March is the end of the financial year. It is the month of achieving targets. March marks the end of spring and the beginning of a long, searing summer.
That year, March 31st was Saturday. I planned a two-day outing starting on April 1st. In Kolkata, a short trip means the beach town of Digha or Puri. We planned for Digha. Digha is just a three-hour train ride from Kolkata.
I had an advance booking for a holiday home in Digha. Our train was in the afternoon. We reached the station by bus. We always prefer to keep our luggage light. I was the only male on our team of four. So luggage was mostly my responsibility.
Our train started as per schedule. The tram was thinly crowded. We were seated comfortably. Vendors were boarding the train with local street foods. We were pleasing our taste buds with those delicacies. The train stopped at a nondescript station for a good half an hour. The station was in the midst of a paddy field. The platform was surrounded by a lot of trees. I strolled on the platform with a close eye on the signal.
The train reached Digha station around 8.30 p.m. We got an autorickshaw to take us to our holiday home. The holiday home was around five hundred metres from the main centre. The holiday home is situated on the top of a mound. The large campus area was full of a lot of trees. The ambience was quiet and romantic. Two suites on the top of a hillock were our residences. Everyone liked the place.
Our elder companions were exhausted by the travel. I and my spouse went to fetch the meal for the night. We hit a vegetarian restaurant. We got hand-made chapatti, dal, and vegetable curry for the night. The food was awesome.
The next day started early for us. We went to the beach to catch the sun rising. But to our dismay, the sky remained cloudy. We walked on the beach with a gentle wind blowing in all directions. We got tea in a cup of mud at a roadside, rusty tea shop.
At 10 a.m., we went out for breakfast and site-seeing. We had alu ka paratha, channa curry, and golap jamun for breakfast. Our next stop was at a fun park. We had a boat ride at a large water body. I was the one who paddled the boat; the rest were busy taking selfies. There were rabbits and birds in the enclosure within the park.
Then we again arrived at the beach. The sun was shining brightly at our heads, so we decided to go back to our holiday home.
Our lunch was a lavish one. Crabs, fish, and mushroom curry made our day.
In the evening, we sat on the boulders by the sea. Ripples of sea water were crashing on the boulders. Salty water touches our feet. We had fish fry to add to the glory of the beautiful evening. Our day ended with a tour of the local market. We bought some token mementos for ourselves and other family members.
The next day, we had to board our train to Kolkata. I sat in front of the holiday home, looking at the beach, for a long time. We say good-bye to Digha with the hope that he will come back soon.
