‘Another Forest Trail?’ I screamed, ‘Haven’t we covered a forest range only last month?’

‘True. So what if I take you to a wood with history? What if I take you to a forbidden palace hidden in the middle of a forest?’ came the intriguing reply of our Chief. He knew exactly which buttons to hit.

Our Captain immediately volunteered to drive. And as for our shutterbug, his joy knew no bounds for he was convinced that the forests during the monsoons could give him more hues and shades than one can ever imagine.

So off went Team WHEELS, on a warm and sultry monsoon morning, to soak in the luxury of a natural habitat, another interesting stretch of verdant greens, to Lalgarh, in Paschim Midnapore.

 Route

With the car sanitized and our checklist of tools and food packed, we began our journey to the newfoundland. We followed the usual route to Kharagpur. At 9:45 am, we were on Vidyasagar Setu, setting our tripmeter to 0.0. Chief decided to work as a navigator (he was doing this after ages) taking charge of the route map that we call a ‘Tulip’ while Captain took charge of the wheels. Dodging the traffic of a mid-week morning we entered the Kona Expressway.
At the end of Kona Expressway we took the soft left and entered into NH-16 (NH-6). Smooth tarmac and broad empty roads had our Captain setting the XUV 500 to fly. We were impressed because we hardly felt any vibration despite travelling by an SUV. Don’t know really whom to thank – the NHAI for constructing such roads, Mahindra for its make or our Captain, for his skill behind the wheels.

In fact, so soporific was the effect that I dozed off in my seat for 30 min or so, only to be woken up by the Chief. I realised we had already crossed Dhulaghori Toll Tax, Uluberia and were approaching Kolaghat. The seniors were discussing how quickly they had zipped through the toll plazas for the Fastag.

‘So what would you care to have for breakfast?’ came the baritone voice of Chief, jerking me out of my drowsiness.
Still in a daze after that nap, ‘aloo-paratha maybe,’ I heard myself squeak. The others thankfully agreed with my choice unanimously and so aloo-paratha it was for our first halt. We made sure that basic hygiene was maintained at our usual eatery at Kolaghat. Chief, however, was not ready to take a chance and ordered the food to be served in the car. We hogged the parathas with pickled onion, chhole and dahi and wound up the hot treat with a masala chai each. Washrooms were very clean here, that was a saviour! Tummies filled to the brim and spirits soaring high, we resumed our drive.

On arriving Kharagpur, I could see a smile of fulfilment lighting up the Chief’s face. It was a clear indication that the tripmeter reading was 113 km for the umpteenth time.

‘Do not forget to caution our readers – one must not proceed straight on NH-16 but to take left onto the flyover towards Kharagpur Chowranghee Morh,’ came the Chief’s orders flying from the front seat. And I had to ensure such details were not missed out, for it is these little tips that come in handy for anyone going on long drives following our route maps.

From the huge traffic roundabout at Chowranghee Morh in Kharagpur, we took the third exit to enter NH-14 (NH-60) on the extreme right and proceeded towards Chandrakona and Bankura – passing by Dharma Morh and Karani Choti. The road surface of NH-14 from here is truly a driver’s delight. This was evident from the way our Captain and Chief merrily discussed politics while the road with its milling traffic took care of itself.

Proceeding a little further we reached Bhadutala Morh at 129.4 km from where we took the left turn towards Jangalmahal Bhadutala Station and entered the Lalgarh-Midnapore Road for Lalgarh Forest.

‘Sir, you see, this is the Jangalmahal area where…’ and the shutterbug continued regaling us with the history of the place, delivered at the top of his voice. The tales provided a welcome break from the monotony but were to be taken with a pinch of salt.Thereafter, we crossed the railway tracks beside the Bhadutola Station and proceeded straight to reach Moupal Forest Beat, Bhadutala Range at 136.1 km. We found thick sal forests on either side of the road in this stretch. The landscape here was quite similar to that of Bhadutala and Arabari Forest Range.

Patches of the road over a stretch of 4-5 km were in bad shape and certain stretches, we noticed, were undergoing repair. Here, I must admit, we missed the glide of a sedan. However, we marvelled at the beautiful swathes of rolling greens. Occasionally there was a wood that separated the fields. The lush beauty of the open fields along with the rustic mud houses in the backdrop cushioned the discomforts of a bumpy ride. Thus we drove, admiring the naturescape and crossing very many villages, Satpati, Pirakata, Bhimpur and so on.

From Pirakata, we proceeded straight on the Dherua-Lalgarh-Pirakata Road, a continuation of the Lalgarh-Midnapore Road – connecting Lalgarh.
At trip 158.3 km, we followed the sharp left to enter the forest range of Lalgarh. Immediately we were struck by the smoothness of the road bordered by quite dense green sal forests on either side. Our Captain, reading our minds, rolled down the windows and there we were, inhaling every ounce of freshness.

‘Do you see there are no run-off areas on either side of the road?’ We heard the excitement in Chief’s voice, ‘Watch carefully, the trees are jutting out from the very edge of the tarmac.’ And as we turned to look in the direction, ‘these definitely look beautiful, but if you are not careful while driving, it may pose a major danger,’ I could sense a warning in Chief’s tone.

From here we proceeded straight for another 4 km and arrived at a Y-fork in Lalgarh Town with the Lalgarh Forest Office under, Medinipur Division, on its right. Though there was little room for confusion, our shutterbug leapt out of the car to enquire with the forest officials for the direction to the Lalgarh Range Office. Accordingly, we took the right, which was the bypass to enter Lalgarh Town, since that is a better road to drive on, helping avoid the congested market areas.

Lalgarh Town
Following the Dherua-Lalgarh-Pirakata Road we reached a T-junction. The right turn took us over Lalgarh Bridge across River Kansabati. The other side of the river connects Jhargram Town, about 20 km away, a mere 20 min drive. Just before entering the bridge, on the right, was the Lalgarh Range Office.
The clock struck 2:00. Instead of going over the bridge, we followed the beautiful fencing on the right to enter the compound of the Lalgarh Forest Range Office and parked the car inside the compound. Still stumbling under the impact of the gluttonous breakfast, Chief and I went to meet the Range Officer. Our shutterbug meanwhile was busy capturing the woody hues while the Captain got his much desired break.
Ranger Sraboni De was a brave and smart lady. Being a mother and having to stay away from her three children for months together was definitely not easy for her, she told us.

Elephants of Lalgarh
‘Elephants can be seen regularly in this place. Elephants come in herds or as a loner,’ said the Ranger.
‘At times when the elephants go mad, we warn the villagers to stay away from the elephant corridors and insist that they should stay indoors,’ said Sraboni. ‘We also conduct Elephant Awareness Programmes for Forest Protection Committee (FPC) members to protect against the attack of elephants.’ I was very impressed when she told us that she is constantly updated about the whereabouts of the elephants at any given point of time.

She further added that whenever a herd or a loner enters a village, the Forest Protection Committee members extend unconditional support. I wanted to learn more about FPC and their activities because while on our previous forest trail to Arabari Range, we saw several members attending a meeting in a small forest clearing. And from what we heard from the Ranger, this support was nothing short of saving grace.

Forest Protection Committee (FPC)
According to Sraboni, ‘The FPC villages have done a great job in protecting forest timber and wild life ever since its formation. They are now reaping the benefits on sale of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Nearly 40% of the total income of the government is shared with the FPC members.’
According to recent statistics that Sraboni shared with us, the Bandi village earned `28 lakh last year, which was being distributed among 52 members. Similarly, each of the 302 members of the Jhitka-Bhumij-Dhansola belt earned `27,000 each. Today, lured by the money earned by the FPC members, many other villagers are coming forward to join the committee. On the other hand, the problem continues with the ones who could not get admitted in the FPC.

