Junput - A Forgotten Haven

Have you heard of Junput? Not before now? Then, read along and discover Junput through my eyes! Before, I tell you about this awesome place, let me start with a brief prelude.

Back in the late 1970’s and early 80’s the Govt. of West Bengal had decided to develop Junput as a sea-side tourist hub, but due to some local objections the location was shifted to Digha. In the last quarter of a century, Digha has gradually prospered into a popular coastal retreat for vacationers from across India and Junput, on the other hand, remained in isolation for all these years.

If you want to spend a few days at a location that’s remote and lonely, there could be no better place than Junput. Once I landed at Junput Bazaar, a 45 min bumpy trekker ride from Contai Bus Stand, I could see a distant stretch of casuarinas, which hinted that I’m near to the coastline. I boarded at Junput resort and shared the room with my travel partner and dear friend Anjan. 

[Photo: Nature & Life at Junput]

Now, I must tell you about Junput Resort, our address for 2 days. To put it simply, the resort was our “home away from home”, and I’m not exaggerating! Junput Resort is spread across a few acres of lush green field. What will strike you first after entering the resort is its pond (almost 500-600 Mt. in stretch); a brick-paved path will lead you to the gates of a 2 storey villa “Urbasi”. There are over 25 rooms (both a/c and non a/c rooms are available, with attached bathroom and English toilets) in the building and each room has a balcony, facing a bigger pond just outside the resort’s perimeter and surrounded by coconut palm and casuarinas. You can spend an entire day at the balcony itself listening to nature. The resort has an open air eatery, having enough space for 10-12 people to dine together. The manager and his associates were very friendly and they served us well. There are even 2 resident canines and they seemed more than eager to be friends with guests!

On the day of our arrival (we took the Howrah-Tamralipta Superfast Express at 6.40 am and arrived at Junput Resort by 11am) we had no clue as to where we should head out to. Before this trip we did some research and found out some nearby places of attraction – Dariapur Lighthouse, Petuaghat Fishery/Harbor, Bankiput beach, the famed Kapalkundala Temple etc, were on our list. After a sumptuous lunch we headed out to Haripur. Our guide was Akhtar Hossain, a local whom we met at Junput Bazaar. Akhtar agreed to be our guide and carried us on his Trolley-van (tricycle).  By the way, trolley-van is the chief mode of transport in this remote village, the other being trekkers, but it’s almost impossible to get into one as all are overloaded with commuters.

Haripur is 7-8 KMs from Junput. The place was once marked as a probable site for setting up a nuclear power generation center by the Govt. of India, but later, due to locals’ objection the plan was cut short midway. You could see vast stretch of land leveled; most probably ground work for the project was started and later halted. After crossing a muddy stretch of 1 and a half kilometers we came to an open field lined by casuarinas in the distance. From there we could hear the rumbling sea waves.

                                                    [photo: Haripur Beach]

The sandy sea beach is unique. The reason I say it ‘unique’ is due to its loneliness and remoteness. Not a single soul was seen as far as we could see. It’s a virgin beach!! In Digha or Mandarmoni you would see garbage lying here and there, but not in Haripur! There’s no one to be found! Hence, no littering; it seemed we are in some foreign land! Another attraction of Haripur beach is the beach population. Yes, the sandy stretch seemed overpopulated with red crabs!! We went there during the late afternoon hours and it seemed that it was time for the crabs’ evening walk. Hundreds (if not thousands) of red crabs dotted the sandy coastline...Some crawling out of water and into their sandy underground refuge by the coastline while others seemed busy strolling along the watery edge and enjoying the sunset! As far as I could see, the coast was speckled with red dots!

On the next day, we’re greeted by drizzle and occasional downpour; the weather remained like this for the rest of the day. Notwithstanding, we set out for Bankiput, Dariapur and Petuaghat, total 38 KMs (19 KMs x 2) up and down of a part bumpy-part smooth road trip on Akhtar’s tricycle.

Our first stop was Bankiput. The coastline here is under continuous threat from the sea, and hence reinforced concrete, boulders and heavy granite chips have been dumped all along the Bankiput coastline. Unlike Haripur, there is no sandy beach in Bankiput. The weather turned stormy by the time we reached Bankiput and the sea looked ominous with waves threatening to strike us from even quite a few hundred yards away! But, the virgin beauty of this isolated place is beyond words! A few fisherman coves were seen dotting the Bankiput coastline and off course, not a single soul could be seen as far as our eyes would go! 

