Trip to Ayodhya Hills
IMAGE: Ayodhya Hills, Purulia
It all started back in 2017 when we were having a hangout at ‘Nandan’. We decided to have an experience of a mild climb high up in the Purulia Ayodhya Hills. We decided to visit some of our references in order to book our dormitories from a local city booking hub.
Purulia is what mystical places are made of: incredible natural beauty, elusive tribal folk culture, gorgeous dances, mythological connections and friendly people. And there are springs when the whole district gets stained with bright red palash flowers. Autumn brings feathery white kaash, and summers are dense green.
It is nature at its most verdant, and the entire district is one red-earth country. Dust rises from its rural lanes in dusty red, brick brown and deep saffron. Oxen patiently plough the grooved yellowish-brown fields, and deep crimson water lilies cover the glassy ponds. To this sublime natural beauty another shade of red is often added — the colour of Rudra Palash, or African tulip.
We boarded at Howrah station at 11 p.m. and reached Purulia station in the early morning, around 7 a.m. In January the temperature is several degrees lower than what we were used to. We were getting chilled, and called our arranger Banu da, who was waiting for us with the cars — we had been calling Banu da since 4 a.m.