Forests of Lalgarh
According to Dilip Mahato, an office staff member, ‘The Lalgarh forests are replete with trees such as segun, bohera, haritaki, mohul, piyal, canth apart from sal, which dominates the vegetation. Animals such as elephants, jackals, wild boars and rabbits are widely found. Lodha, Bhumij, Sabar, Santhal, Mahatos and many other tribes live in harmony.’ He invited us to Lalgarh to witness the tribal festivals; most commonly and frequently celebrated is the Shikar Utsab (hunting festival) apart from Ban Mahotsab,

Charak Mela and Nag Panchami. We promised to come back in July for the Ban Mahotsab.
After this meeting, and just when as we were about to leave, we almost stepped on a long slithering snake crossing the garden. Chief and I froze, but the lady remained smiling, unperturbed. ‘If you wish to see elephants, you must seek DFO Midnapore’s permission. And then I can arrange to take you to elephant hideouts,’ she assured us.

Eating Out
Time flew as we spoke with the Ranger. It was almost 3:30 and we had begun to feel hungry. The only decent restaurant in town, River View, was a stone’s throw from the Range Office. We drove deep into the road in front the Ramkrishna Vidyalaya, from College Morh. The road here was quite narrow. Passing the beautiful compound of the Rama Krishna Math we arrived at the restaurant right opposite the Lalgarh College.

‘WOW!’ shouted the shutterbug, excitedly, looking at the sprawling River View Restaurant perched literally on the lap of River Kansabati. The stark open vista of the river from the restaurant makes for a magnificent view. We quickly parked our car in the driveway. The elegantly manicured garden with canopied seating arrangements looked inviting. The waiters came running, willing smiles and deft hands offering service.

The menu card reflected availability of Indian and Chinese food. We, however, were dying to open our tiffin boxes that had our favourite hakka noodles and bites and sauces and chilli vinegar to douse and set afire.

‘A cup of tea wouldn’t be a bad idea,’ said the Chief post lunch and so tea was served.

In the soft flush of the waning day with the cool breeze wafting across the river, sitting in the open lawn of the restaurant, relaxing over cups of hot ginger tea was sheer bliss.
‘We have enough space to host a hundred heads. We also have clean restrooms,’ declared Shanu, the manager of River View, a young boy in his early 20s. Incidentally, he is known to one of the heirs of the Lalgarh Rajbari, who also happens to be the owner of the restaurant. Shanu sensed our interest in history and agreed to take us to the Rajbari.

Lalgarh Rajbari
In a quaint corner of Lalgarh Town lies the 300 year old Rajbari of the Sahasroys. We parked our car inside the Rajbari premises and walked past the Kacharibari which is now in a dilapidated state and entered the vast courtyard. From there we were greeted by Prabir Kumar Sahasroy, who guided us to the first floor up a narrow, steep and eerie stairway and ushered us into their living room.

The palace houses an apparently rather modest household with few traces of royalty left. One of the heirs of the Sahasroys and the owner of River View Restaurant, Prabir, is also a practising lawyer. He and his wife, Jhumka, entertained us with lot of warmth. According to Prabir, ‘We do not have a documented history. However, the family legend goes that two brothers from Uttar Pradesh were heading towards Puri on a pilgrimage during the regime of Aliverdi Khan. Around mid-way, they changed their routes. While one brother came and settled here in Lalgarh, the other went to Ramgarh, a town close to Lalgarh. Thus the palaces were built.’

We were told that educational institutions in Lalgarh viz., Ramkrishna Bidyalay Higher Secondary School, Saradamoni Balika Bidyalay, Saradeshwari Primary School, were all built on the lands of the Sahasroys. The Ramakrishna Math near the restaurant is also their contribution.
The palace stands on about 20-25 bigha land. Today, with 40% occupancy, the palace has as many as 30-40 rooms. The rest are in a sad state. All these rooms are presently occupied by the stakeholders.

