GOPALPUR – ON – SEA – ANOTHER GEM ON THE TRAVEL MAP OF ODISHA
My father-in-law had expired in November, 2007 and the entire family was in a total mess. Almost each and every family member was facing difficulty dealing with the trauma, especially my son and mother-in-law. It was really difficult to accept that a person who was hale and hearty till the month of June could pass away at the beginning of November of the same year after only a few months of illness. When the gloomy scenario at home did not change even after one year of his passing away, I planned a trip just for the four of us. It would not be very far off, but would definitely be a getaway from the morose environment. We decided to visit Gopalpur, more well-known as Gopalpur-on-sea. It is one of the less frequented amongst the beaches of Odisha. Nevertheless, it had its own character and beauty. And it was in the month of December, 2008 that we ventured on our journey since this was when my son had his winter vacation.
HOW TO REACH GOPALPUR?
Gopalpur is easily accessible by air, rail and road.
The nearest airport from Gopalpur is Bhubaneswar airport which is 180 km away. From Bhubaneswar, one can easily reach Brahmapur [Berhampore (GM),] the nearest city to Gopalpur by train or car or bus.
The nearest railway station of Gopalpur is Brahmapur, also known as Berhampore which is 16 km away. This station is very well-connected to most of the big cities of India.
Again, though buses don’t commonly head to Gopalpur, they come from most cities of Odisha and also from few cities of nearby states to Berhampore and Gopalpur is only 16 km away from Berhampore.
We made our train and hotel bookings. Our train was scheduled from Howrah station at late night for our onward journey and we were to put up at Hotel Kalinga. On the day of journey, we arrived at Howrah station well in time as usual. The crowd – vendors, porters, passengers, people who had come to see-off their friends/relatives and more – that made the chaos added a rhythm and harmony to the entire orchestra. At least, I feel so whenever I am at a railway station and this enchantment will never cease. We waited eagerly and boarded our train as soon as it arrived. Soon we finished our dinner and retired for the night. The motion of the train always gives me the feeling of sleeping in a swinging crib and that puts me to sleep immediately. I have never complained of sleepless nights while aboard a train. Next morning, we woke up early as it is always a delight to watch the fields and changing landscape in the early morning sunlight as the trains chug along. Also, sitting at the train window and sipping on a cup (kulhar – earthen cups) of hot steaming tea is a pleasure only to be felt! It was around 9 am when we reached Brahmapur station. We alighted there and hired an auto for the next leg of our journey.
GOPALPUR – A BRIEF
A coastal town in Ganjam district of Odisha, Gopalpur is bang-on the Bay of Bengal. It had an operational sea port near the mouth of the Rusikulya river, which has become non-functional now. It had acted as a military port during the World War I and had been extensively used for exchanges with Burma.
This town gained prominence during the Soraine family era and had been a Dutch establishment too. It had also come under the British rule.
The