[AJ-got-BHP]

1st of April 2017 : The first day of every new financial year is more commonly known as the APRIL FOOL's DAY !!

My wife buzzed me up at work in the morning and asked if we could set out to Dhoni's Land i.e.- Jharkhand to offer our prayers to Lord Shiva Jyotirling in Baidhyanath Dham (aka Baba Dham) Temple at Deoghar. I asked her to check on the Hotel availability at Deoghar and to our surprise, all of them were sold out since the Honorable President of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee was visiting Deoghar on the 2nd of April 2017; which was the following day.

However, thanks to a friend of mine, he organized an AC Deluxe Room for us at one of his Travel Agent's Properties in Deoghar and it seemed OK for a night's stay. Considering the fact that this overnight trip would be just me and wifey without the kids (for a change) was incentive enough for us to spend some peaceful time together. Though this was a foolish enough plan, considering the level of high security that would be prevailing in that zone.

A Teaser Picture of the Trip :


Route Taken : Kolkata - Durgapur - Asansol - Dubia - Sarath - Deoghar
Distance : 350 Kms Approximately
Drive Time : Less than 6 Hours

Yes it would be the Figo for as short a trip as this one !! We planned to leave post lunch and finally popped in a couple of clothes and necessities in order to set out from home at around 02:45pm in the afternoon for an evening drive to Deoghar.

The NH19 :


The Singur Tata Motors Site being abolished :


The Figo was low on fuel and some conservative driving upto Dankuni yielded some good mileage :


Tanking up at the HP Pump (where the CCD is located) - Benefited with the Rs.2.91/ Ltr. drop in Diesel Prices :


The Hooghly District Police were letting the HCVs pass by and stopping all 4 Wheelers & 2 Wheelers :


For What ? Was the Question ! They were handing out these leaflets to everyone to maintain road safety :




Our first quick stop was at Shaktigarh. Not for the Lengchas but for some Muri & Mixture Chaat :




The sun was setting as we approached Asansol : A beautiful sunset :




We took the diversion to the Asansol-Gourandi Road to head towards Dubia-Sarath-Deoghar. The roads all throughout were nice :


Thanks to the highly intellectual GMaps we could go through some narrow & isolated village roads as well :








Finally reached Deoghar @ around 09:00pm and parked the Figo in our Hotel's parking :


We went out for a stroll to check the locality and found this renovated Sweet shop :


Showcased some creamy colourful cakes too :

Note : One must try the different varieties of Laddu(s) here !!

There are plenty accommodation facilities available in Deoghar and I am enlisting it here under rank/ preference wise :

1. Maihar Garden Resort
2. Deoghar Palace
3. Mahadev Palace
4. Yashodha International
5. Relax Hotel

We paid a visit to the Magnolia Restaurant which apparently is very famous in Deoghar for it's culinary delights, but to our disliking it was hotter inside the restaurant than the weather outside, so we decided to go back to our Hotel i.e.- Hotel Yashodha International and called for our dinner from the Room Service available. The food was awesome !! We called it an early night as we had to be up early on the following morning for the Darshan.

[AJ-got-BHP]

2nd of April 2017 : The day began at 05:00am to the alarm and we speedily got ready to head out to the Mandir for our Darshan of Baba Bholenath !! Our hotel wasjust 5 mins walking distance from the Mandir and it was a wiser option to walk it. The Hotel had it's own Panda (the priest) who escorted us to the Mandir and ensured we have a hassle free Darshan amidst the crowd present there. Thanks to this we could manage a wonderful Darshan !!

The clock tower on the way to the Mandir :


The Baidyanath Dham Mandir :








The small alley to the Mandir where getting the car in is restricted :


The clock tower on our way back to our Hotel :


Our Hotel :


We reached our Hotel at around 07:15am and got ready to check out in the next 15 Minutes or so for Basukinath Mandir which is a 45 Kilometer drive from Deoghar towards Dumka. As previously mentioned, the roads are just in fantastic condition in Jharkhand. Some pictures would do the talking :









The junction from where one has to take a left towards Basukinath Temple :


The entrance to the temple : Pay Rs.30.00 for the entire day for a covered Car Park and you are sorted :


We reached Basukinath Temple at around 08:15am in the morning to offer our prayers to the almighty. It was very very hot already and we were just wondering on the temperatures that would be there during afternoon.