                                                             [photo: Bankiput & Dariapur Sea-front]

Next stop Dariapur. The place is linked with noted novelist and literary genius Bankim Chandra Chattopadhayay. It is believed that as a civil servant, he spent his early career in this region as an administrator, representing the British masters of that time. There, he was impressed by the history of one local temple of Goddess Kali that was believed to have been worshiped by pirates and later became a hub for Tantriks or Mystics. Also, there was a widespread rumor of human-sacrifices being carried out in the past by Tantriks inside the temple altar. The famed novella “Kapalkundala” was penned by Bankim Chandra in that setting, hence the temple is known popularly as Kapalkundala Temple. Sadly enough, nothing significant remains of it today! We saw 2 temples at the spot, one was a Kali temple built with local patronage (a recent addition) and the other an old temple, probably of Lord Shiva, being restored. The original temple of Kapalkundala was almost half a kilometer away inside a nearby village. We visited the place and found that restoration work was in progress. Talking to masons and laborers, who were working at the site, we came to know that restoration work had started 2 months back and that they were asked to plaster the walls with cement!! The brick-walled, terracotta figurines (of whatever is still left) would get damaged permanently once, lime and cement are applied on it! 
But, who would listen?? (*sigh)

                                   [Kapalkundala , Bankim Smriti Mandir & local temples]

Dariapur Lighthouse was our next stop. A black and white striped structure stood erect before our eyes rising nearly a hundred meters. The lighthouse at Dariapur is the only functional lighthouse in this part of the Bay of Bengal coastline. Sadly enough, the gates were closed for visitors when we arrived there. (The lighthouse gates open only after 4pm every day). Hence, we couldn’t venture inside or climb atop the spiral to catch a glimpse of the surrounding...Our bad luck!

                                                      [Photo: Dariapur Lighthouse]

Petuaghat Fishing Harbour: Deshapran Fisheries (a Govt. of West Bengal undertaking) inaugurated in 2005, is the nerve center of this coastal hamlet. It’s a place where thousands of fish-trawlers harbor, load oil barrels, pack ice (for preserving fish) and load supplies for their next fishing trip after unloading their catch, which are then sent for sale all over India and beyond. The Jetty is located where Rasulpur River meets the Bay of Bengal. In the distance, the vast expanse of water seemed interrupted by two prominent islands. A local confirmed the places to be Khejuri and Hijli. The fishery looked an ever busy place with hundreds of fishermen attending to their various duties. Not a single person was seen idling. Fishing is a man’s trade but then women are also involved in fishing and selling of the catch, but here inside Petuaghat Fishery Harbour it seemed that it is a ‘strictly for men’ territory!

We returned from Petuaghat at around 3 pm and had a sumptuous lunch with fresh ‘tiger prawn’ curry and rice at the resort. We lazed all evening, while I was busy tuning my world receiver, my friend became engrossed in poetry. Late evening snacks with chicken pakora and tea refreshed us once again and an extended session of adda followed with the hotel manager and an attendant. We came to know many things about the place (some of it I have already penned in the prelude). Among others Sahadeb’s (the caretaker) first-hand experience at sea, when he was young and spent 3 months in a fishing trawler, amazed me.

[Photo: Deshapran Fishing Harbour at Petuaghat]

Life at sea for a fisherman is cruel and at times unforgiving, but then, people here are more accustomed to a maritime livelihood. Even our friend and guide Akhtar talked about his experience in sea at some point in his life. Listening to him was an experience in itself. The betel-leaf chewing man, in his mid-forties, would come across as a lanky figure with an unmistakable rustic accent. But, beyond his physical appearance here was a man with a heart of gold. He didn’t know us, neither did we, yet within this short time he became our travel partner; he put a hold to his day-job of carrying logs from the coastline to log-merchants, for an entire day, just to be our guide! No amount of monetary payment is enough to equate and praise Akhter bhai’s selflessness and modesty. I lost my sandals at Bankiput in the sea while dillydallying in the waves. Akhtar offered his slippers to me for an entire day and he traveled, cycled, barefoot and wouldn’t wear them back, even on my insistence. He stayed barefoot till late evening that day when he accompanied me to a shoe-vendor at Junput Bazaar. Meeting such a great person has reinstated my faith in humanity.

Travelling to Junput was by far one of the best tour decisions of my life. Before the trip we were apprehensive about the place. I came across 2 reviews in a travel forum and both spoke badly about the resort and the place. Even, one of the reviewer went to the extent of calling it a ‘’haunted place”! But, I would say, all of these reviews are bogus. My two pence – You must visit Junput. Once you’re there please travel to Haripur beach. Junput Resort is an absolute haven to one who has been long in city pent!

Photo Courtesy : Anjan Banerjee & Rajdeep Das