Kashmir of Orissa(Odisha)- Daringbadi

There are very few places on which I have written and have found absolutely no problem in finding a Title. Daringbadi is one of those few places which is synonymous with the word Kashmir. Way back in schooling days , my mom would read out an article from Sunday edition of Sambad that would feature a tourist place in the Travel Section. Daringbadi was covered once under this section. My mom started “ Kashmir of Orissa- Daringbadi” and by the end of the article I asked when are we going to enjoy snowfall at Daringbadi. Being a kid, I imagined a place full of tall, snow peaked mountains lined with Pine Trees and spotted with ultramarine blue lakes. I was a kid then and twenty years later I got an opportunity to visit the Kashmir of Orissa.


On the Ghat towards Daringbadi

I hate and hesitate to state myself as a Tourist and actually I was not there as a Tourist. Baliguda had been made our base for exploring the Kotagarh Sanctuary. Waiting to get a permit at DFO’s office in Baliguda for visiting Kotagarh Sanctuary in Phulbani, me and my good friend Dasa decided to venture into the Hills of Daringbadi. Couple of years back when I was working in Kansbahal, I had tried to book a room at Daringbadi, but with vain. Virtually I have read each and every page on net related to Daringbadi. As per various sources and infact as per Govt of Orissa’s official website there is Yatri Nivas of OTDC at Daringbadi. I would have almost tried thousand of times at the mentioned phone number but I guess all attendants must have been busy attending Guests. Later on sipping a cup of Tea at Sabat Tea Stall in Baliguda during the current trip, I was told by one of the localites that same response everyone who call on that number gets. Many times even complaint has been registered with the Collector. So if you are planning to go to Daringbadi then better do your bookings at Baliguda. It’s some 40 odd kms from Daringbadi and is convenient from every point of view.


On the Top...Picturesque


Pine forests of Daringbadi

We hurriedly left for Daringbadi from Baliguda but reassurances by our Driver Deba that road is good and we would take maximum one and half hour to reach the place brought some soothing effect to me and Dasa. The road to Daringbadi is picturesque and passes through some of the densest forests of Orissa. The forests are dotted with small hamlets of local tribes. These places were virtually burning couple of years back during the infamous Kandhamal Riots. But situation has changed a lot in the subsequent years. Though I would not say that everything is absolutely normal now but at least its far far better than those days when India’s Secularism status was being challenged by the world.


Life is so simple..


Common Livelihood

A typical tribal hut in this part of the world would be normally surrounded by patch of Mustard, Ginger or Pulses Fields making it a complete filmy wala setup. Pumpkins are grown on the roof. Scenes have been the same all across Phulbani wherever we have gone. Normally tribals over here are dependent on the forest produce . Collection of Mahua Flowers, Fire Wood & Bamboos is one of their sources of Income along with Agriculture. Talking of Mahua Flowers ,I can happily recall those wonderful days spent at Kansbahal. Sipping Mahuli (Mahua) , the intoxicating and divine liqueur in front of River Sankha near Mandira Dam has been one of the most unforgettable days of short but sweet stint at Kansbahal.

Nazar saaki par hain aur lab paimane par....
Dil hamara hai aaj fir kisi kay naishane par.....
Woh khaali pyla liye letein hein kabr mein apni...
Kehte hein sharab milegi jannat ke aane par...
By Unknown

