[BlackPearl]

Pawan aka Papabravo and I were sitting in a restaurant overlooking the beautiful Nohkalikai falls in Meghalaya and having momo.



The conversation between PapaBravo (PB) and BlackPearl (BP) -

************************************************** *******
PB: Looking at his phone and casually asking BP, are you going to Arunasish's (lovecars21) son's rice ceremony? I just got the invitation

BP: Desperately looking at his whatsapp and scrolling through all the messages. No message from Arunasish! Scrolling up and down frantically again - My phone is not connected to network, Airtel service is horrible. Arunasish must have sent the message, it will reach as soon as I get network.

PB: (Taunting tone) Since you have moved out of Kolkata for a while now, he has forgotten you. And you guys celebrated his birthday in Kalpa last year! Still he forgot to invite you!

BP: This image came up in his mind



************************************************** ****

The taunts continued for the rest of the day. I kept on restarting my phone every once in a while to check if it improved connectivity and if I got the message from Arunasish. Finally at 9:30 PM I got a message and the sigh of relief could be heard from quite a distance Arunasish had invited us and I did not waste any time to confirm our participation. It would be a 500+ km round trip from Kolkata and I did not want to miss out on the opportunity.

The event was on a weekday, so most of the Kolkata team-bhpians could not join. Since we were on vacation, it was not a problem. But we did not want to drive back to Kolkata in the night after the event. So we booked the Peerless hotel in Durgapur.

The plan was to start early and visit Shantiniketan as both Rajsri and I love the place. My parents-in-law had been planning to visit Durgapur for quite sometime as they had stayed there for a long time and wanted to visit their friends. They also joined us in our Thar. The drive to Shantiniketan was nothing special except for a rear tyre burst. It was my mistake as there had been a minor cut on the tyre two days back and I had neglected it. I should have replaced it and it was a bad oversight which could have turned nasty. We lost about 30 minutes in replacing the tyre with the stepney. We took the right from Panagarh towards Bolpur. The road was beautiful and it is one of my favourite roads. Though we were running late I still stopped to take a few pictures.







We reached Shantiniketan at 2 PM and went straight to "Barishaler Rannaghar", the restaurant where we had our lunch booked.





It will be an overstatement to call it a restaurant. It is more like a mud hut, but the food is fantastic.



"Posto bora"


Hilsa Fish


"Malpoa" as dessert

[BlackPearl]

After the superb lunch we went to Durgapur to drop off Rajsri's parents at their friend's place where they planned to spend the night. On the way we saw this place where Rajsri and her parents used to stay during their tenure in Durgapur.



It was a nostalgic moment for all of them, but they were quite shocked to see the colour of the house

We dropped them off at their friend's place, spent a few minutes clicking pictures.



We left quickly for our hotel as I was desperate to catch a wink after the elaborate lunch. The Peerless hotel was an old property but they had renovated it quite well. It was not a fantastic hotel but was good enough for one night. It was clean and staff was courteous.



We freshened up after the siesta and started for Asansol in the evening. It was a one hour drive from Durgapur and we reached the place of the event by 8:30 PM. We were a bit late and the cake cutting ceremony was already over. Kolkata bhpians Partha (psurelia) and Santanu (SanC) were there as well. Posting a few pictures of the event. Some of these are taken from Arunasish's Facebook account, hope that is not a problem.







lovecars21 and his son Ishaan


psurelia with junior bhpian Ishaan


lovecars21and BlackPearl


The twin white Thars of Kolkata team-bhp chapter, one on the left belongs to Sanc and the one on the right belongs to BlackPearl.



Trying to find out if the LED bar on SanC's Thar was more powerful than the KC Spotlights on my Thar!



We took leave after a fantastic dinner and reached our hotel in Durgapur at midnight. A long day had come to an end. Next morning, we picked up Rajsri's parents after having breakfast at their friend's place and reached Kolkata by afternoon. This time there was no untoward incident. After dropping my parents-in-law at their house, Rajsri and I went straight to my parent's place for lunch. Yes we are extreme foodies

Thanks to Arunasish for the wonderful event and the invitation. Hopefully we will get many more invitations as the team-bhp family keeps on growing, no pressure on anyone for invitations though!

[SmartCat]

Moving thread from Assembly line to Travelogues forum. Thanks for sharing, Sumitro !

[boniver]

Good travelogue as usual, BlackPearl. Glad to see you're regularly taking the Sherpa out on the highway too!

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

They also joined us in our Thar.

Were your elderly parents-in-law comfortable at the back of the Thar over such a long journey?

[Samfromindia]

So nice to see the bond shared among Kolkata Bhpians which makes them travel such long distances when many avoid visiting in same city itself ! Its amazing to see you have turned this experience to a travelogue also So after the epic wedding travelogue its time for rice ceremony one.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Trying to find out if the LED bar on SanC's Thar was more powerful than the KC Spotlights on my Thar!

So which Thar won ?

[ALTIMAed]

Durgapur is very close to my heart, having lived there from 1974 to 1979 (I was a 5 to 10 year old kid). We resided at Cement Park and schooled at St Xaviers. Having left in 1979, I had the opportunity to visit Durgapur in 2016 (yes after 36 years).

