Durga Puja and a trip to the sea beach of Digha

One of the favorite festivals of Bengalis is the Durga Puja. The festivities go on for four days and many Bengalis take the opportunity to visit the sea beach of Digha. There are any number of hotels and Digha tourism tries to cater to a whole range of visitors. These provide the visitors with innumerable options. A few tips worth following are to reserve a hotel in advance suitable to your pocket. There are any number of websites that are loaded with options. There are packages for making local trips to enjoy the holidays to the maximum. West Bengal Tourism department provides an insight into places to see and enjoy in Digha, a seaside place to spend some time with family and friends.

Durga Puja is the festive season when Bengalis enjoy a long holiday. Hence, many of those who plan to spend it on the seaside opt for Digha. It is accessible by train or by bus or by hired vehicles. The list of dos and don’ts are not many. How can you enjoy Durga Puja at affordably priced hotel in Digha? It is necessary that you book the hotel accommodation in advance, preferably online. In case there are children, it is better to select a hotel that offers facilities for kids’ activity. In case there are elderly persons, it helps if pickup and drop facilities are available from the railway station. As to food, try to avoid street food. They might appear attractive but may not follow the guidelines of hygiene. It would be wise to rely on the lip-smacking seafood served at the hotels.

Durga Puja from outside India –

13 Best Durga Puja in London UK 2022

14 Best Durga Puja in New York USA 2022

2022 Durga Puja Calendar for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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School days – my first train journey

Growing up in a large city like Kolkata has both its advantages as well as disadvantages. In the 1950s, there were an abundance of buses and trams on the roads and school boys were experts at boarding and alighting from moving vehicles. Connectivity between points was also superb. Hence, the need of using bicycles for commuting was remote.

I was no exception. I rode a bicycle for the first time when I had gone to Kanpur – I worked there briefly for a couple of years and, since transportation was a major problem there, I had no other alternative but to learn cycling.
As regards train travel – this also never materialized during mu school days. However, at the fag end of my schools, I got an opportunity to travel by train, thanks to an aunt of mine. She was a nurse in the Railway Hospital and she took me with her on my first ever train journey. It was from Howrah Station to Palta – the next station.

Subsequently, I have traveled by train to different destinations throughout the country – sometimes on official duties, at other times on holidays with my family. And, the experiences that I have gathered on the way have helped boost my confidence levels because, once you are faced with a situation, the best in you is bound to come out. (to be continued …)

School days – a trip to Puri that did not quite happen

It was one of those things that one must learn to take in his (or her) stride. School means the stage of one’s life when he is continuously being exposed to new concepts and learning the tricks of the trade and disappointment is one such experience.
That is why a vacation planned to be spent in the seaside resort of Puri has us brothers excited. We would keep exchanging our thoughts and dreaming up sequences of our train journey and subsequent capers on the sea beaches. We even imagined going on guided tours of the famous Chilka Lake.

The proposed vacation was all the more important to me because a friend had been on vacation to Delhi and he had brought Delhi bus tickets as proof. Similarly, another friend had been to Bombay and he bus tickets of Bombay as proof. Therefore, I wanted to visit Puri and bring back some unique item to prove that I had been there.
Our parents were also no less excited – the vacation would provide a break for them and they went about buying items that could be required.

But – Man proposes and God disposes. And – that is exactly what happened.
All of a sudden the world collapsed around us – it was the disease of pox. It struck without notice and all four brothers fell victim one after another. Our dreams of fantasy remained in the realms of fantasy. (to be continued ...)