Post COVID lockdown, it has almost become a habit to run away for a small vacation every now and then. There is no holiday (and fund) for a long trip and probably the fear psychosis is still there, somewhere. And just at that time, my friend Ipshita suggested a visit to their homestay at Bangriposi- Bangriposi Hotel. And this blogpost is on that trip.
Location and other details about the route:
Hotel Bangriposi is very much accessible on Google map and can be checked here.
From Kolkata, I suggest having the first stop at Kolaghat for some food. And after that, it’s a straight road. You will come across Kharagpur, Lodhashuli, and then finally Bangriposi. There are very very few hotels there and this small hamlet suddenly will pop out of nowhere on your right-hand side. It’s a fantastic drive to Bangriposi hotel and in fact, one of the best that I’ve driven in recent times. Maybe another bike ride is due sometime soon.
Ipshita warned us… : “Indrajit da, it’s a property with very very basic facilities” and that probably made it special. There is a large bungalow and a couple of single cottages. The entire bungalow can be rented at 2200/- per night with three rooms (one four bedded, one three bedded and one double bedded rooms) and one dining area. No AC, but there is a western toilet system with a hand faucet- much needed. Hot water was supplied in buckets and you can definitely carry your own immersion heater.
As the property is bang on the highway, you just need to sit in the open area and enjoy the beauty of doing nothing. for data connectivity, the Jio connection works fine, and call connectivity is pretty decent.
The food at Bangriposi Hotel
Rather, I feel I should talk about the food at Bangriposi Hotel. It’s all home-cooked. The caretaker family takes care of it. There’s a package with 400/- per head per day for all three meals and a few rounds of liquor tea. They serve luchi-sabzi / roti-sabzi and eggs in the breakfast and obviously, we went for the first option. And I must say, the tribal family had been trained quite well to on the Bengali palate. The aloo torkari was mind-blowing- just like home- a slight dose of runniness and with the pampering of nigella seeds- damn good.
they serve egg/ fish for lunch and chicken for dinner. Of course, you can upgrade to chicken on both the meals for a little extra cost and we had it. Like the typical village homestays, they had cage-free chicken and the meat itself elevated the cooking. Rice, dal, one fritter, sabzi, and chicken- that’s the standard menu for lunch and the same was fir dinner. But we opted for roti or Parota for dinner.
And the interesting part…
The interesting food part is yet to come at Hotel Bangriposi. For a nominal amount, the family can serve some Grilled chicken in the evening. It’s 200/- for half KG and 350/- for one kg. Chicken marinated with the basic stuff- salt, lemon, curd, and red chilly powder. Don’t go by the unattractive burnt color. Looks can be deceptive. 9 of us finished 3 kg chicken in no time. Mahua can be bought and the best local quality is priced at 150/- per ltr. The combo of grilled chicken and mahua+ 7-up is simply a pair, made in heaven.
The beauty of this place is simply the art of doing nothing. You need to forget about the city and relax. Kids can enjoy the company of their local friends, a couple of friendly dogs, and a goat family. My son learned the art of climbing a tree from his friends there and quite enjoyed it. For grown-ups (so-called), there is mahua and some books or/ and music- to be carried.
And the tea-shop outside Bangriposi Hotel
Just outside the hotel, there is this tea shop run by Sanjay da and his wife. And it’s a quite busy shop. The offering is quite basic- tea and local snacks- idli (with ghoogni), fritters (with ghoogni) and vada (again with ghoogni)- all for 5/- a piece. All served hot. The view from the shop is fantastic- rather, soothing is the right word here. You need to occupy your place on the bench, sip on the endless glasses of tea and just do nothing.
Local sight-seeing at Bangriposi
There are a few tourist circuits which can be covered at Bangriposi and local cars are there to serve you. And your hotel can arrange for the same. We took the Bolero from the hotel authority- Bablu@ 8763200392. He was the same guy who got us our dose of mahua in the evening.
- Simlipal forest tour- it’s a full day trip and for one full car, it should cost around 4000/-
- Brahmakund and NE Dam- We went for the half-day trip and the car cost us around 1400
- Other two dams- Recommended for some sunset shooting. The trip had cost us around 1400/- for the full car
Finally…
Bangriposi is still not infested with tourists and that’s the good part., There are very few hotels, thus keeping the rustic charm alive. Please check the details below for your booking and do let me know your experience. And if you’re too keen on tasting the Oriya Chhenapora, you can find some (basic stuff) at the below sweet shops at Bangriposi market.
- hotel link: http://bangriposi.com/
- Contact Number: Subhro@ 9831309512 / amit@ 6291377154
- Rate: 2200/- for the three-roomed bungalow and food to be billed separately
Bon Appetit !!!
I can be reached at indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com
2 comments
I feel like going there right away. But I am still awaiting my second dose of COVID vaccine. But this will be on the to-do list most definitely.
Good and informative post. But I would like to know why in odhisa the vada, idli, upma is being served with ghugni, most of the places in odhisa it is same. Is it because they share border with andhra and that’s why vada with ghugni or idli with ghugni is the the result of this mixed culture????.