The visit was pure nostalgia. Cement Park, City Centre, Benachitty Market, Steel Market, St Xaviers I just drove along all those places and road where my father used to take me. As expected, a lot has changed specially around the City Centre area. Benachitty Market has the same look and feel, even though our favourite mishi (sweet) shop Robin Sweet has closed.

Gandhi More and Bhiringi More are no more what I could remember with huge flyovers coming up.

Another town that I have to visit is Ajmer. Apart from doing my schooling from class 7 onwards (at Mayo College), my grand mom used to reside there. The last I visited Ajmer was in 1999.

[lovecars21]

To begin with, loved the write up. You presented a small intrastate road trip so well and with such minute details. Its an honour for the little bhpian to be referred to in the travelogue of a gem bhpian. Lots of giggly thank yous from the little one.

Thanks to you and Rajsri di for being a part of the special evening.

P.s the little bhpian wishes to venture out on a road trip with sumitro uncle

[Samba]

Awesome, i loved reading this travelogue.
Shows the bonding and love between Bhpian's. Team Bhp is just not another car forum to us, its like our family!

Originally Posted by lovecars21

Its an honour for the little bhpian to be referred to in the travelogue of a gem bhpian.

A very hearty congratulation to you and your family. Loads of love for the little one. Hope those who missed visiting the party at Asansol, will get compensated in Kolkata!

Rated 5* ( The 5* rating is not for Blackpearl, it's for the little one!)

[Aditya]

Nice travelogue BlackPearl. It's really amazing how you guys readily drive out so readily to be with a buddy for a special moment. I can see why though. The roads, the scenery, the old school restaurants, the food and in the end, getting to be with a buddy in his moment of joy - this is special indeed.

The first picture of the waterfall in Meghalaya brought to the fore some memories that were somewhere at the back of my mind. I haven't seen more spectacular waterfalls anywhere in India than in the Abode of Clouds!

Must say, the Thar fits in the scenario very comfortably.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by boniver

Good travelogue as usual, BlackPearl. Glad to see you're regularly taking the Sherpa out on the highway too!

Were your elderly parents-in-law comfortable at the back of the Thar over such a long journey?

Thanks boniver! My parents-in-law are very fit and they have been used to Jeeps all their life, so it was not a problem at all. Plus the roads were good and I drove sedately. The Thar rides quite well once it has got some weight at the back.

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

So nice to see the bond shared among Kolkata Bhpians which makes them travel such long distances when many avoid visiting in same city itself ! Its amazing to see you have turned this experience to a travelogue also So after the epic wedding travelogue its time for rice ceremony one.

So which Thar won ?

Thanks Sam! Difficult to say which Thar won, the spotlights on my Thar are more intense, but the LED bar on SanC's Thar is more usable. I can't use the KCs on the highway unless it is absolutely empty.

Originally Posted by ALTIMAed

Durgapur is very close to my heart, having lived there from 1974 to 1979 (I was a 5 to 10 year old kid). We resided at Cement Park and schooled at St Xaviers. Having left in 1979, I had the opportunity to visit Durgapur in 2016 (yes after 36 years).

The visit was pure nostalgia. Cement Park, City Centre, Benachitty Market, Steel Market, St Xaviers I just drove along all those places and road where my father used to take me. As expected, a lot has changed specially around the City Centre area. Benachitty Market has the same look and feel, even though our favourite mishi (sweet) shop Robin Sweet has closed.

Gandhi More and Bhiringi More are no more what I could remember with huge flyovers coming up.

Another town that I have to visit is Ajmer. Apart from doing my schooling from class 7 onwards (at Mayo College), my grand mom used to reside there. The last I visited Ajmer was in 1999.

Thanks Suneel Da! Good to see that this thread evoked some nostalgia I absolutely love Durgapur, though I have not stayed there, except for a few weekends. Another place I really like was Jamshedpur!

Originally Posted by lovecars21

To begin with, loved the write up. You presented a small intrastate road trip so well and with such minute details. Its an honour for the little bhpian to be referred to in the travelogue of a gem bhpian. Lots of giggly thank yous from the little one.

Thanks to you and Rajsri di for being a part of the special evening.

P.s the little bhpian wishes to venture out on a road trip with sumitro uncle

Thanks Arunasish! 500 plus kilometers might be small interstate run for you, it was quite a lot for me
Will surely go on a long trip with the junior one!

Originally Posted by Samba

Awesome, i loved reading this travelogue.
Shows the bonding and love between Bhpian's. Team Bhp is just not another car forum to us, its like our family!

A very hearty congratulation to you and your family. Loads of love for the little one. Hope those who missed visiting the party at Asansol, will get compensated in Kolkata!

Rated 5* ( The 5* rating is not for Blackpearl, it's for the little one!)

Thanks Samba! yes, please get that party from Arunasish, sometime later. I will let you know the dates when I am back!

Originally Posted by Aditya

Nice travelogue BlackPearl. It's really amazing how you guys readily drive out so readily to be with a buddy for a special moment. I can see why though. The roads, the scenery, the old school restaurants, the food and in the end, getting to be with a buddy in his moment of joy - this is special indeed.

The first picture of the waterfall in Meghalaya brought to the fore some memories that were somewhere at the back of my mind. I haven't seen more spectacular waterfalls anywhere in India than in the Abode of Clouds!

Must say, the Thar fits in the scenario very comfortably.

Thanks Aditya!