This Puja we are planning to go to Orissa. But this is not the usual Orissa that Bengalis go to. Not Puri or Bhubaneswar or Chilika. Starting next Monday, 25th September, we are going to the Keonjhar-Sambalpur region of Orissa. Our travel plan is like this. Day one will be to Keonjhar. We will stay there for the next day also, going to the various ancient temples and cave painting sites. Next we drive to Belpahar via Sambalpur and Jharsuguda. After spending two nights there we come back to Dhenkanal where the royal palace of the Singh Deos has been converted into a tourist resort. We spend two nights there and then come back to Calcutta via Bhubaneswar.
Initially we thought of going to Vizag. Then realised decent hotels there were too expensive and you have to book them way in advance. This year we have had to spend a little too much already on our individual travels. Mampu went to Germany and Dehradun, I went on three different trips - DNP, Roopkund and Amsterdam. Each of these cost us quite a lot of money. So we didn't want to spend a lot of money on Puja travels.
But staying in the madness of Calcutta during the pujas (Maha Saptami is on Wednesday 27th September) is not an option. So I thought let's go and see Belpahar in Orissa - about which I have been hearing from Monisha for the last 23 years and Mampu for all of her 14 years. Monisha was born and brought up in this small town in Orissa. There is a refractory maker there, then called Tata Refractories (it has a new name now) where Monisha's father was the first employee. On the way would be Keonjhar while going and Dhenkanal while coming back. If possible we will dash for a day trip to Sundargarh from Belpaharh where my parents got married in 1960. It's only about 50 kms one way.
While we have booked the Keonjhar OTDC and spoken to the Dhenkanal palace manager, we have done nothing about Belpahar. Monisha has spoken to her teacher, one Mr Patel, who has told her that there is a lodge in the township area where we can stay. We are told there are a few hotels in the town as well. The factory has a guest house of its own. But since Monisha does not know any one any more there, it is doubtful that they will accommodate us. She is going to write to them. But I doubt we will get a response.
The more we read about Keonjhar the more interested we got. There are a few ancient temples there. Maa Kichakeswari temple is beautiful. There is one more whose name I forget but it's between Panikholi and Keonjhar. The Sitabhanji rock shelter is also near this temple where there are ancient frescos on the rocks. There are a few other beautiful water falls.
So we will stay here to do all the sight seeing. Our route will be via Panikholi. We believe though it is 100 km more this is a much better road. The other route via Bahragora we are told is in terrible shape, particularly after monsoon. Repair work is on resulting in further delays. In comparison, the Panikholi route is entirely 4-laned. Mr Jitendra Kumar, our colleague who goes to Keonjhar every now and then by road told me a couple of weeks ago that he went via Bahragora but the road was so bad he came back via Panikholi. The Panikholi-Keonjhar road has been recently converted into a 4-lane highway. Let's check that out.
I know nothing much about the condition of the Keonjhar to Belpahar route, except that we should go via Sambalpur. According to Google there is a bifurcation before Sambalpur and the suggested route is through the other one that does not go via Sambalpur. It goes via a town called Kolabira. I was told that that route is pot-holed. Problem with Google suggested routes is that you never know which one is dependable and which one is not.
We will be returning via Dhenkanal. This is an option suggested by Deep Banerjee. He said that the Singh Deos have converted their palace into a resort and are renting it out. We checked the photographs on their website. Monisha quite liked the idea and immediately spoke to them. Their manager, one Mr Samal told us rooms will not be a problem but the per day tariff including everything will be Rs 6000. Let's see if we can squeeze some more discount from him. But we will definitely stay there. Perhaps for 2 nights.
The pre-trip planning stage is always the most interesting. You are never too sure about the route. You have one hundred questions. There is no ready answer. You are a little tense. You start with a trepidation and then when the trip is over it looks all so simple. Like our Jagdalpur trip. I was pretty tense about the second day, that is from Bhubaneswar to Chitrakote. Will there be Maoists before Sunabeda? How is the ghat section? Youtubing all the time. Trying to gather scraps of information.
The vehicle has to be checked out for tyre puncture. I will get the alignment and balancing done also, not to speak of tyre rotation. All this was last done during the Jagdalpur trip two years and 10,000 kms ago. There are definitely small secret leaks in the front left tyre.
I will then get the battery also checked from the Entally workshop. It's been more than 3 years that I bought the car and the new battery is still going strong. I hope it is going strong.