Coming back to the present, we reached Simonbadi enroute Daringbadi. This road that branches out from Baliguda towards Simanbarhi again bifurcates to Daringbadi and Raikia. By the way Simonbadi ( Simanbarhi) is no way related to the swashbuckling opener of West Indies Phil Simons. There are churches all around and Christians are in majority in these areas. Also recently these areas are being frequented by Naxals. After Simanbarhi, the vegetation changed drastically as we soon climbed a ghat. My expectations soon would be crashed. We had reached the Final Ghat before Daringbadi. There were no snow peaked peaks or frozen lakes. I was expecting a drastic drop in temeperature but it was not to be. There was a pine forest but these are actually plantation done by the Horticulture Department. My childhood dreams of Daringbadi had crashed. Daringbadi is no doubt beautiful but kindly don’t expect too much. It’s a wonderful small hamlet surrounded by mustard fields and turmeric plantations. Situated on a height of 3200 ft above sea level, Daringbadi has been famous once upon a time for receiving snowfall. Hence “Kashmir” was tagged to it. These days minimum temperature dips to almost freezing point in Decembers but there is hardly any snowfall. So please come with some less expectations and you would see a better place than Mahabaleswar or Panchagani which are no doubt beautiful but too much crowd from Mumbai and Pune has ruined their beauty. Clouds had literally formed a thin cover over the fields and the whole town of Daringbadi looked like a beautiful small sleepy town in the script of Ruskin Bond. As we parked our vehicle and moved in the streets of the town there was nip and bite in the air because of a slight drizzle that had taken place some time back. It has a small bus stand from where one can also get direct bus to places like Bhubaneswar and Berhampur. I didn’t want to miss this wonderful opportunity of looking at the small town setup. People would come with their produce from small villages to the top of plateau where some local selling would happen and the rest would be bought by crooked agents who would brand it and sell in cities. Thats the reason you would very often hear things like “ Asali Kandhamal Haladi” meaning real Kandhamal Turmeric. Turmeric has been one of the primary flag bearers of products of Kandhamal over the years. You want to see the real essence of Orissa ( Odisha) leave Bhubaneswar & Cuttack and travel through the tribal hinterlands of Kandhamal in Belghar and Daringbadi. There is so much to see and experience. Experience of seeing colourful & tattooed faces of Kotia Kandhas. There is so much simplicity attached to them. Their life starts and ends here, in this land of Kandhas. Now also the Dasari or the black magician in the village predicts when rain god will endow his blessings on the village and sowing would begin. Very few patients have seen the door of the hospital. Here village baida(vet) cures every illness present in the world starting from Cancer to Erectile Dysfunction. They have not seen the outside world. For them life begins with collection of Mahuli Flowers and ends with thumping beats of Madal and rhythmic steps of Ghumura.




After a very short visit to the Coffee Garden in the town, my hunger pangs had become turbulent. We tried to find out an Eatery but there are very few over in Daringbadi. Luckily we found out the best one. Being the only decent place , it seemed whole of the town had turned up in the small place. But wait was fruitful. We got the Lunch packed and started towards Baliguda and didn’t want to miss any opportunity of having the food amidst the greenery of forests, chirping of birds and the beauty of Phulbani. We stopped after Simanbarhi . The road was devoid of any traffic and smoothness of the tar of the road served as our dining table. What an experience?? Flavour of Desi chicken had been well preserved in the packet made out of Water Lily leaves. Dasa bhaina and the Driver volunteered to unpack everything and distribute amongst the three hungry stake holders. Shrewd Dasa didn’t miss the opportunity and selected all the good pieces for himself. For next 15 minutes we turned strangers and everyone was competing with each other in gulping down the amazing gourmet.


A typical House of local tribe...self sustainance


Hungry Jackals..Dasa(in background) and Driver

By evening we were back in Baliguda. Another superb and satisfying day spend in the Tribal Heartlands of Kandhamal. If you are planning to visit Daringbadi then be there in and around January to see the real beauty and experience the freezing points. Make Baliguda your base and try to come back before evening. Roads may not be that safe these days.

Exploring Tribal Hinterland-Chapter 2- Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary in Kalahandi

