Take a trip to Digha

The coastal town offers clear  waters, fun and mouth-watering seafood, writes Aveek Bhowmik

Digha, located approximately 185 kms from Kolkata, has become one of the favourite haunts of people of all age groups, especially youngsters and honeymoon couples.

I had always known about this place for its pristine blue sea and golden, flat and hard beaches. Finally, I had the opportunity of visiting this small town — a weekend tourist getaway crowded with hotels — a few years ago, along with four of my friends. We had planned a two-day trip but eventually had to cut it down to a single day because of heavy showers in Kolkata on the day of our departure.

Reaching there:
However, the next morning the cloud cover had dispersed and it was a bright sunny day. We left Kolkata at about 5 am and decided to be back by late evening. Hectic I must say, but then the anticipation of the trip was too exciting to let anything else cross our minds.

Though there are train services between Kolkata and Digha, we decided to travel by road. I was surprised to see the lush green fields on both sides of the road because I had never seen so much greenery in Kolkata.

Mid-way we took a break for breakfast. At about noon the lush green fields gave way to a series of casuarina and palm trees swaying away to the unruly breeze – an indication that were nearing Digha because these trees are a common sight in the town.

Food and fun:
Quaint and colourful rickshaws were all over the town. Soon after reaching, Digha we made our way to the restaurants that are near the sea shore. The restaurant had both the ‘meal and plate’ system of service and we had a heavy lunch.

The former system provided good value for money as we could eat as much as we wanted to. We ordered a fish meal as the place is famous for its fresh catches. Although fish was served only once, we had rice, dal, and sabzi to our heart’s content – all for a meagre sum of just Rs 25.

We didn’t check in to any hotel because it was just a matter of a day.

After lunch we decided to take a walk along the beach and after about 45 minutes we stepped up to the sea. However, I was a bit apprehensive because I had heard that not all beaches in and around Digha were safe for swimming.

But to our luck the sea was calm that day with low tide, which allowed us to wade through quite a distance into the water. We enjoyed the tranquil waters till evening but then realised it was time to wrap up and get back.

We wished to stay for longer because the place came alive after sunset with wicker lamps burning in the small shops dotting the beach. The shops displayed hand-woven mats made up of weeds, ornaments made up of sea shells in colourful designs and conch shells. Cashew, which is a prominent cash crop around the place, was also being sold in abundance at dirt cheap prices.

The smell of fried fish of many varieties — tiger prawns, mackerels with a spicy batter coating — plus jalebis and samosas filled the air, but we opted for a vendor who was selling fresh fish. He asked us to select any of them and once we did that he fried it right there in front of us.

It was a unique experience but as all good things have to come to an end, we too got into our car with a promise of visiting the place soon but for a longer duration.
However, till date the promise to return remains unfulfilled as work and careers have overtaken everything else in our lives.

But the trip to Digha still remains etched in memory. The crowd notwithstanding, every moment still evokes a feeling of nostalgia for the place.
b_aveek@dnaindia.net