Life is love - enjoy it.
Sai Baba
It was dusk.
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| Sunset at Sagar |
The Sun was hovering in the horizon. Reddish glow glittered all around. There was reflection of the sunrays in the silver sand beach of Ganga Sagar. We all stranded. There was no tourist. No pilgrims either. The beach was solitary. Only a few local children were running and jostling along the stretches of the sea beach. The forest of trees was visible on the left. Silence prevailed all around. This is the meeting point of holy river Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. MOHONA! As we call it!
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| Kapil Muni |
Kapil Muni & 60,000 Sons of King Sagar
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| A saint inside His cottage near Kapil Muni's Asharma |
Mythology says once upon a time this was the kingdom of King Sagar. There was a temple (ASHRAMA) of Kapil Muni. The king had 60,000 sons! They somehow irritated the sage Kapil (Kapil Muni) while playing around. Maharshi (The Great Saint) Kapil Muni woke up and stared at 60,000 sons of the king. They immediately turned into ashes. The king begged apology to please Maharshi. But He did not agree to excuse the sons. Later, Bhagirath, a descendant of King Sagar, prayed to Holy River Ganges to let her flow through that area. Water of the river Ganges is pious! The holy water washed all the sins of the sons of King Sagar. They came alive. Afterwards, we deem this place as a holy place. A bath at this place washes away all your sins. This is believed. And this believe drives half a million of pilgrims every year to this place. The pick time is in the mid January during MAKAR Sankranti!
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| Ferry Services - see us inside! |
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| Nini & Guddu |
135 Km Away From Kolkata
Anyway we were couple of weeks late. The island was marooned at that time. With nearly 160,000 population spread across 43 villages in an area of more or less 300 Sq. Km., these islands just beside Sundarban (The Largest Delta Island of the World) if far away from city noise - 135 Km away from Kolkata.
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| On the beach with Mom, Guddu, Nini, Me, Arka, & Jhunu - from left! |
It is hard to reach the spot. Even today. You have to cross 90+ KM on road from Kolkata to Kakdwip/ Lot 8 Jetty), then cross the river Ganges, then take a car ride of another 30 KM (from Kachuberia to Sagardwip). Good news is that I could see Electricity Posts across the 5km stretch of river Ganga supplying electricity from land to this island. I could not recall if I saw them two year’s ago – when the last time we visited the spot. At that time the island would run on Diesel Generator. And supply of electricity was limited for a couple of hours in the evening.
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| Fish captured at adjacent pond |
But now you have full time electricity. And we also hope to see a bridge connecting this island to LOT 8 Jetty across river Ganges. The bridge is proposed. And it is overdue. Few years back we visited the spot on the holy date of Makar Sankranti. There were 500,000 pilgrims. They come from all over Northern India. And they are released to this spot by bus. And this massive gathering creates an endless queue on the jetty. They also jostled to occupy the Ferry Services before others could do. And this led to mass stampede. Couple of pilgrims died. We could see their slippers on the jetty in the evening – the traces of vandalism, which claimed a few lives on that very date a few hours ago!
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| The Team - Pic captured by Puskarda, Vivekananda Ashrama |
Evening Jalsa
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| From left - Jhunuda, Me, Puskarda, & Arka |
But thanks to Puskarda! We reached the spot after the odds are over. The beach was marooned. And Puskarda organized everything to perfection – the bungalow, food, and wonderful local travel plan. And there was one and only Jhunuda. Amazing people are they! You will surely burst into laughter! It is hard to stop laughing. Guddu, Nini, Arka, and my mother enjoyed every bit of the tour. Joy was more keen on foods. And it was almost impossible to stop him from a nap at anytime, anywhere! What was most amazing was our evening JALSA (concert). Guitar, songs, snacks, and company of nice people!
Do you need anything else to make this Life Wonderful?
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| Life Wonderful |