Very few sanctuaries in India have name that is so striking at the first go if you listen to the word itself. Karlapat gets its name from “Kalra Patria Bagha” meaning Tiger with stripes resembling Bitter Gourd leaves. As expected not much information available on the sanctuary and that makes it even more interesting as it is as if you are completely exploring the unexplored. Some one once asked me “ Satyesh..why don’t you go and explore so many other beautiful places outside Orissa”. “ This life is too short to even explore the divine and pristine beauty of Orissa” was my answer.
Sarath was waiting downstairs and first look at him gives an impression of a guy who is too simple, too scared to talk. But we were wrong. Had a quick bath and after travelling for fourteen hours in the bus, I was feeling sleepy. And more than me , I was feeling sorry for a laggard Dasa. Our journey for Karlapat was still not a surety for that day as I had not collected the permit at the DFO’s office. Anyways looking at the overcast condition, it was even looking more bleak. Already we were late. Without wasting any more time, we rushed to the DFO’s office. DFO was not there and he could not be reached on phone. Oh Gosh. This was the last thing that one would have wanted. But I pleaded in front of the Asst Conservator of Forest, Mr Mohanta. Everyone around were surprised that why someone is pleading so much for visiting a sanctuary that no one normally visits. And that too someone has come from as far as Pune to visit Karlapat. It was out of world imagination for them. Finally my pleading worked out. ACF asked me to give an application. He called the Ranger of Karlapat and informed him about the case. I was asked to meet him. His office was on the other side of the road. Natha babu was eagerly waiting to meet this weird character who had come to visit Karlapat. I was to write an undertaking stating that I will be solely responsible if any untoward incident happens inside the sanctuary. Felt little bit sceptical that why I am being asked to write so. Are there any Maoists inside? Are there overflowing rivers inside because of torrential rains or what might be the case? Finally we were given permission. Sarath , our driver drove us to a stall for Breakfast. There begun our saga for the praise of Breakfast available at various places in Kalahandi and Phulbani. I mean the breakfast comprising Alu Chop ( deep fried Mashed potatoe inside a coating of flour), Bara (deep fried balls of lentils),Singhada ( Samosa) with watery but spicy Ghughuni ( spicy Lentil curry) is just amazing and mouth watering. The essence of this breakfast increases even more when they are served in plates made out of leaves and with fried chillies.We just went on gulping down as much as Baras as possible. With no hope of lunch in near future,we got an excuse to have a heavy breakfast. Bought some mineral water bottles as our good friend Sarath told that by even drinking water at Karlapat you will be surely greeting Malaria. Anyways forests in Orissa are known to be heavens for female Anopheles. Karlapat is situated around 30kms from Bhawanipatna on the Thuamul Rampur road. It was still cloudy and there was spine in air. Our good well mannered driver Sarath suddenly changed his tone and opened up. He was married and had two daughters .When asked about their education, he accepted that there was no point in sending them to school. Ultimately getting married is what they should be aiming at. Within no time we reached the gates of Karlapat Sanctuary. Wow…finally I was there. Stopped for a moment and took pics.


Entry to Karlapat Sanctuary

This was the place about which I had only heard and had some vague information. We enquired about Bagha Majhi at the first forest check gate and were told that he would be at the Phurli Jharan waterfalls which was just 5kms ahead and a stones throw away from the road. This gate closes down during the night because of animal crossings. But I am not sure about this thing as I didn’t see any board which said so. We proceeded towards Phurali Jaharan Waterfalls. Gushing sounds of the waterfall greeted us. But soon I was disappointed to see so many Beer cans thrown near the falls. Luckily no one was there at the falls. Or else this has been a favourite spot for all the Picnic goers of this region. Groups come over here to booze and go back , hardly aware that there lies a treasure nearnby in form of Karlapat Sanctuary famous once for Tigers. No more Tigers are there. I mean we have heard that there are tigers but I have never come across any report or writeup which says that there are still tigers present in the Sanctuary. As usually our faiku ( reminds me of Salim Faiku of local Hyderabadi Comedy Movie Angrez) Sarath roped in with his unwanted ideas. Let me tell you we were actually believing him for whatever he was telling until the next day when we realised that he was a great faiku. As per Sarath he had read in the local news papers that somedays back a Female Tiger has been sighted in the sanctuary along with its cubs. Our excitement grew and I was just roaring to venture into the core area of the sanctuary. Suddenly a forest guard came running from no where and gave us a Salaam. He mistook us for some forest babu. Then later told us that Bagha waould be there at jacom Forest Guest House at Jacom.After staying for another 10 minutes or so at the waterfalls, we left for Jacom.

Phurali Jharan Waterfalls


On the way , I felt little depressed to find out that rampant poaching is still going on. Some of the poachers were captured last year for killing a huge tusker. They were captured after that and were released with absolute ease. Many times Tigers have crossed roads as per Sarath. As the tlks were going on suddenly Sarath took a left turn from the main road on a Dirt road and soon I could see the guest house of Jacom. It is a typical forest dept type guest house but striking difference is that it is made out of wooden logs giving is a posh English look. Soon Bagha came out and greetings were exchanged. He looked like a typical Adivasi with curly hair and big twinkling eyes. Bhagha must have been in his mid fifties. Another guard Sitaram Munda also joined us. These two have been manning the Jacom Post since last so many years. They already had finished their lunch by that time. We decided to take a stroll near by to do some birding. Came across Scarlet Minivets & Sunbirds of different types.


