Sabuj Bon in Bolpur and trip to surrounding areas

About Sobuj Bon
Last weekend I spend two nights at Sabuj Bon (translates to Green Forest in English), about 13 Km from Bolpur. It is a kind of village resort and a pleasant break from the hustle-bustle of the city. Situated in village Rasulpur, it is situated within the village and on the banks of the river Ajay.
Within a huge compound, the accommodation is mud huts with straw covered thatched roof. For those who want more comfort, there are a couple of rooms with AC also :-). But the best part of this place is the greenery within it. The owner wants to develop it as a plant museum and it already has more than a lakh of plants within it. There was complete peace all around. Every morning we woke up with the chirping of birds and at night watched the fireflies dancing on top of the trees. There are a couple of ponds within the compound and the dining space is a covered area by the side of one such pond. Fish caught from the ponds is served for lunch.
A leisurely stroll within Sobuj Bon or in the village or on a banks of the river Ajoy - there are many things to do while staying there.

Our trip
We left Kolkata Friday morning at 8:30 in the morning and reached Sabuj Bon at around 12 noon after a customary break at Shaktigarh for Langcha and Luchi. The drive was excellent as we were greeted by the green countryside after leaving the city. The paddy fields are green at present and as far as one can see, it was green and only green everywhere. At Sabuj Bon, the mud huts were cool and provided the much needed respite from the afternoon sun. Lunch was traditional bengali food - rice, posto, potol er dalna, dal, fish, chatni and papad. Those serving complained that we were not eating much and it was difficult to explain that we were actually eating more than we normally do!!
A little rest after lunch and then we drove to Shantiniketan. Visited the museum and took a tour of Shantiniketan (guide Rs 100). Then we decided to visit Konkalitala - it has a temple of goddess Kali. There were quite a few old people in our team and visiting temples were a high priority for them. I did not complain for two reasons - the roads were excellent and the greenery all around was so soothing that these road trips became a pleasure.
We returned late in the evening, driving through pitch black darkness back to Sabuj Bon. Dinner was roti, chicken and sweets. It had been a long day and almost everybody went to sleep immediately after dinner.

Day 2 and we woke up to a cloudy morning. Spent 1 hour strolling within the compound. It was ID and we were treated to complementary semai and payesh by the owner of Sabuj Bon. We were to visit a relative at Kirnahar, around 40 Km from Bolpur. Breakfast and lunch was at their place and then we moved towards Fullara temple. Again, a beautiful drive to the place and back in the evening to Shantiniketan. Some shopping by my wife and we headed towards Khoiai Mela (fair) at Sonajhuri. It is a fair held every Saturday and local goods and food items are sold there. It was raining and the fair ground was sparsely populated - there were not many shopkeepers or tourists. The local flavor of these fairs seemed to be diminishing due to the tourists from Kolkata. This you realize when along with ghugni, patishapta, chanar jalebi, chirer puli and naru you find vegetable momos being sold in the same shop. Most of the vendors were selling ornaments or food items. Luckily the rain drizzled out and more shops and tourists started appearing. What I liked best was the baul song by a singer. He has an excellent voice and entertained everybody for more than an hour. It seemed that he is a regular there and all those who have visited the fair must have heard him singing.

Day 3 and return back to Kolkata. Spent the morning walking around the village and the embankment of Ajoy river. After a late breakfast, we bid goodbye to the owner and his staff. Made a brief halt at Shantiniketan as my daughter wanted to visit the deer park. She was lucky to see a group of deer moving around. I wanted to visit the tribal village mentioned in an earlier post by JuliaF. Unfortunately it was late and the other team members were getting impatient. After that it was a smooth drive to Kolkata and suddenly it seemed that we have been transported to an ocean of chaos from that of serenity

Nice Narration Kaushik , BTW can you post contact Informations, Charges / Booking Formalities. Driving Directions from Bolpur Etc. and Link for your photos for this place please. Cheers

chief, here are the details.
Address: Sabuj Ban, Rasulpur, P.O.-Panchsowa. Around 13Km from Bolpur.

Booking: Call the owner of the place Mr. Abdus Salim. Cell : 093337 46244 / 099325 89244. He will make a pencil booking and provide Axis Bank account number where you need to deposit some advance. I skipped the deposit part and made the entire payment on spot.

Charges: 2 bed room Rs 500, 3 bed Rs 700, 4 bed Rs 1000. Not sure about the AC room charges. Food charges extra.

Driving direction: From Kolkata, Durgapur Expressway --> cross Burdwan and take a right turn to the road going to Gushkhara. One can avoid going via Panagarh using this road and the shorten the journey time. This road goes straight to Bolpur station. After crossing the bridge on river Ajoy, there is a small local toll collection booth. Ask there and they will give the directions from then onwards.
If one is coming from Bolpur, take the road going towards Gushkara and take a detour at the toll booth. There is another entrance on the Ilaambazar - Bolpur Road also.

Photos: Will post shortly.

Thanks Kuashik for sharing the experience as well as information. It seems to be another good place for a weekend escape from Kolkata.

Biman.

Kaushik , Thanks for detailed info, I know the bridge and small toll check post you are talking about, yeah , usually I drive thru this Guskara road for Santiniketan rather than detour via Panagarh - Ilambazar. this route is shorter and much more scenic. Cheers

You are right chief. This route is much more scenic and the drive is uninterrupted. From the toll booth after Ajoy bridge, you have to take a right followed by another immediate right. After that its another 4-5 Km and asked a few people before reaching the spot.

Hi Kaushik,

Nice illustration. From your description I feel the place definitely deserves a visit. Will try in this winter only !!

Cheers !!

Great report Kaushik! It sounds like a lovely place.

As you know I really liked Santiniketan and the surrounding villages, maybe next time I'll go and stay in this place.

I presume one could get a taxi or auto from Bolpur station?

Do you know if the owner / staff at Sabuj Bon spoke English?

I'll be looking forward to any photos!

Julia

Here is the link to the photos: http://www.travelstorybook.com/galle...lder=Sobuj Bon.

Enjoy!!

Julia, yes its a nice place and will visit again in the future. But due to its remote location within the village, communication is a problem. Cars are available from the station that will drop you there. The owner said that he can also arrange for pickup, if required.

The owner of the place, who lives within the compound, speaks English. The staff?? I would be surprised if they did.

Since you are so interested in rural Bengal, here is another information. 2 Km from Sabuj Bon is the village of Itonda. I was told (and later on read also) that it has some excellent terracotta temples. I could not make it this time and will visit the next time I go there.

I have posted some photos and the link is given in the earlier posts.

Great photos too Kaushik! It looks so green and lush and calm and tempting!

I really liked the wall decoration of the kitchen - a little bit similar to what I saw in Boner Pukur Danga (described in this thread) but with colour too!

nice pictures

Thanks Kausiks for this super trip report and photos. I have bookmarked to read later when I am less busy.

Dear All,

Imer Soumyajit wrote everything in cottage was made of wood, however from kaushik's post it seems cottages are made of mud. Are there two types of accommodation? Hows the weather now?

If we take volvo buses from esplanade where do we have to get down? From there will transportation be available?

Sudeep, As per Kausiks direction, I think you have to get down at Panagarh and go towards Bolpur Via Ilambazar. But that Ajay river bridge comes if you go from Ghuskara to Bolpur (for that you have to hire a car from Bardhaman or Kolkata). Local Buses are there from bardhaman (108 Temple) to Bolpur via Ghuskara. You can have a talk with Mr. Abdus Salim. Cell : 093337 46244 / 099325 89244 at the resort.