NIRJULI - I | WissenMonk

Chapter I

As per legends, there is a village named Nirjuli hiding in the green wilderness by the side of the highway that connects the temple town of Rudrapur with the nearby big city, Nishchintpur

Rudrapur is a famous pilgrimage site founded in 1335 AD by an influential King on the banks of river Sisiri in the foothills of the Himalayas. The town had elaborate well connected lakes, channels, drainage, and underground tunnels built during the king's reign. Some tunnels lead to closed debris of lost cities or ghost towns and Archaeological survey has banned entry to those places enforced by paramilitary. A modern-day temple tourism circuit, Rudrapur was famous for its devoted residents who maintain the temple & their religion with great care.

Abhilash started his journey from the central highlands by overnight train and reached Nishchintpur at 07.00 hours. He planned to finish the Rudrapur circuit in a day, visit the lakes, temples, gardens, and heritage monuments and be back to the railway junction at Nishchintpur, an hour's drive from Rudrapur. The temple town was only accessible by road, as British surveyors didn't survey a railway line there.

Abhilash asked around for a ride to Rudrapur and was referred to a bus service near the station itself. On the bus, he noticed mostly religious tourists who are devotees of lord Shiva.

Once in Rudrapur, he prayed at the temple and enjoyed the view of the lake nearby as he munched on some snacks he carried along. The tour can be wrapped up in 3-4 hours as most of the places are nearby. A brisk walk from the temple takes you to the majestic ancient gardens, heritage monuments, giant canons, and a beautiful wetland.

Abhilash had planned for a day trip and hence planned to catch the train that departs at 19.30 hours. His tour was over by 15.00 hours and he decided to head back to the station. But there was a small problem, a glitch in his plan. He looked for cabs, autos, or buses around but found none. Stepping into the bus stand, he realized the flaw in his plan. There were no buses. It was deserted. He asked a local shopkeeper about it and got to know that post the arrest of a powerful religious leader, bus drivers had gone on strike. Auto rickshaw drivers and their unions have joined the protests in the police station to release the leader at once. Some miscreants started burning tires on the road opposite the police chowki.

There is no way Abhilash can go back to the station. Stuck in an unknown place, with no hotel reservations, and no backup plan, he sat on a kerb stone outside the bus stand to calm his nerves. He grabs a cup of tea from the tea shop and sipped the hot tea while also thinking of a way out of this situation. He tried calling up his colleagues at his company for help but they had no leads either. Being from a stingy family, Abhilash didn't want to spend money on unnecessary hotel stays and would rather sleep in the platform or community center.

Suddenly, Abhilash saw a few people running toward the highway. Intuitively, he followed them to the road where an old, dilapidated bus was waiting to leave. On enquiring about the destination, the conductor replied in a language that Abhilash didn't understand. So, he asked the driver who replied, "The bus will go only up to Nirjuli, the village on the way to the station. From there, you have to take another vehicle". Out of options, Abhilash hopped onto the bus, waiting for the bus to get full and start moving. It was already 4 PM and he had to catch the train at 7.30 PM. Fate had other plans it seems as the bus kept waiting for passengers. Abhilash was tensed, out of options, and almost on the verge of breaking down.

15 Minutes later.

The ugly and loud bus started moving towards the village. There were dense shrubs and trees on both sides of the road, and hardly any passengers on the road. Occasionally, they would cross similar oddly shaped buses but there were no private or public vehicles on the road. The fully packed bus kept moving amidst the forest.

After a while, the bus turned at a T-junction to enter the connecting road to the village, Nirjuli. Abhilash tried locating the place in his phone but Maps was showing a dense forested area with no human settlements. The driver applied brakes suddenly on the approach of a small bridge beyond which there is a welcome board, "Welcome To Nirjuli".

(To be continued)

29.09.2022