Visit to Pitamahal Village

Visiting Pitamahal Village -PhotoEssay

To visit Pitamahal village, which is nearby the Pitamahal dam, follow the road from the other side of the newly developed Garden. The road passes by the water-spillover arrangement. One cannot cross the canal in between so to reach to Pitamahal village. Instead one has to take a big round to cross the canal at GadheiBalanda and come. 

An evening is a natural choice to visit this place. Herdsman takes back his cows and bulls back to the village after a day long grazing in the Bamra forest. The road is not yet listed on the google map. The condition is good for a bike to travel and only a strong car can cope with the terrain.

Fishing in the Pitamahal lake on every evening is a routine for most men here. After a day's work, about a quarter kilo of fish is enough for the dinner. Fishing is done either by multiple fishhooks or by taking a small craft to the interiors of the lake. Fishing is seldom done for earning. 

A worker, living in a nearby village, originally from Jharkhand, trying his luck on that day. Unfortunately, couldn't get any fish. Small water depth is the reason, he said!

Dr Liu, a renowned photographer and former panellist on the famous magazine "Better Photography", shooting the beauty of the lake.

I have in most of Odisha; people carry wood from the jungle in this typical fashion on the bicycle. No technology or modification in the bike. Just with the help of a big wood log and a rope from the bark, one carries wood sufficient for a week for a family of four.

Another day is over, time to go back home.

A cyclist is crossing the stream.

Colourful sky after sunset over the paddy field.

Check my earlier post on Pitamahal Dam here.

Glimpses of lifestyle of Tribals from Chitrakoot

Glimpses of lifestyle of Tribals from Chitrakoot

The road network decently connects the inner parts of the tribal region. However, there is a complete absence of the public transport. People mostly use a bicycle or shared four wheeler to travel to Jagdalpur. A small family of three going on bicycle even up to 5 kilometres or so is a common picture.

A typical house from the area. Slices of limestones used for the ceiling is the attraction. The limestone is also used to make fencing and due to patterns, it looks so beautiful. A cluster of up to 10 to 20 houses makes a small village which can sometimes at quite a distance from the other village.

Police also need protection. Due to constant fear of attack from Naxalites, police stations in the area becomes almost a fort. A station is protected by barbed wire fence, speed breakers, floodlights, armed gunmen, etc. Logic is to build confidence in the citizens and make them believe in the system

Tribal women selling goods. In most tribal communities, women are the head f the family. She works, earns and also takes the major decisions for the family. This is the main reason why one will notice more women on the road, in the market as compared to me.

Check some more portraits of tribal people here: Part I and Part II.

Portraits from Bastar - II

Portraits from Bastar - II

Do Check part I of the series.

Revisiting Kansbahal Dam

Revisiting Kansbahal Dam

A visit to Kansbahal dam in Monsoon season is completely different from the other as after heavy rains water is released. The release outlet is on the other end of this earth dam. Water is released only if it crosses the danger level which happens when it rains heavily in the catchment area. The flow of water creates sone interesting photo opportunities. Enjoy the view!

Read my earlier post about Kansbahal Dam here.

Ghogar

Ghogar

Ghogar temple, near the Rajgangpur town of Odisha, was established by King of Raghunath Sekhar Deo. Temple is dedicated to lord Shiv temple and also known as Ghogar Dham or Sri Ghogareswar Mahadev. 

The temple is located on the banks of the river Ghogar, near to the Kansbahal dam. A check dam is built near the temple to store the water for the use of temple and also used for fishing. The temple campus hosts the place for lunch (Bhandara) and tp stay (guesthouse). 

Temple is a great attraction for devotees during a ritual called "Bolbum, observed during the month of Shravan, where people walk miles carrying the water from their native to come here and offer tot eh lord Shiv. Other two important festivals observed here are Kartika Purnima andMahashivratri. 

I visited the premises in the September only to see the place is so dirty and ill-maintained and decided not to visit again. The temple trust seems not at all managing the system to maintain the holiness of the place. I clicked very few photos for record purpose and never entered inside the temple. 

How to reach:

The place is abut 40 km from Rourkela near the L and T campus at Kansbahal. The best way to reach Ghogar is to travel by road with a private vehicle.

Portraits from Bastar - I

Portraits from Bastar - I

Wandering destination: Khandadhar waterfall, Odisha

Wandering destination: Khandadhar waterfall, Odisha

Read my earlier post about reaching to the top of Khandadhar waterfalls here.

Khandadhar is located at about 95 Km from the nearest town Rourkela. The road is absolutely smooth and takes very near the hill hosting the fall.  Frome the entrance, one has to ascend about 150  steps to reach near the waterfall.

Khandadhar waterfall is located in the picturesque location surrounded by the evergreen hills. On cloudy days, the play of light and shadow assures dramatic landscapes.

The water flows down from the small natural pool situated beneath the waterfall. These streams is an interesting capture during the post monsoon season when the water is apt to produce a photograph showing a smooth-water-flow. 

Valley as seen, Khadndadhar fall on the backside

A small pool naturally created by the falls is certainly great fun to take a bath in. Tourists gather in a huge number on this spot, especially during the winter months.  Though pool and the nearby area seems innocent, falls has caused some deaths mostly because over enthusiastic and drunk tourists.

A complete view of the falls - to get this one has to climb down through the stream. The pool is somewhere in the mid of this photo.

Downstream  

The place is an interesting place to watch flora and fauna of Odisha.  During my visit in mid-August, I spotted following butterflies.

Butterflies spotted at Khandadhar:

• Large Oakblue 
• Common Pierrot
• Grass Yellow
• Common Mormon
• Common Leopard
• Common Crow
• Common Nawab
• Common Banded Peacock
• Orange Oakleaf
• Blue Mormon
• Yamfly
• Baronet
• Common Emigrant
• Lime
• Common crow
• Great Eggfly
• Chocolate pansy
• Lemon Pansy
• Indian Sunbeam
• Staff Seargent (?)
• Lineblues

Indian Nawab

Baronet

Yamfly

Robber fly

Tips for travellers:

• Travelling by private or hired vehicle is the only option. No public transportation available.
• No entry fee
• Place near the fall is well developed as a picnic area. Though the basic facilities like toilets are missing. 
• It's a NO plastic zone, so please don't litter.
• Be careful while attempting adventurous activity of any kind. Innocence of the water stream may be an illusion.
• There is guest house of forest department and can be booked for an overnight stay.
• There are NO food stalls nearby. The best way is to carry the food or prepare it onsight.

Read my earlier post about reaching to the top of Khandadhar waterfalls here.

How to reach: