3 States

It was the 14th of July, when my Chote Mamaji had come for his official work at Rail Bhavan, Calcutta. He had been telling me to come to CKP (Chakradharpur, Jharkhand) for a very long time, and I was very eager to pay him and Mamiji and the kids a visit!

I left Cal on 14th night with him, and reached CKP at 8 in the morning. The kids had gone to school, and were very excited to see me when they returned. I have a strong affinity towards kids, they just get attached to me instantly (fevicol ka jod hai na :P). My mamaji is a Senior DEN (Railways) and hence he has a quarter at CKP. Full of fauna and flora!

Monsoon Magic

We roamed about CKP the same day and mamiji prepared mutton curry for me and the kids, which was awesome! The next day I had to help Anshul prepare a story for his school competition, while mamiji spent the entire time trying to make him remember the story of "Tikker the Tiger" :P

We all left through a train to Rourkela, where we took an alternative route to Mandira Dam (bulit on the Sankh river). Our car had a brake fail and we had to wait at a petrol pump for about an hour to get the car fixed !

Since we had come to the dam through the opposite route, we were lucky to click some snaps, while CISF personnel requested us to leave immediately, though we had the permit.

After visiting a temple on the Dam, we then made our way back through the highway to a restaurant called "7AM" where I and Mamaji played Air Hockey (which i won 7-4 :D).

Brake fail repair!

Mandira Dam

Later after a bit of shopping from Mamiji, we made our way back to the station. Mamaji wanted me to travel in the engine of the South Bihar express, but there was no seat in the engine, and he had to do inspection, so I had to travel with Mamiji and the kids in 2AC.

After reaching CKP, we went with samosas and chai to "S" more, which is a picnic spot on way to Chaibasa. It is said a "bhootni" visits that spot everyday 12am and 12pm! It started drizzling and we made our way back home. On the way, we narrowly escaped certain death, when an electric pole gave way and fell just 2 seconds after we crossed the spot!

Tired, we went to sleep, and next afternoon I caught the train back to Cal, where again Mutton Curry awaited me, this time Mummy ke haath ka bana :) It was a hectic yet totally enjoyable trip, with 4 trains in 3 days and covering 3 states!