[Sudipto-S-Team]

Saurabh
I would have loved to stay near the ghats. I remember staying right in the heart of Godhulia as a kid in the 70s and waking up every morning to the special crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrings of cycle rickshaws. But this time we are staying in a hotel called Meraden Grand (locally it's called Meridien but that's wrong - it has no connection to La Meridien). That's what our office guy of the region suggested and booked for me. They have a safe parking lot too. I am told the ghats are 5 km or so from there.
Sudipto

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Drive Factor

On the way back I intend to go to Jhumri Tilaiya It will be a 30 year old dream fulfilled.
Sudipto

Sudipto, what is Jhumri Tilaiya?

adc, great trip you have planned. Been to Kalpa, bu heard Sangla is better. Hope the road to Kaza is open. Always has landslides in Malling-Sumdo area. Why not return via Kunzum La, Gramphhoo, Rohtang Pass, if you are going before the month-end? Snowed already in Rohtang Pass (and probably Kunzum La too), but road is open now.

[adc]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

I travel with wife and now 5 year old daughter.

Wish you too a safe and wonderful journey. Also will be looking forward to your travelogue.

You may also go through this informative thread,

ghumakkar.com | Delhi ? Patna road review

Originally Posted by drive_factor

I am sorry to sound like a spoilsport but its always better to be keep safety above else.

Thats a timely clarification. Will not be able to start before 8 pm on Friday since work will be there till evening. As such will fall back to the original plan of going out at 8 pm and then taking a break/nap at my cousin sister's house in Asansol and then again continuing from Asansol at 4 am. This should be okay.

Again thanks much for all the info.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

adc, great trip you have planned. Been to Kalpa, bu heard Sangla is better. Hope the road to Kaza is open. Always has landslides in Malling-Sumdo area. Why not return via Kunzum La, Gramphhoo, Rohtang Pass, if you are going before the month-end? Snowed already in Rohtang Pass (and probably Kunzum La too), but road is open now.

I am doing exactly that. Doing the lahaul spiti loop and then coming back through Rotang pass and Jalori pass. As per info on the net, the Malling area was closed due to landslide for car traffic for a quite a few days but just opened recently. Anyway will be taking a day as it comes. Surely excited about this tour.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Jhumri Tilaiya is an insignificant small town in Jharkhand, near Kodarma, off the GT Road near Tilaiya dam. It was famous among all Vividh Bharati listeners in the 70s because virtually all request song programmes like Man Chahe Geet Karyakram, Manoranjan or Binaca Geet Mala etc used to carry at least a few requests from this place. No body in those days used to quite know where exactly it was. And since the name had a sonorous effect it became quite popular. There were other similar towns like Barkakana or Ramgarh from where a lot of requests used to come but these were relatively better known towns.
Lot of people used to think JT was a fictitious place. Then gradually it came to represent and mean obscurity in the general language. Much like the word Timbaktu. I don't really know why the people of Jhumri Tilaiya chose this as a local hobby but virtually every one who lived in JT would send requests. Apparently they even had a club of radio listeners. Those were pre-TV days and the word popular entertainment had an altogether different meaning.
While researching this route to Varanasi I realised that I would be passing very close to Jhumri Tilaiya and hence thought I might love to go there and get myself photographed infront of the local post office !!

[Saurabh M]

Sudipto,
The Varanasi ghats and lanes are a photographers paradise. I used to spend my entire day siting at the ghats or roam between ghats and narrow lanes. Its just so enthralling to see the day pass by. I made a statement to my wife that time: "At Varanasi, you wont have to look for subjects, they will come walking to you". She still remembers it. I was there in December and it was a lovely sight to see the veil of fog hanging on the Ganges as the sun rose.

Varanasi is an all time favourite for me. Attached a pic, which I took using a slide-film and then scanned it. The scan did not come well, but if you watch the slide on a projector, you will simply love the pic.

Day-break at Varanasi


Will definitely do a drive and another photography tour of Varanasi once I get back to India. Would have loved to join you

[Sudipto-S-Team]

In the 80s I used to use an Olympus OM10 with a couple of lenses and a few filters. Now I use a very small compact Kodak. Let me see what I can capture during my trip. Thanks for sharing the pic.

[gd1418]

Sudipto, I never knew that Jhumri Talaiya ever existed. Before the advent of TV & FM, I was a great listener of Vividh Bharati and Radio Ceylon. Used to hear a lot of song rquests from this place. Someday I too shall visit this place and get myself photographed.

Look forward to your photogrpah of this place..

