A Ford EcoSport in front suddenly braked after seeing some potholes and my Nissan stopped in no time without any fuss and maintaining its straight-line stability.
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On 27th July, while returning home from a client’s party, near Dhalai Bridge crossing, I noticed bhpian Dibya da’s (cdibya) Red Magnite passing by. Nevertheless, he saw my car and we stopped near a roadside tea stall. Dibya da told me about the road trip being planned for 26th August to Muktadhara Nature Resort in Ghatshila and he told me that I should take my car. My car has run very less, over the last two years and it would be a perfect opportunity to fully utilize the performance of the turbo petrol engine. I decided that I will go on the road trip. Bhpians Amitendra Da (SchrodingersCar) and Arindom Da (Nomadiclife) were organizers of the whole trip.
The next day, I paid advance to Amitendra da and booked my slot. In the meanwhile, it was decided that Dibya da (cdibya) would break the news on Independence Day in our Teambhp WB Whatsapp Group. Soon the D Day came and Dibya da made the announcement. All the members were very happy to hear about me joining the road trip with them.
On 25th Aug, after office work, I went and filled petrol in the car since we had to start early. I was really excited about the road trip. On 26th Aug morning, I left home around 7am to meet Dibya da (cdibya) near the Pepsi manufacturing plant.
That’s me waiting to start the trip from home
Waiting for Dibya da near the Pepsi plant
From there we passed through the EM Bypass and from Avishikta More crossing we took Anwar Shah Connector and reached IOCL Uma Service Station where Bhpain Atamu da (edunata) was waiting for me. I picked up Atanu da and we moved towards Golpark where Bhpians Debdeep da (Dip27in) and Sashwat Da were waiting in the latter’s Mitsubishi Pajero. Bhpian Debdeep da (Dip27in) was indeed very happy to see me joining this trip.
Before I forget to tell you, we were accompanied by a very special guest in Dibya da’s (cdibya) Red Magnite, Shantigopal, a very cute and friendly Labrador.
Around 8am all of us proceeded towards AHD Uluberia for breakfast. Soon we crossed AJC Bose Road Flyover and took Vidyasagar Setu. It was drizzling lightly and being Saturday morning the roads weren’t crowded. Just after crossing the toll plaza at Vidyasagar Setu, was our first meeting with Bhpians- Subhasish (ron82x3), Abhishek Da (ABHI_1512), Pawan Da (PapaBravo).
We exchanged greetings and then proceeded towards AHD Uluberia. In the meanwhile, traffic has slowly started piling up at Kona Expressway and we managed to cut them off by using the bylanes.
Our White Beauty in action, image courtesy Abhishek Da (ABHI_1512)
We took NH 16 from Kona Expressway and I was following Sashwat da’s Pajero. After entering NH 16, we decided to floor our cars, and I also floored my Magnite.
Our White Beauty passing by Dibya da’s Red Magnite, also seen is Abhishek da’s Ford Ecosport fondly named as Bahon, pic taken by Debdeep da (Dip27in)
The drive was becoming an enthusiastic one as soon Subhashis (ron82x3) in his Ford Ecosport S Diesel started going ahead. Our Magnite was at its sweet spot, its instant thrust from its turbo petrol unit made sure that it was at ease with fellow members’ cars. I was driving above 80kmph and soon we reached AHD Uluberia where other bhpians especially from the Northern part of Kolkata were waiting for us.
AHD Uluberia was packed on Saturday morning and there I met fellow bhpians- Sumanta Da (Neversaygbye), Niladri Da (Mile_Breaker) Rhitobrata (HornNot Ok Please ), our beloved Billu Da aka Arindom Da (Nomadiclife), Kousik (Kousikjana) Dyutimoy (Mountain_Deep) Ananyo da (Breathe2drive ) Soumyadeep (Apollo_1999 ) Subhradeep (HORSEPOWER), Subhro (Tacho9000). We also met Bhpian Meethun Da (Mi2N) who just came to AHD Uluberia to say hi to all of us.