The bells inside the Mandir :


Baba Basukinath Temple :


Shopping around the Mandir :


Tonnes of pickles being sold by various vendors. It's aroma is very inviting :


The Shivganga Pond at the Basukinath Temple for the devotees to take a dip in the holy water :






Parking is available right beside this pond, facing the Tata Dharamshala which is a good place for an overnight stay and has a separate restaurant as well. We completed our Darshan and had to meet up with someone at the Tata Dharamshala so we decided to have our brunch there itself.

The entrance to the Tata DHaramshala :

[AJ-got-BHP]

Finally pretty lazily and after attending to everything, we set sail at around 12:00pm from Basukinath temple. This time we decided to take an alternative route back to Kolkata as we were closer to Dumka.

Route : Dumka - Massanjore - Siuri - Dubrajpur - Illam Bazaar - Panagarh ByePass - Kolkata
Distance : 330 Kms approximately

We were really looking forward to the drive back through Massanjore as it is very picturesque and colourful.

The road to Dumka :


The dried up River Bed :




"Size does matter" but these two little lambs would not budge from the road :


Approaching Massanjore as the Figo anxiously stares ahead :


The lovely twisty roads :


And some straight ascending and descending ones as well :


The greenery enroute :


The sight of the Mayurakshi River :




Approaching the Dam :


The Mayurakshi Bhawan belonging to the Govt. of West Bengal :


Some random clicks at Massanjore :










Finally as Selfie :


The Figo posing at Massanjore :




We found a Sunflower Field after crossing Massanjore and stopped there for a bit :






Some random shots in between Tilpara-Siuri-Dubrajpur :








At around 4:00pm we reached Cafe Coffee Day near Dankuni and stopped for refreshments there. Soon we we accompanied by the Club GT/ Elite Car Club of Kolkata guys with their Super Cars. Some BHPians had planned a drive to AZAD HIND DHABA Gopalpur and we had planned to meet up. However, I was early and the others were late. Could only manage to catch up with Samba and his better half for a short while which was good and long overdue.

A parting shot of the Figo :


Although I admit that this is too short a trip to be classified as a travelogue, but considering the fact that the places involved in this trip is worth a visit if anyone is planning a quick overnight trip close from Kolkata/ Ranchi/ Jamshedpur/ Bhagalpur/ Purnea and other closeby places and thus I decided to share this with the followers of the Forum and for my personal records. Furthermore, I did not come across any travelogue in particular on this place and hope that this thread adds value to the Forum in all possible ways !!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Samba]

Short drives are always fun. It was as usual great catching up with you and bhabiji on Nh2.

Though the trip is short but the way you narrated with full details and plenty of pics, it definitely deserves appreciation.

Your pic from langcha bhavan reminds me of this pic of mine, the only time I managed to click both of our cars over here! Hoping to see a similar pic from you soon.



Edit: The title of this travelogue really deserves a mention! Its creative!

[Sheel]

Nice short trip there. We usually visit 2/3 times a year and hence, never bothered to take photographs.

We missed each other by a day Link Boy, it was scorching at those places but..

[SVK Rider]

Nice and crisp travelogue Aravda.
Seems like the Massanjore road repair is complete now. One year back only we faced a lot of problem in that route.
Missed to meet you by may be 10 mins in CCD.

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by Samba

Short drives are always fun. It was as usual great catching up with you and bhabiji on Nh2.

Your pic from langcha bhavan reminds me of this pic of mine, the only time I managed to click both of our cars over here! Hoping to see a similar pic from you soon.

Edit: The title of this travelogue really deserves a mention! Its creative!

It was pleasure catching up Samba !

I presume u had taken that pic on your way back from Rajasthan when your parents were in the Figo to receive you at Panagarh. With me, i doubt i will ever have a chance to click both my cars together apart from where they are parked.