‘We have a Durga Mandir close by where Durga Pujas are held every year. During the pujas, the whole family gathers together. These days, the pujas are held in the temple in the Rajbari Complex. Since our family deity is Sri Sri Radha Mohan Jieu, Dol Jatra and Rath Jatra are other festivals celebrated with much revelry,’ explained Prabir.
While we were engaged in adda, Jhumka, considering it was the occasion of Rath Jatra, brought us a tray full of papad bhaja, jilipi and cha.
Going around the palace was quite an experience. I was reminded of the old Hindi movie, ‘Khandahar’. The clock struck 5:00. 'We are yet to explore the forests  I reminded the Chief. Bidding our hosts farewell, we quickly hopped into our vehicle and set off.

Forest Trail
The russet tree tops, the bright green foliage and the orange-red laterite – that’s what defines the forest-scape of Lalgarh. As we were heading back towards Kolkata leaving Lalgarh Town, driving for about 3 km, we spotted a narrow dry canal across the road below a culvert which is a sort of blink and miss spot.
We noticed entry points to the forest as a cross-road on either side of the road.
‘Let’s take the left from here,’ suggested the Chief. As we took the laterite pathway from the tarmac, the Captain could feel the loss of traction. Yet we couldn’t seem to stop ourselves. It was as if we were getting drawn to inside the woods, as if the Bandebi had cast her magic spell on us, persistently pulling us within her womb. With the dimming of the daylight, and the pathway getting narrower, the forest appeared even denser. We had merely driven 500-700 metres.
There was concern on the Captain’s face since with the narrowing of the trail, there was little chance of reversing the car.
Reading the Captain’s face, Chief called for a halt. ‘Let’s stop and get off here and enjoy the feel of the forest first hand.
We ventured tentatively forward on foot to flirt with the purity of nature. In the quietude of the nature, we lost track of time.

All of a sudden we heard the Chief yell at the top of his voice. ‘Hurry! Get into the car!’ Fine wrinkles of worry covered the Chief’s forehead. ‘The Ranger just called me to warn us about a loner elephant moving about freely in the forest. We can’t afford to take any chances.’ We knew we had to flee – and fast.
Reversing the car with his adept hands, over the ridges and mounds, the Captain somehow managed to get the SUV out on the main road. 'Hurrah!' cried everyone in unison.
Now that’s what I call ‘a narrow escape!’

Once on road, the Captain cautioned us against driving in such forests in future. He explained that the big cars would have issues with reversing and traction while small cars would definitely end up with damaged under-carriages.

The rest of the journey was spent recounting, in fact blabbering, about our experience. With the Captain speeding along the highway as if the loner was still after us, we reached Kolaghat in a record one and a half hours. We needed to stretch cramped limbs. Tea-snacks-washroom all in one break. 'What a relief!' I sighed.
If you thought you have to carry huge backpacks with truckloads of equipment, plan a month ahead and travel thousands of kilometres to reach a forest, then I would say, bunk those ideas and instead take a small tour of the woods close by. You would know why underestimating the romance of any forest would be a mistake. You just might rediscover the magic of an Aronyer Din Ratri, or Bibhutibhushan close to home.

INFO
Lalgarh Forest Range Office
Village, Post Office, PS: – Lalgarh
District: Jhargram – 721516
Phone: 84202 73028

Divisional Forest Office – Midnapore Division
Michael Madhusudan Nagar
Post and District: Pashchim Midnapore
West Bengal – 721101

Refreshments:
River View Restaurant
Lalgarh College Morh, Jhargram
Phone: 94764 75092 / 78721 64154

Accommodation:
Hotels at Jhargram Town (20 km)

Tribal Hunting Festival Calendar
January: Makar Shankranti, Paush Purnima
February: Maghe Purnima
March: Dol Purnima
April: Charak Puja
May: Baisakhi Amavasya, Akshaya Tritiya
June: Falharini Kalipuja
July: Rath Yatra, Ban Mahotsab
August: Nag Panchami
September: Jhapan (snake charming festival)