Pujo Diaries'12: Shoshti - 20-Oct-2012: Calcutta to Malda

Partially Loaded

They say, express your mind when you have just experienced an incident - because you can feel and also narrate what has happened because the moment after any incident, the brain begins to lose facts and also the emotion involved for that matter. And now that I am retracing the steps which I had taken almost a week back, I am clearly at a loss to feel the vibrant energy that I carried  THAT DAY.

We were clearly in high spirits. Feeling pretty excited and vibrant. This was supposed to be my first "long" distance trip. We had travelled to the popular beach spots  - Digha and Mandarmoni a number of times in the car. But those didnt even cover a 200+ km bracket.

What we had learnt:

Route	Distance (km)	Condition	Planned Travel Time	Remarks
Calcutta - Panagarh	160	Excellent	3.5 hours	Includes: 30 min halt for light snacks
Panagarh -Morgram	150	Good	4 hours	Have on way packed lunch
Morgram - Malda	100	Poor	3 hours	Take a tea break of 15/20 mins.
Totals	420		~11 hrs

Calcutta - Panagarh:

We woke up at 6 AM, washed and cleaned the car ,took bath and had a very light breakfast and tea. But it took us 9 AM to get started - and that made a pretty late start. Tanked up at the Indian Oil pump opposite Bhawani Bhavan and off we went. But almost immediately after crossing the Vivekananda Setu toll plaza we were stuck in heavy traffic  - crawling at a snail's pace. It took 2 hours to cover the first 46 kms. From that point onwards to Burdwan was made in good time. The Swift crunched up 76 kms in the next one hour. At Shaktigarh  we made a brief halt for Langchas. The initial disappointment for the slow progress was made up. The road condition till Panagarh was excellent too.It took another 40 mins to cover  the 43 km stretch from Burdwan to Panagarh.But at  Panagarh we were hauled up in a traffic jam that took a good 30 mins to cross.

At Panagarh we were late by 1 hour against our planned time.

Panagarh - Morgram:155 kms/5.5 hours

At Darjeeling more,Panagarh, we took the right to Panagarh - Morgram State highway - which is where all calculations went wrong. The road condition was pathetic.

Challenges Faced:

·          Almost 50% of the entire stretch was littered with potholes which made it impossible to drive fast.

·          There were times when the under body of the car grazed the road surface.

·          There were certain stretches when the car touched 80/100 kmph speed but a pothole arrived unannounced which resulted in heavy jerking.A couple of instances like these resulted in our not over speeding. We had to maintain a sedate 40 kmph later.

·          The entire stretch from Panagarh to Morgram is very dusty.

·          Heavy truck movement ensures further careful driving.

A SUV would have definitely eased the troubles faced, but I would reiterate it is a very strenuous stretch that takes a lot out of both man and the machine.

Tea Break!

We started from Darjeeling mor at 1.30 PM and it was almost 7 PM when we finally reached Morgram.The trip meter read 155 kms and it took 5.5 hours to cover the distance. At times Morgram appeared to be a mirage - but later we were to find out that with the low speeds that we were traversing potholes, it was something quite normal to expect.

At Morgram, the road merges with NH34. Long queues of trucks makes it very difficult to navigate at the crossing. When we did finally reach Morgram it was more of a relief.

Morgram - Malda:

Once on NH34, the numerous lights of the shanties beside the road  as opposed to the dark roads of Birbhum was immediately noticeable. Whereas there were lights, but there was not a single Durga Puja pandal in sight. It appeared to be grossly depressing. We pulled over at a petrol bunk to refuel and refresh. It was a 30 mins break and we had some tea. Malda was another 90 kms. The highway was under construction and there were a number of diversions. There were stretches where the road construction was complete and good speeds can be attained. But the entire road was two way traffic  which meant it requires quite a bit of attention. Again some  of the roads were potholed too. Add the high beam of truck head lights all along and what results is extremely  careful night driving. Since, this was the first time for me I was doubly so. The 10 hours of driving had taken its toll on my senses too. The legs were extremely tired after a lot of clutch driving. It was around 9 PM when Farakka Bridge was crossed. Then came the infamous jam at Kaliachowk where we were stuck for almost 40 mins. We reached Malda town at around 11 in the night. But the heavy traffic jams due to the Durga Puja made it almost 30 mins to our hotel.

Traffic Jam at Panagarh

So, when we finally reached Malda, it was a drive of 14.5 hours from Calcutta .A very light dinner of Rice,Dal, Omlettes and Alu bhaja and we crashed to sleep.

Night Halt for the Day: Hotel Kalinga on NH 34.

Short Review Notes: We stayed for a mere 10 hours - from 11.30 at night to 9.30 the next day but even with the guest pressure, especially due to the Pujo, the dinner arrived on time. Rooms were not opulent - we did not expect it to be - but it was neat and tidy. Hotel staffs  in suburban areas are usually not professionally trained, but overall their behaviour was amicable. Overall it was a decent experience.

Personal Rating - 3/5.Recommended - if you are in Malda.

Actual Figures

Route	Distance (km)	Condition	Actual Travel Time
Calcutta - Panagarh	160	Excellent	4 hours + 0.5 hr stuck at traffic jam
Panagarh -Morgram	150	Poor	5 hours + 0.5 hr lunch break + 0.25 hrs recess
Morgram - Malda	100	Poor	3 hrs + 1.25 hrs traffic jam + 0.5 hrs recess
Totals	420		~14.5 -15 hrs