Thanks to my wife's comment of being in Jharkhand (Dhoni's Land) while I was driving, it just struck me to name the Travelogue what it is.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Nice short trip there. We usually visit 2/3 times a year and hence, never bothered to take photographs.

We missed each other by a day. Boy, it was scorching at those places but..

Would have been a pleasure to catch up with you Sheel. Anyways some other time, some other day and may be some other place as well.

Originally Posted by SVK Rider

Nice and crisp travelogue Aravda.
Seems like the Massanjore road repair is complete now. One year back only we faced a lot of problem in that route.
Missed to meet you by may be 10 mins in CCD.

Thanks for the comment. Glad you liked it !

I saw you cruising past by in your Black CBR with your wife, as me and Samba were chit chatting on the other side of the road. I was in a rush, so did not buy much time there either and moved on.

[sharktale]

Short trip, but a detailed travelogue. Kudos!
Could it be possible to send me a screenshot, of your journey on GMaps? As I have my paternal home in Madhupur, and maternal home in Jamtara, both really close to Deoghar. As of now, my parents prefer the train to these places, over the car. However, I plan to take the car soon for my visits.

Also, for future references, my father is extremely close to the owner of Hotel Yashoda, which serves mainly places of religious importance. If anyone in future needs some help, I'd be extremely happy to arrange it for fellow BHPians.

[mi2n]

Nice one Arav! The roads look inviting. Any good stay options at Massanjore you came across?

Thanks for sharing.

[BlackPearl]

Lovely travelogue and full of details though it was a short trip. Thanks a lot for sharing. As others have mentioned, the thread title is an eye-catcher

[PapaBravo]

Fantastic Arav. Although the journey was short as per your standards, the travelogue is wonderful. I am inquistive about the route you took while going to Deoghar. I remember the times when NH34 was in shambles & we used to go thru JH & Bihar and pass thru Deoghar. We used to take the route that you took while coming back. Its a beautiful route. Sometimes these short trips are real fun.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Nice short trip there. We usually visit 2/3 times a year and hence, never bothered to take photographs.

That is interesting. Which road do you take ? Haven't been to that side for a very long time. How deep are ruts on the Bhagalpur-Hansdiha-Dumka stretch ?

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by sharktale

Short trip, but a detailed travelogue. Kudos!
Could it be possible to send me a screenshot, of your journey on GMaps? As I have my paternal home in Madhupur, and maternal home in Jamtara, both really close to Deoghar. As of now, my parents prefer the train to these places, over the car. However, I plan to take the car soon for my visits.

Hey sharktale !! Thanks for those kind words. I am sharing the link of GMaps for your reference as under.

From Kolkata to Deoghar : Via Asansol
https://goo.gl/maps/Y8YrjzveqTp

From Deoghar to Kolkata : Via Basunkinath - Dumka - Massanjore - Panagarh
https://goo.gl/maps/9wmShT78kS32

I hope the links help ! Yes taking the car is a better option just for the wonderful drive

Originally Posted by mi2n

Nice one Arav! The roads look inviting. Any good stay options at Massanjore you came across?

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks mi2n !! The roads are indeed inviting. But believe me, take your Figo on this stretch instead of the TUV. The Figo will love it's outing on the 'snake track' roads just for the handling sake.

Did not notice any Stay Options in Massanjore. I do not know if you can book up at the Mayurakshi Bhavan which is under the Govt. of West Bengal Irrigation Department.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Lovely travelogue and full of details though it was a short trip. Thanks a lot for sharing. As others have mentioned, the thread title is an eye-catcher

Thanks BlackPearl Glad you liked it !!

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Fantastic Arav. Although the journey was short as per your standards, the travelogue is wonderful. I am inquistive about the route you took while going to Deoghar. I remember the times when NH34 was in shambles & we used to go thru JH & Bihar and pass thru Deoghar. We used to take the route that you took while coming back. Its a beautiful route. Sometimes these short trips are real fun.

I am glad Pawan that you liked the Travelogue !! It was a good getaway. I have shared the Link of the to & fro routes taken in this post above; please do check.

[AppyS]

Thanks for sharing, brought back some fond memories of the place.

[rmonie]

Very well documented & written travelogue! The details made up for the shortness of the trip! :-)