Jacom Guest House


Near Jacom Guest House


Map of Karlapat Sanctuary

A stream flows nearby Jacom FRH. A perfect place for doing birding. I was wondering that why I didn’t try little bit more to do the booking at Jacom. For all who are planning to visit Karlapat after reading this write up, please do your best to do the bookings at Jacom. It’s worth staying here for one night. Your senses would get revitalised once you sip down a cup of coffee with background music of flowing stream nearby. Don’t forget to bring in your own ration. These guards add up as cooks also. And let me tell you the food that they prepare is worth trying out. They have never disappointed me , be it Chamundia, Kuldiha, Debrigarh or Ushakothi to name a few. We decided to go to Karlapat Village which is deep inside the forest and about 18km fom Jacom. Bagha would accompany us for the trip and would guide us. Forests in Karlapat are absolutely a nature lover’s paradise.


Patal Garuda Plant- Ayurbedic Treatment for Snake Bites




It was absolutely fog and mist all around and weather was little bit dampening ,so were our spirits. Still just wanted to get drenched in absolute beauty of Karlapat. There are some villages inside which again is a bad sign for Wildlife conservation. No wonder once a heaven for Tigers does not boast any number today. Bagha has a lot of stories to tell and his one of the major complains is that these villagers are only to be blamed for this state of Karlapat. “They are the killers”,yells Bagha. Soon we reached the other end of the Sanctuary where anti poaching check post is there. We again took a left turn towards Karlapat village. Saw paddy fields all around . Every paddy field has a machan in the middle of the field. This is mainly to protect the fields against Elephants. During reaping season, Elephants come down from the deep forests in search of easy food and no doubt they face the wrath of villagers.

Saving Paddy Fields from Elephants

I don’t blame villagers for the same. Obviously they have been living in the forests for so long and it is just unwise on the part of the conservationists to demand there relocation and rehabilitation in matter of days. But yes if at all they are being relocated, it is also the duty of the conservationists to see that they are properly rehabilitated. It does not end with villages getting rehabilitated. For example take the case of Jenabil village of Similiplal. Jenabil was relocated to outside Similipal from the core area. How many people go and see the plight of people who have been relocated? Until and unless that support is extended over a period of time, not in form of money but rather in form of proper guidance regarding spending of that money, they would again revert to illegal wood cutting and poaching after some time. Agricultural land that is allocated for the relocated people if not good is going to create that uproar and unrest. Rehabilitation would also include schooling of kids and may be something like animal husbandry or honey bee cultivation. Then only the process of relocation is going to be successful over a period of time.
We took a walk along the Karlapat village . Had some time to gossip with one of the local farmers, Pradhan babu. He had never seen a tiger alive in the forest and he must have been of around 50 years age. That means all the tiger stories are lie and there are no tigers in the sanctuary. According to him there are leopards present and not the RBTs. He had once seen in his childhood a dead RBT. The kill was made as a part of the game trip of Raja of Dhenkanal. He would come on the invitation of raja of Karlapat and would be accompanied by Gora Sahebs. Tigers would be killed and the dead King of Jungles would lie down on the ground under the foots of the physically alive but morally dead Kings and Goras. That was only time when Pradhan babu had seen a tiger. I looked at Sarath. He turned away his face and started walking.

We came back to Jacom and on the way picked up some mudhi ( puffed rice), tea powder, some milk powder and sugar. “What if there is no Desi Chickjen today, we will have good cup of warm tea at Jacom made by Bagha. What do you say Bagha?”,I asked. Bagha had a big grin on his face.
As tea was getting prepared, I along with Dasa took a stroll along the banks of Karlapat River. Looking for birds on tree tops, suddenly my eye fell on something that brought tears instantly. Those tears were tears of joy and not sadness. And that something was actually pugmarks of Leopard.Oh gosh...Finally I saw signs of Big Cat in Karlapat. I could not stop staring at the Pugmarks. Perhaps the Leopard had been there in the wee hours for a round. I tried to find signs of scats but there were none. This sighting rejuvenated us and with all the energy back in our Mitochondrias , we did climb back to the Jacom Guest House where our good frinds were waiting for us with hot kettle of Tea.




Picturesque Karlapat River Bed

Sipping down a cup of tea, I sat with my good friend Bagha. The old man had so many stories to tell me. And it has been always a pleasure to hear the unedited stories from the horses mouths. These are people who have spend their whole life protecting the forests of India with a stick in hand and with a payment that some of the wild life conservationists spend on Pedigree of their Dogs. Some years back, he was cooking his supper in the evening, Bagha smelt something unusual coming from the window of his cottage. He got goose bumps and started praying to almighty. Tiger was just 10 feet away from Bagha separated by a wall which was not that strong. As per Bagha, he felt that he won’t be able to see his grand children any more. For whole one night Bagha stayed inside the room hoping some one would turn up and save him from the Tiger. Wireless was not working (that’s what is the case in most of the sanctuaries).Bagha survived. How can King of Jungle kill his poor saviour? At the break of the dawn Tiger vanished into the forests.
I needed another cup of tea .Munda joined the conversation. They both were on the verge of retirement. They both had protected the forests and its Tigers. Now in some years, they would be back in home along with their grand children and doing some farming. But these forests of Karlapat would always remember them for their relentless service and vigil. Life would be better in home back in Ampani, but sweet music of flowing water of Karlapat and the calls of Langurs won’t be there to wake them up. 40 years back they were strong and bones had strength. Aspirations of a better life led them to temporary watcher role in the forest department. Training on Forests and Wildlife were imparted at Angul. Salary at the end of the month provided the economic security. But in the process they have sacrificed their whole life spending in the Forests , away from home and family.


Saviour of our Tigers


My good Friends

As day came to a close, we hugged them and said good bye. Bagha with display of all his intact set of thirty two shining white teeth said “ Next time you come back, we will prepare mutton for you”. I could just wish for them that they stay happily and get adjusted to new life.

