By the Ganges

Mrs Shipra Chattopadhyay, one of our most enthusiastic members, writes about her trip to Malancha, organized by The Silver Circle travelling group. In fact, she liked the place so much that she captured it in a beautiful painting.

The Silver Circle travelling group arranged a day trip to Malancha, a guest house near Gandhi Ghat in Barrackpore. We went there on 9th April 2016. Our TSC co-ordinator (Mr Supratik Gupta) took care of everything. In fact, the venue was his suggestion—he had gone there once and showed us photos. After seeing those pictures, we decided to go there.

It was a nice place beside the Ganges. The guesthouse was very good. The first thing that We saw was a nicely maintained boat. We learnt that it was the same boat by which the first sepoy of the Sepoy Mutiny, Mangal Pandey, had come there. He reached there by that boat, so the ghat is called Mangal Pandey Ghat. Barrackpore is the place from where the Sepoy Mutiny started. So, it has major historical significance as well.

The guesthouse is maintained by the government. It is very neat and clean. It has around 15 rooms—A/C & Non A/C. There is a jetty just beside the guesthouse.

One can enjoy the sight of River Ganga flowing by while eating. The service is also good. We reached there at about 10 a.m. and spent the whole day there. We had breakfast and lunch there. The food was good and service was very cordial. Though it was a very hot day, the trip to and fro was very comfortable in the AC Tempo Traveller arranged by Mr Gupta.

In the afternoon, after a sumptuous lunch, we spent a good time relaxing and indulging in great adda. It was so refreshing to hear such wonderful travel stories and insightful tales. In the evening, we were mesmerized by the radiant beauty of the sun setting on the Ganges. It was fantastic. Some of us took photographs of the setting sun. But photographs cannot always capture the magic of the moment; you had to be there to enjoy this beautiful sight.

After having our evening tea, we started on our way back. I liked the place very much. It was a nice outing and I want to go there once again and stay there at least for a day to thoroughly enjoy the sight of the river flowing by and the sun setting on it.