It’s been a month of seeing some wonderful sunrises. And some beautiful sunsets as well. First on a dream solo holiday for 2 days to a rural Bengal farmhouse and then this WOW trip soon thereafter. Four friends together for a holiday after almost four decades in my little brother’s new second home. Subesh my brother, his wife Munni, Pratip our common friend and me with our friendship dating back ages. Moreover we had Munni’s two sweetheart elder sisters Didibhai and Bula with us all the while during our best of 2 nights in Shantiniketan. And how we waited for this moment to arrive.
The journey
We had booked our tickets for the morning Ganadevta Express departing Howrah station at 6.05 AM for my brother and myself. The others were to follow later by the 10.10 AM Shantiniketan Express. Our advantage was that we would reach early, organize the housekeeping part and also get more out of the day. And secondly our train had a stop at Prantik, the station after Bolpur from where the property was just a five minute walk. For the benefit of first time travelers, Bolpur is the main station in Shantiniketan, the home of nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
A short walk from Prantik station was this roadside sweet shop, also famous for their Kochuri & tarkari. Therefore we decided to have our favorite breakfast first and some sweets before taking the walk further down to our sweet home for the next two nights.
The first feel of ‘Sonar Taree’
Sonar Taree is built up in a nice green natural ambiance with lot of open space. And it’s a second home to owners living mostly in Kolkata and visiting occasionally on weekends. It was 9 AM on a Wednesday morning and there was nobody around. Except the two of us, the guard, a lady who was probably a help, few gardeners and some artists doing a painting job in a few houses. The peace around was just what the heart had desired.
The walk to our home
And that’s our home
A beautiful home
With nature to give you company
And a garden full of flowers
Our fun time together
Watching the sunrise
Relaxed mornings
Cheerful afternoons
And lazy evening walks
Enjoying the sunset
Home delivered Dhaba food
Our time out
Sonajhuri Haat
On the banks of Khoai river, this open air shopping arena Sonajhuri Haat is famous for its Saturday haat. However even on weekdays there is enough variety of local handicrafts, textile dresses, quilts, shawls, bags, purses, sarees, paintings and fashion jewelry to choose from. Shop your heart out and then enjoy a Santhali tribal folk dance performance.
Amar Kutir
Amar Kutir was founded by freedom fighter Late Susen Mukhopadhya in 1923 with objectives as envisaged by Rabindranath Tagore in his experiments with rural reconstruction at Sriniketan.
After independence, Amar Kutir became a cooperative to rejuvenate and develop rural handicrafts, reflecting the ideals of self-help and sustainable rural development. The complex is quite interesting and a shopper’s paradise. Let’s look around a bit.
Shopping
Roaming around
Experiencing Malayasian Batic drawing
A walk to Kopai river next door
Rounding off with a short Baul performance
Bengali lunch at Amarkutir Henshel Ghar
A morning visit to Kankalitala Mandir
Kankalitala Mandir is a sacred Hindu temple and is recognized as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India. It is believed that the waist of Devi Sati fell in Kankalitala after the body was divided into pieces by Lord Vishnu’s Sudarshan Chakra. Attending an early morning Puja was truly a divine experience.
Stop by at a Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery) Shop
Tips for first time travelers
Transport
Other must visit places
Visva Bharati Campus
Surul Rajbari
Our journey back
All part of life
A close friend of mine saw a few photographs of our beautiful home on Facebook couple of days back and messaged me. “Hi can I too have access to this homestay on a weekend? Well probably in the new year for selected family and friends. Those who would love and maintain the place as their own.
Till then Book your Shantiniketan hotel on Travelwisesr Holidays
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