Exploring Tribal Hinterlands-Chapter 1- Bus Journey to Bhawanipatna

Saw excitement in eyes of fellow passengers going out on Diwali vacations to Orissa from Mumbai. I was little sad also as I had lied down to my Mom that I will be there in Orissa only for couple of Days during Diwali. But I was going to be there in Orissa for a complete week out of which 5 days I was going to roam about in those forests about which I had only heard from people, had never seen any photographs, never read anywhere.First sight of low flying clouds and a turbulent flight near skies of Bhubaneswar was enough to lower down one’s excitement of long awaited trip to Tribal hinterland of Kandhamal and Kalahandi. Had persuaded Dasa to accompany me on this trip and to my surprise this time he agreed looking at his taste of travelling and living a laid down life in Bhubaneswar. This trip was looking even more interesting with none of the bookings done for any of the Forest Rest Houses. Though I had tried my best from Pune by calling infinite number of times to various govt offices regarding the trip I was not able to do any of the Hotel Bookings. Add to that the varied information on the movement of Red Brigade in the Sanctuaries & virtually no information on whereabouts of Kotgarh and Karlapat Sanctuary. Things that we had for sure were two bus tickets for Bhawanipatna in Hi Tech Govt Bus from Bhubaneswar, a TTK Road Map, some contact numbers of Hotels, Forest Officials and that of one of Dasa’s Friends,Dileep Babu. As I got out of the Airport,it was already drizzling because of commonly heard “low pressure” created in the Bay of Bengal. Because of month ending ( first word in the Dictionary of Sales people) workload, Dasa had not turned up at the Airport and I went on swearing slangs on the Airport authorities for not having a Auto Stand at the Airport.Taxis charge exorbitant rates and one in need has to go by their terms. Finally Dasa joined me at the Bus stand with 2 tickets of the Bus. It was rush time because of festive season and for me it was even more exciting as I was travelling in a night bus after a long time , popularly called as line bus.I was also not sure about the route to Bhawanipatna, so went on to talk with the conductor about the Route. Like any other occasion, the Conductor didn’t disappoint me and was more than happy to explain me the route. We were joined by the Drivers. What I came to know that we were supposed to pass through Nayagarh, Sarankul, Bhanjanagar, Kalinga, G Udayagari, Raikia, Baliguda, M Rampur and finally terminating at Bhawanipatna, the head quarters of Kalahandi district. I had never travelled beyond Nayagarh earlier. Suddenly out of nowhere the Conductor asked us about our tickets. When Dasa showed the online ticket that we had booked, conductor was little bit shocked as no body does online booking for busses in Orissa. Finally the bus left on time by 8.By 9:30 we stopped at Bolagarh just before Nayagarh for Dinner at a Road side dhaba. Hmmm...another place to taste the superb dhaba food on which I have already done a posting earlier. Dhaba was quite clean. We had some bland tadka but chicken curry was good. After having food and taking a stroll on the road, finally we boarded the bus and left for Bhawanipatna passing through Nayagarh. A sudden jolt and I woke up. Wiping my eyes, I looked at the watch. It was 2:30 in the night. Night was pitch dark, road was absolutely devoid of any traffic,only sound that made vibrations in your ear drums was the cracking sounds of nightflies and insects. Bus had stopped because of a flat tyre. Oh no...i could not belive what I heard from the driver. Infact it had 2 flat tyres. I tried my best to sleep for some more time but curiosity of getting my foot down on the soil of Phulbani compelled me to get down. Drivers down were already on work and were busy in finding a solution of getting a second spare. There weren’t any town nearby and we were somewhere between G Udayagiri and Raikia. For almost 20minutes not a single vehicle crossed us. One of the senior drivers then came up with the idea that OSRTC bus towards Berhampur would be passing in next 15 mins and we can get a tyre from them. Already my adventure with the unknown had started. Group of passengers had made a group by this time and were busy in finding out some more solutions to which all sort of vague ideas came....who says Ideating happens in IBM. Cigarrettes and Beetles got exchanged. Meanwhile some enthusiaistic guys were busy helping out the Driver in putting the spare tyre. Glimmer of hope came in form of the Berhampur Bus that came from Bhawanipatna. The camaraderie of the Drivers and Consuctors of the OSRTC can be easily seen in this kind of situations. Soon a spare tyre was given to us. Greetings exchanged and time to move on. And these greetings even become more cheerful when both the sides are from Ganjam side. Starts with Mother’s swear and ends with Sister’s.
Woke up at a small hamlet named Tumudibandha in Phulbani District around 6 in the morning where the bus stopped for puncture repairing. It was complete overcast and fog every where. Some tea shops had opened by that time and I was happy that temperature was soothingly cool. But my mercury went up when i heard that we were still four and half hours from Bhawanipatna. We were supposed to reach Bhawanipatna early in the morning and were supposed to get the permit from Bhawanipatna DFO for visiting Karlapat Sanctuary. By the way, my good friend Dasa was lying in deep sleep inside the bus , unperturbed about the situation. I took a round of Tumudibandha. Another shock came to me when I saw a Board where in it was written “ Welcome to land of Elephants- Kotgarh Sanctuary”.I was supposed to come back to this place after 2 days for visiting Kotgarh sanctuary. Tumudibandha is one of the entry points to Kotgarh Sanctuary and is also one of the range headquarters. That means we would also have crossed Baliguda some time back. I could have planned first these places and then ended my Central Orissa trip with Bhawanipatna. Because of lack of information it went the other way round. Never mind at least now I have the information. Finally the punctured tyre got repaired and we started moving towards M Rampur enroute Bhawanipatna. As the day brightened, got a glimpse of wonderful Phulbani. Everywhere greenery, tall hills , Sal trees and in between small huts with pumpkins grown on top of roofs. This was just the trailor and Kandhamal was going to show me the complete movie in coming days. I felt blessed that I had planned the trip. After having a small chai stop at M Rampur, we reached Bhawanipatna at 10 in the morning, way behind schedule. Were greeted at the gates of Hotel Bhagirathi Inn by our Driver for Kalahandi leg of tour, a character by the name of Sarath.

Chapter 2