10:15AM

​The City of Joy is under a dense cloud cover – a blue sky and white clouds are being sorely missed. Despite the onset of autumn, a rather untimely depression has brought on legitimate fears of our beloved Durga Puja being a total washout. As the rain slows down to a drizzle, you take a left turn from Science City onto Basanti Highway. Your destination for the weekend is just 30KM away.

​11AM

​You’ve crossed Ghatakpukur 10 minutes back, and now it’s time to take a right turn onto Deuli-Ghatakpukur Road. You can tell that you’re getting closer to your rustic getaway by the change in the quality of the road. However, it’s not far. Just 1.7KM down this path, you come across a sign that proudly suggests that your destination is just a few hundred meters away.

By now, the rain has almost stopped. As you pull into the driveway of the property, the first thing that strikes you is the greenery all around. It is as if the rains have washed away all the dust and dirt from the leaves, leaving resplendent surroundings.

As you complete the check-in process and move into your cottage, you cannot help but admire the surroundings. The homely mud huts with thatched roofs seem very appealing. Yet, despite appearances, the cottages have sufficient amenities for your comfort.

2PM

It has been raining for the past hour or so now. You can see the water slowly dripping off the straws with vibrant green paddy fields in the background.

It is now time for a scrumptious Bengali lunch – bhaat, daal, ucche bhaja, saak bhaja, jhinge-alu-posto, chatni, papad, misti. (Non-veg items are a-la-carte and you can order from a choice of kosha mangsho, lau-chingri, echor-chingri, and an assortment of fishes. The only catch is that you have to place the order for lunch the day before your trip so that they can make appropriate arrangements.)

After lunch, like the typical Bengali, you can take a well-deserved nap in the cozy bed, or sit in the balcony and watch the rain clouds float by whilst listening to songbirds chirp away.

​5PM

As the sun begins to set, you can see the clouds slowly clearing in the distance, and specks of blue appearing amidst the swathes of grey. Slowly the sky lights up a bright orange in the west before dusk sets in. The combination of orange-gold against a backdrop of grey above a sea of green is somehow very relaxing and refreshing.

10PM

​Having spent the evening chatting away with friends and family it is time for dinner. A similar rustic, home-cooked meal is waiting for you. Once again you get to enjoy the simple yet tasty Bengali food - – bhaat, daal, alu bhaja, sabji and kosha mangsho. Post dinner, you can choose to spend some time on your favorite book before you fall asleep.

​9AM

​You are woken up early in the morning by the chirping of the songbirds. It provides you a great opportunity to walk around and breathe in the fresh, unpolluted morning air.You can see the pet ducks roaming around between the cottages – their periodic quacking adds to feeling of being close to nature, something that we so dearly miss in the hustle and bustle of our city lives.