The Winter Adventure

Usually, most of our trips are conducted in the winter season. This story is also about a wintry trip to Ranchi, Jharkhand. It was 25th December 2019. It was the year when the mercury level was looking about to freeze. As per the weather report, the temperature in our location was fifteen degrees Celsius. The weather was a bit foggy. It was nighttime when our car arrived for departure from our house to the plateau region of Ranchi. The trip started. Initially, we went all too much happy. But as the night grew darker and darker, the temperature was also decreasing. The driver was also found an issue due to the excessively fogged window. It was around 2 am at midnight. We crossed the final border of West Bengal. Policemen asked us to stop by signaling their lights. Our car driver applied a harsh break.

The policemen took our details like where we were going, from where we were coming, etc. Then, we went on. At 4 am, still night, we touched the foothills of the hill, on which the town of Netarhat was situated. A per report, Netarhat is having an elevation of about 3514 feet. It is located in the Pat region of the Chotanagpur Plateau. We, on the way up to Netarhat, faced a big challenge with death. In the car, there were fifteen people along with the driver. The car was in fact, carrying a full load. The road was swirled around the mountain. Foggy night, heavy load, and the high altitude left us worried. The car was not able to move fast up, it was moving like a cycle. We all prayed to God seeking His help. And finally, our prayer worked out. We reached the top of the hill successfully. The next issue was that there was no free room left in the hotel up in Netarhat. It was the only tourist hotel in the entire region.

So, where to spend the rest of the hours until the sunrise? We met a man on the road. We requested him to find a room for us. He said that he was having a mud-made house, which was blank. So, we took shelter there. The rest was just for an hour. When it was sharp at 5 am, we all woke up and went to the Sunrise seeing spot. It was a magnificent experience in my life. We observed the different colors of the sun from its various phases of rising. We clicked some photos for keeping them as memories. As we were going to leave Netarhat, a child came near to us to gift us one of the precious natural items for me. It was an oak fruit. Oak fruit is so beautiful. My father took out a fifty rupee note and handed it over to him for a sake of humanity. The child was very happy. 

As we moved down the hill, the scene became worse than before. It was a down road and the car was increasing its speed fast. The driver was also finding it difficult to control the speed of the car. But, as he was quite experienced in his career of driving, he somehow managed to control. Straight from there, we went to visit the Dasham Falls. The Dasham Falls was a nice and gorgeous waterfall. The water was sounding like a war was happening. There was a turbine down the waterfall, that generated electricity and hence, improving the electric connection in that area. Then, we headed straight towards the Hudru falls. But, the energy of the water of that waterfall was quite low. The water was coming down as thin as a straw. We were too sad. But, the adventure was there, ready by the nature. Beside the Hudru Falls, there was a deep and thick forest area. We started the expedition from there and found the root or source of the water of the Hudru Falls. It was a river. But, we the people are so stupid, that the inhabitants of that region blocked the flow of water by placing big cement bags on the path of the flow. Then, as it became evening, we decided to take a rest in the car itself. So, we took dinner in a nearby restaurant and slept in the car.

The next morning, at around 4 am, we visited the Chinnamasta temple. It was a temple of the other form of Goddess Mahakali. My elders went inside, except me. I sat on the small bench outside the temple and noticed the beautiful rhythm of the flowing water as they hit the banks. We made a photographer take our family photograph by paying him his service money. The photograph was printed in no time. Then, the time of departure towards our house arrived. I was feeling too sad as we were leaving the beautiful natural scenery of Ranchi. So, we all came inside the car and it took about seventeen hours to come back to our house. It was a wonderful trip, full of hopes, desires, happiness, and adventure.