A Weekend trip to Dagara

If you are tired from the hustle and bustle of city life and desire to escape to a quite place, Dagara is the spot you need to go. A quaint fishing village, 6 hrs drive from Kolkata, situated on the coast of Orissa, this place houses a PWD Inspection bungalow which can accommodate 2 families/ 6-7 members at a time. If you are looking for comfort and luxury, this place is not for you. The accommodation is very basic and there is a caretaker to cook for you or help you out. Do remember to carry all the rations as the nearest market is 12-15 kms away. If I haven’t already scared you and put you in a re-thinking mode, let me get into the details of the place.


About 5 hours drive on the National Highway brought us to a bifurcation from the main road which meandered its way to Baliapal, a small town which hosts the BDO Office. The road was quite pathetic and it was a test of driving skill. We checked in there and made the necessary payments for our stay at the Inspection Bungalow (IB). Surprisingly, the onward journey was quite comfortable as the roads were smooth till the village. It went through paddy fields and villages. We arrived at the IB, which was a 2 room accommodation standing alone in a field with only a small temple as its company, just during lunchtime. The caretaker, who knew of our arrival, had a meal of rice and spicy chicken curry ready for us. We could hear the waves just across the casuarina plantation and we wanted to check it out at first.




So, after dumping our baggages and supply, we sprinted off to the beach. It was just us throughout the vast expanse, as long as our eyes could see. A few fishermen here and there were the only other living beings. We decided to go back, have our lunch and a short siesta and then come back in the evening for a relaxed dip in the sea.



At around 4.00 p.m., we went to the sea for our dip and stayed a good 2 hours enjoying the sand and the water well after the sunset as there was no one else to bother us apart from red crabs, which were quite a shy species.



The rest of the evening was spent gossiping with drinks and snacks that the caretaker dished out from the supplies we gave him. The caretaker told us that we can buy fresh fishes from the fisherman when they are back from their catch in the sea. So we decided that we will do so first thing in the next morning.

Next morning, after tea and breakfast we set off for the beach. We walked for about 5 -6 kms until we came to the place where the fishermen were hauling the net out of the sea. It was a tedious and time taking task and we sat there watching them.



After about 2 hours what came out was really rewarding. Never in my life had I seen so many fishes together. The fishermen became busy sorting out their catch as the buyers waited and so did we. After that we bought prawns and pomphrets (about 4 kgs in all) from them at a meager amount of Rs. 250/-.




We returned to the I.B and as the women got into washing and peeling the shells of the fishes, the men prepared the site for bar-b-que. We prepared the fish and set it for marination. Once the fire was ready and crackling, a wire mesh was set on it, and the marinated fishes were set. We all sat around the fire, plates in our hand, ready to pounce on the smoked fishes. Potatoes, wrapped in foil went directly into the fire and it was then peeled and served with butter along with the bar-b-qued prawns and pomphrets. It was a true gastroenteromic experience. We sat there late into the night, fire crackling, listening to the night calls, chatting amongst ourselves in a full moon night, which is a rarity in citylife.






Next morning it was time to wrap up to be back to the city grind and continue with our daily chores with a refreshed mind.