Debdeep Da (Dip27in) soon ordered breakfast comprising of Chicken Bharta, Butter Tandoori Roti and Dal Makhni and Coffee. Debdeep Da as usual was very jovial and cracked hilarious jokes which made everyone laugh out of their wits.
Debdeep Da clicking my pic
One of the group pics at AHD Uluberia
After breakfast, we did some group photo shoots. Soumyadeep also took some photos of our guest Shantigopal and also pics of White Beauty with his camera.
Group photo at AHD Uluberia
Yours truly with his Magnite Turbo, image courtesy – Soumyadeep
Soon, we started our journey towards Ghatshila around 11am. The route we all took was Kolaghat- Kharagpur City Bypass- NH49- Baharagora- Kokpara Toll- Dhalbhumgarh- Bara Juri Road.
I was maintaining a steady speed of 80 kmph and near Kharagpur Chowringee Round About, I lost my way. Instead of crossing the roundabout straight, I went towards Kharagpur town, but sooner I realized that I made a mistake and stopped the car and called Dibya da (cdibya), who told me to take a U-turn and take the left from the roundabout to continue the journey.
After crossing into Jharkhand, I noticed the roads were a bit better compared to the ones in West Bengal plus there were no haphazardly placed barricades near crossings as seen in West Bengal.
Stopping somewhere in Jharkhand for a photoshoot
After crossing Kokpara Toll, Atanu da (edunata) sat in the driver’s seat. Atanu da liked the brisk pickup of Magnite Turbo and soon he was at ease with the car, clocking some high speeds in no time. This was also the first time our White Beauty was driven at such high speeds.
The car performed well and was stable at that high speed too. There was a panic braking situation though when a Ford Ecosport in front suddenly braked after seeing some potholes and our White Beauty stopped in no time without any fuss maintaining its straight-line stability. Soon we crossed our surprise guest Shuvsee da’s (Shuvc) Mitsubishi Pajero.
With Shuvsee da and Subhro
After crossing some distance we took a right turn towards a small road which took us through the rural part of Jharkhand to Mukhtadhara Resort. It was a 3km narrow road through a village.
All of us reached the place around 1.30pm and stopped for a photo session and then continued our journey in a convoy of 14 cars. Muktadhara Resort is a beautiful resort situated amidst nature in Jharkhand. There was a small river following next to our resort.
Muktadhara Resort
Small stream flowing next to our resort
Our cars at the resort
The staff members allocated our rooms and then all of us freshened up and went straight ahead for lunch. The lunch comprised of delectable Bengali delicacies like Alu Posto, Moong Dal, Alu Bhaja, Mutton Curry, Chutney, Papad. The food quality and taste was amazing especially the lip-smacking mutton curry. Having detected with cholesterol some days back, all fellow bhpians were keeping an eye on me if I took more mutton or not than what was given to me.
After a hearty lunch, we went to our rooms to rest for some time since it was decided that we would visit Burudi Dam around 5pm. Little did I know that things will be totally different than what I had thought. To know more, continue reading…
Debdeep da, Subhasish, Amitendra Da and others were chatting in our room and I went to the washroom to freshen up. I came out and saw all of them suddenly left the room and couldn’t find my car key. I immediately understood something must be cooking in their minds… I came out of the room and didn’t find my car which was parked in front of our guest house. Nevertheless, I asked some fellow bhpians about my car and they said they didn’t know anything.
While I was in the room, fellow bhpians clicked pics with White Beauty
That’s Subhasish ((ron82x3) sitting on top of the bonnet
With a heavy heart, I sat in Rhitobrata’s Maruti XL6 and all of us went to the nearby Burudi Dam which was 12 kms away from Muktadhara Resort. While going towards the dam, I had a partial glimpse of my car parked near the newly constructed guest houses and alerted everyone but everyone said nothing was there.
I was sad that I couldn’t click a photo of White Beauty at Burudi Dam. But still, we clicked group pics at the site. By that time it was slowly getting dark and we decided to head back to the resort.
Our cars
Burudi Dam
While returning to our guest house, I couldn’t see my car which I had previously seen near an under-construction site. In the evening, our beloved Billu da & Amitendra Da had arranged for lip-smacking snacks comprising of French fries, chicken pakoda, veg pakoda, fish finger and magic items comprising of butter masala corn, chicken seekh kebabs.