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Jhumri Tilaiya is an insignificant small town in Jharkhand, near Kodarma, off the GT Road near Tilaiya dam. It was famous among all Vividh Bharati listeners in the 70s

While researching this route to Varanasi I realised that I would be passing very close to Jhumri Tilaiya and hence thought I might love to go there and get myself photographed infront of the local post office !!

[Sudipto-S-Team]

It will be a detour of a few kilometers from the main highway. On the way back, depending upon what time of the day we are there I might take the detour. I think Aj Tak once did a documentary type programme on JT and its unique radio listening culture.

[adc]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Jhumri Tilaiya is an insignificant small town in Jharkhand, near Kodarma, off the GT Road near Tilaiya dam.

This is a very good find and will be great detour, just around 20 km from Barhi.

In fact, JT has its own website!!

Welcome in Jhumari Telaiya


It is now famous for Kalakand sweets

The Telegraph - Calcutta : Jamshedpur


Definitely a detour worth doing.

[codemarauder]

I left Allahabad in 2003 after being born and brought up at a place called Phulpur 30 kms from Allahabad. I will try my best to describe you the way to reach Sangam, but please try reaching "crosscap" on TBHP who lives in Allahabad.

If you are coming from Varanasi, you will cross "Shastri Bridge" to cross the Ganges. From the bridge, you can see a big multistoried temple called "NaagVasuki Mandir" on the ghat on your left hand side. You have to reach this temple in order to reach sangam.

After the bridge, you reach a toll gate which is in a place called "Alopibaag" (named after the famed temple of Goddess Alopi Devi. Once you get past the toll gate, you can see Pontoon workshop on your left hand side. These pontoons are used to make floating bridges across Ganga and Yamuna during Kumbh and Magh mela. Leave them past and you come to a crossing with a small circle, take left from their. It is an army area. Keep driving till you reach a railway crossing and take left again just after that. You are heading towards Ganga and Mela area now.

Keep driving straight till you find a steep climb. Drive carefully to go up the climb and take right. You are at the NaagVasuki temple. Keep driving till the road ends near "Fort". Park you car and walk up to the river
Best thing to avoid pandas is to take a boat for sangam (you need to negotiate hard with boat wallah).


There are many famous eating joints, but a first time visitor may find it difficult reaching there. I used to savour "Netraam ki kachori" on University Road a lot, not to forget softy and mango shakes at "softy corner" in civil lines. Civil lines has many restaurants and eating joints namely Nathu's, Sulaki's, The Indian Coffee House etc. Tandoor and El Chico were considered upmarket ones.

You have made me relive my not so old days spent in Allahabad.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Fantastic codemarauder. This is the kind of advice I was looking for. I will take a printout of this Monday morning from work and keep it promptly in the glove compartment, to be opened when I actually approach Allahabad next month.
Please feel free to advice me more on the finer points of Allahabad. In fact someone told me it's a very pretty city (contrary to popular perception outside the cow belt) and has to be experienced to believe.
Thanks once again

[Sudipto-S-Team]

I finally completed this journey. Went up on 7th October to Benares and came back to Calcutta on 11th. However, I didn't go to either Allahabad or Jhumri Tilaiya. The first one I will do when I go to Rajasthan next. The second one will be a stand alone trip sometime next year. In any case hope to go in this direction several times in future. The road is absolutely unbelievably superb except in two stretches and none of them is in Bihar!!
Hope to put up a travelogue soon.

[black_panther]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

I finally completed this journey. Went up on 7th October to Benares and came back to Calcutta on 11th. However, I didn't go to either Allahabad or Jhumri Tilaiya. The first one I will do when I go to Rajasthan next. The second one will be a stand alone trip sometime next year. In any case hope to go in this direction several times in future. The road is absolutely unbelievably superb except in two stretches and none of them is in Bihar!!
Hope to put up a travelogue soon.

I came back from the Rajasthan trip from Kolkata. Roads were absolutely suberb, except for the stretch between Jhansi and Kanpur.You can avoid this, if you are not taking the EW corridoor either way. I took the Chittorgarh-Kanpur EW corridoor for 2 reasons.

1. I didn't want to do the to and fro journey on the same roads.
2. Stretch between Udaipur and Jhansi was suberb. You'll enjoy driving here, if you take this route.

Kolkata -Delhi NH2 is more or less complete. The worst incomplete stretch is the Pannagarh in WB.

Hope you'll take the Rajasthan trip soon!

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Are you putting up a travelogue of your trip? If you do please let me know.

[Fordmanchau]

@sudiptos : where is your travelogue ? Can you give a link here if you have posted it on tbhp.