My second destination
after Hudru falls was 'Gumla', which is about 93.3kms from Ranchi,
the capital of Jharkhand and Dhoni's hometown too :P
It is highland region having been located in the southern part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which forms the eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau. Rivers like the South and North Koyel and the Shankh flow through this region.
This journey from
Ranchi to GUMLA feels like the scene from “swades” movie and guess
what even my playlist chose to play the same song for me. :P
(don’t know why, but
this song was stuck in my mind, all throughout the journey)
“yunhi chala chal rahi,
Transport:
a) Roadways
Gumla is connected to Ranchi and
Simdega via NH – 23. It is connected via State Highways to Lohardaga, Latehar,
Daltonganj and other major towns of the State.
It is connected to the State of
Chhattisgarh via NH-78.
b) Railways
Ranchi is well connected to all the
other states in India. We reached Ranchi at 7:35 am after 7-8 hours of a train
journey from Howrah junc. (Kolkata). From there we took an auto to the bus
stand and after 2 long hours of bus journey, we finally reached our
destination GUMLA. The other stations in proximity are Pokhla, Bano, Govindpur
Road, Tori, Latehar, Orga and Mccluskieganj.
C)Airways
The nearest airport is in Ranchi and
thereafter it takes 2 hours of bus journey to reach here.
Weather conditions:
It has a temperate, tropical
climate, with an average high of 40 °C (104 °F) in summer and an average
low of 3 °C (37 °F) in winter. This makes Summers the worst time to
come here, and today it's 37 degrees. Humidity is very low. The warm winds are
really dehydrating. I made this mistake by not carrying enough sunscreen, water
and scarf!!
As a result got a little blood in my
nasal tract and my body is sun-tanned. Average annual rainfall is about 1,450
m killometres (57 inches), but unfortunately I did not
experience any during my stay. Missing kalbaishakhi badly! :(
Basic amenities:
Infrastructure:
The city is pretty developed in terms of Infrastructure. I could easily spot,
public schools, hospitals, nursing homes and lots of small temples. But Hotels,
guest houses and lodges are very few in number. Do make proper lodging
arrangements beforehand and just don't forget to check their washrooms, half
the time it's in a pathetic state. Also, for a tourist Public toilets are very
also essential which this place really completely lacks. Banners about the
construction of toilets are found everywhere but no work is done. According to
the localities, the amount provided by the government is very less. Also, don't
forget to check if they have proper power backup because power cuts are very
common here.
Heat of the Plateau region in
the morning and mosquitoes is the evening will not fail to leave a mark on you
making electricity the most wanted but the least amenity here.
Life here feels challenging at
times.
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| the only 'park' |
Water:
It's mostly underground water that
is being used. Wells (popularly known as borewell here) and hand pumps are
mostly used to extract this water. The taste is very different
and don't forget to carry a purifier with you because purified
drinking water is something unheard of. Actually, you don't really need a
purifier here, the water is cool, clear and absolutely fresh. The rain water
seeps in through different layers and there is not much of pollution as well so
water quality is pretty good. (though I haven't scientifically tested it).
 |
Food:
Street food stalls are plenty and range from fast food like chow, gol gappe (fuchka)
to fruit juices and aam ras etc. South Indian cuisine like dosa, vada, and idly
are also found in plenty.
Though cafes, food joints and
eateries are uncommon, few of them do exists and the food served is
pretty good.
According to the
localities, Dhuska (a type of fried idly), urad dal ka bara, and
yummy mouthwatering jalebiya's are some recipes this place is simply
known for. Don't forget to try them, and I am sure you'll love it. (just keep
your calorie count aside, haha:D).
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| Dhuska |
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| spotted these leaf bowls somewhere |
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| my fun time |
On further enquiry from the natives
of this place (mostly the tribals), I found that the favourite drink here is
the local wine made from the mahua flower. I have no intentions of
trying it ever. Needless to mention how harmful local wine can be...
The best thing I found here are lots
of fresh fruits and vegetables, so food was not a problem at
all. Infact the Curry's tastes better when garden fresh veggies are
used. Tried my hands in gardening and was hurt badly by the thorns. No more gardening
for me but I am still enjoying plucking those ripe Papaya's, Mango, Litchi,
Cucumber, lemons and lots of flowers (which includes roses as well :))
Happiiiiee_me!!
Pocket Pinch: It is one of those offbeat travel destinations, which you can visit on a budget as low as 10k for two person. Fooding and lodging, site seeing, everything is very affordable compared to the other places. So, next time you badly need a getaway on a extremely low budget, this place can come to your rescue.
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| constant bird's chirp, something I don't find at all in my cities |
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| found them in Netarhat, another popular tourist destination and which is also known as the 'queen of chotanagpur plateau' |
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| till I visit here next time!! |
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