Evening Snacks
The evening saw bhpians performing to some top Bollywood numbers like Kajra Re. Billu da, Subhradeep, Kousikjana, enthralled the audience with their dance. It was a fun-filled evening yet our White Beauty hadn’t been found by then !!
We had a nice homely dinner comprising of Roti, Daal Fry, Paneer, Country Chicken Curry, Chutney and Rossogolla. Some of the guests at the resort were very happy to see Shantigopal, the cute rockstar of our road trip.
As the night passed, I became worried and started frantically searching for the car but it was nowhere to be found. I began asking every bhpian if they had seen my car but they said no. I kept asking Debdeep da who said that it was parked very safely and I could make out it was his master plan to hide my car.
Amidst this another development was happening, bhpian Soumyadeep’s Baleno car was unlocked while he was sleeping and some of the members opened the bonnet and removed the fuses from the fuse box and kept it carefully inside the glovebox of his car.
At around 12am Debdeep da, handed over my car keys which were hidden in Subhro’s Maruti 800 and told me to search for the vehicle. Me along with Koushik went to search the vehicle and after pressing the keys in the remote, noticed the indicators flashing inside a nursery. Little did I know that fellow bhpians had parked my vehicle carefully inside a nursery within the resort and covered the area with blue coloured nets so that white Magnite is not visible in the dark. Must say Debdeep da’s planning and execution was top-notch.
After getting back to my car, I was relieved and went to sleep.
The next day woke up around 7.30am and then went for a morning drive on the highway in our White Beauty with bhpian Soumyadeep and Ananyo Da. Both of them drove my car and appreciated the pick-up of the turbo petrol engine. While returning, we did a small photoshoot with White Beauty.
Photoshoot of White Beauty
Since it was a Sunday, we saw other guests coming to the resort. Our breakfast comprised of Lunchi (poori), Alu Dam, Boiled Egg/Omelette and Bread.
Fellow bhpians at breakfast
After breakfast, we decided to get ready to return to Kolkata. After freshening up, I found one of my shoes missing. Again I searched throughout the room but couldn’t find it. Again I went and asked Debdeep da and he again gave a witty smile. I knew he had hidden it. After some search, it was found inside a paper bag.
After a group photo, we set again for our return journey to Kolkata around 11am.
Group pic
While some of the members went to Burudi Lake while others continued their journey towards Kolkata. I was following Subhro (Tacho9000). Both of us refueled our cars for the rest of the journey. I followed Subhro for a considerable part of the return leg till Baharagora. I was driving all alone and was maintaining a speed of 75-80kmph. The return drive was an uneventful one. Reached Kolaghat where I was asked by some members to book seats at Aminia. Being a Sunday, Aminia was packed and there was a huge queue outside. I also checked out Express Food Plaza which was also packed with people. In the meanwhile bhpian Abhishek da (ABHI_1512) came and told me to follow him to Abhijit Hotel which was around 1 km from Aminia. Followed him there, being a Sunday, we were lucky to get car parking and ordered Mutton Biriyani, Mutton Kasha and Chicken Kebabs. Abhishek da was accompanied by Devarsi (DevOnWheels). Soon other bhpians came and after lunch, we had a small photo session once again.
Final photo session at Abhijit Hotel
While returning home, I was energized after having lunch and drove quite enthusiastically. I was following Bhpian Sumanta Da who was driving his Red Tata Indica Vista D90 and I was followed by Subhasish’s Ecosport which was driven by Subhradeep. Being a Sunday traffic was building up towards the city and it was already past 5pm. I reached home around 6.30pm. Our White Beauty covered a total of 513kms and had used 23 litres of petrol thereby giving an overall mileage of around 22kmpl.
Before signing off, I want to thank Dibya da once again for encouraging me to make this trip and special thanks to Amitendra Da & Arindom Da for arranging such a wonderful trip. And last but not least, thank you Debdeep da for filling in the fun factor in the trip by hiding my car and my shoes. It was indeed a memorable road trip.
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