AN UNEXPECTED EXPERIENCE

People say traveling enhances the mental horizon, fills one with a sense of serenity, and ushers a subtle sense of revitalization.

- NEELAKSHI BANERJEE

All of these came true for me in my small excursion to a rustic rural landscape of West Bengal called Mukutmanipur where I ventured with a group of close friends. What was programmed to be a 2-day respite was stretched to another day as we planned impromptu to visit the temple city of Vishnupur in the vicinity which proved to be the catalyst to make this trip worth writing.

We planned for a weekend getaway from the city clamor and seek refuge in a boutique hotel encircled by the verdant foliage. We reached Mukutmanipur around dusk when the mellowed orange was tinging the horizon and the pallid glow of the twilight was creating a strange hoary halo on the tree tops. The hotel had individual rooms with attached balconies overlooking the Kangsabati river where frequent tourist boats were sailing and we waved hands at an overzealous group. The entire room décor from the furniture to the draperies to the rugs was traditional with a tangible rustic endemic touch.

A huge manicured garden with blossomed zinnia, dahlia, roses, and marigold surmounted by hedges adorned the hotel front while the back had thick grooves of blossom-blanched Palash and sonajhuri trees. The quaint place clad in nature was not only nourishing to the eyes but was also revitalizing our energy. Tea and snacks had some soporific effect on us on that sultry summer evening and after a brief photo session, we indulged in a short slumber.