most visitors therefore are only allowed inside with guides who are familiar with the maze.

The great site was visited by me in the month of May 2008. During my visit what I saw was that the maintenance of the historical monument is very poor. One can conclud this from the accumulation of dust inside the durbar hall. Full of dust.