Thursday 21st September, 2017
Monisha shot off the mail to Belpahar yesterday. We got the email id from the internet and I drafted the mail for her. And guess what? Within a few hours their production head wrote back saying yes they would be happy to host us in their guest house and also sent instructions to the person in-charge of the guest house who has also responded saying that a room would be reserved for us on the proposed dates. What joy !!! We didn't think they would even read the mail :-) Not only did they read it, they responded positively within a few minutes. This is Tata culture. Rather factory culture, anywhere in India. They always feel happy when outsiders come visiting them. I have seen this even with our factory management in the remoter places.
Tyre Alignment and Balancing
Got the tyres aligned, balanced and rotated, not to speak of the puncture repair. The meter read 29310 km. The next alignment/balancing and rotation will be done at 40K. I went for a cross swap of the tyres. That is front left with the rear right. Next time it will be front to back.
Saturday 23rd September, 2017
Yesterday I got the battery checked by a Bat Mobile guy. His Metronics analytical tool said "replace the battery". I informed our regional service head, Subrata Das, about it and sought his opinion. He said going on a long tour with such a battery would be taking a risk. It can stop even in the middle of the road. "I shall organise a field trial battery from the Alpha factory and get it fitted", Subrata said. Today the boy came and fitted it to my vehicle. What a relief. The OE battery lasted for more than 3 years under the bonnet without a problem. I am impressed by its performance.
A special word of appreciation for the boy. One Sanjay Saha. Very nice spoken. Dignified. Gentle voice. I have never come across a mechanic with this type of sophistication. He could easily have been an officer in any large office. Unfortunately he is a Bat Mobile service mechanic whose job is to roam the city streets with his scooter and attend to car owners in distress. Very unfortunate.
Learnt a new thing about the car. The moment the new battery was fitted, the Media Nav in my car refused to start without some code. The screen had a huge display asking me to key in some authentication code. I thought since the new battery has still not been commercially launched, the Media Nav is perhaps not recognising it. I was mentally wondering whether I should go to the workshop or call up the helpline etc and cursing myself for not having completed all these a week ahead of departure.
Asked the WB TDI whatsapp group as a first step. A guy told me the Media Nav is asking for the Radio Frequency Code which should be found hand written on the first page of the owner's manual. I checked and he was absolutely correct. There was a simple numeric code, which I promptly keyed in. And bingo the Media Nav was back in action. It had nothing to do with whether the battery was commercially launched or not. It will do this every time a new battery is connected.
Monisha shot off the mail to Belpahar yesterday. We got the email id from the internet and I drafted the mail for her. And guess what? Within a few hours their production head wrote back saying yes they would be happy to host us in their guest house and also sent instructions to the person in-charge of the guest house who has also responded saying that a room would be reserved for us on the proposed dates. What joy !!! We didn't think they would even read the mail :-) Not only did they read it, they responded positively within a few minutes. This is Tata culture. Rather factory culture, anywhere in India. They always feel happy when outsiders come visiting them. I have seen this even with our factory management in the remoter places.
Tyre Alignment and Balancing
Got the tyres aligned, balanced and rotated, not to speak of the puncture repair. The meter read 29310 km. The next alignment/balancing and rotation will be done at 40K. I went for a cross swap of the tyres. That is front left with the rear right. Next time it will be front to back.
Saturday 23rd September, 2017
Yesterday I got the battery checked by a Bat Mobile guy. His Metronics analytical tool said "replace the battery". I informed our regional service head, Subrata Das, about it and sought his opinion. He said going on a long tour with such a battery would be taking a risk. It can stop even in the middle of the road. "I shall organise a field trial battery from the Alpha factory and get it fitted", Subrata said. Today the boy came and fitted it to my vehicle. What a relief. The OE battery lasted for more than 3 years under the bonnet without a problem. I am impressed by its performance.
A special word of appreciation for the boy. One Sanjay Saha. Very nice spoken. Dignified. Gentle voice. I have never come across a mechanic with this type of sophistication. He could easily have been an officer in any large office. Unfortunately he is a Bat Mobile service mechanic whose job is to roam the city streets with his scooter and attend to car owners in distress. Very unfortunate.
Learnt a new thing about the car. The moment the new battery was fitted, the Media Nav in my car refused to start without some code. The screen had a huge display asking me to key in some authentication code. I thought since the new battery has still not been commercially launched, the Media Nav is perhaps not recognising it. I was mentally wondering whether I should go to the workshop or call up the helpline etc and cursing myself for not having completed all these a week ahead of departure.
Asked the WB TDI whatsapp group as a first step. A guy told me the Media Nav is asking for the Radio Frequency Code which should be found hand written on the first page of the owner's manual. I checked and he was absolutely correct. There was a simple numeric code, which I promptly keyed in. And bingo the Media Nav was back in action. It had nothing to do with whether the battery was commercially launched or not. It will do this every time a new battery is connected.
No comments:
Post a Comment