A Day in Raipur

A late night train journey from Tatanagar Railway Station (Jharkhand) brought me to Raipur Railway Station (Chattisgarh). The plan was to arrive at Raipur and then either take a train or bus to go to Jagdalpur town.

Raipur Railway Station

I wasn’t keen on staying for a night in Raipur. So upon my arrival at Raipur railway station early morning, I learnt there were no train for Jagdalpur. I was now left with the option of taking a local bus from Raipur to Jagdalpur. I got on a city bus from the railway station bus stop. I informed the conductor to let me know when Pachpedi Naka Chowk comes where I needed to get down to catch another bus for my next destination. As I waited for the city bus to start, a young girl came and occupied the empty seat next to me. I looked at her and smiled. She warmly reciprocated. She is Bhumika. And just like that our conversation started.

I asked Bhumika,“Do you know how long it will take for the bus to reach Pachpedi Naka Chowk?’’

Bhumika replied,“It will take 10-15 minutes depending on the traffic. Don’t worry I will let you know since I am going that way, too.”

It was morning rush hour and naturally there was heavy traffic. The city bus hardly made any progress. Chit chat went on between Bhumika and me. In the course of the conversation, she asked me,“Will you be interested to accompany me to State Youth Festival happening right now in the city?''

She further added,“It is the last day of the youth festival. You can spend some time at the festival ground and check out the various tribal dances of Chattisgarh. And by early evening I will drop you at Pachpedi Naka Chowk.”

I immediately agreed to her offer.

Bhumika asked the bus driver to stop the bus halfway somewhere. When the bus driver and the conductor saw me standing behind her, they enquired, “Where are you taking the girl?”

Bhumika promptly answered,“I am taking her to attend the State Youth Festival.”

They further asked,“How will she come back from the festival ground to the bus stop to board bus for Jagdalpur?”

“I will drop her till the bus stop.” came the reply from Bhumika.

The above mentioned convo between the bus driver and the conductor with Bhumika gave me the impression that they might have been worried about me. Bhumika and I got down at a random stop somewhere on the busy road. We then boarded a shared auto for Science College ground, the venue of the State Youth Festival. It was quite far from the city centre.

Huge gathering of young people, participants, and officials greeted me at the venue. Bhumika took me around the huge festival ground. Young participants from different districts of Chattisgarh dressed in their traditional tribal attire of the place were seen dancing their respective traditional dances in small groups. Onlookers gathered to watch these colourful traditional tribal dances. I too joined the onlookers. Most of these tribal dances were new to me. It was a delight to see them up close and soak in the wonderful performances. Bhumika informed me about the various dances and their colourful traditional costumes and jewelleries as we moved from one performance to another around the ground. I mingled with some of the performances and took pictures with them. Below given are a few pictures clicked during the festival:

Bhumika and me at State Youth Festival in Raipur

traditional folk dance of Chattisgarh

that's me in a traditional headgear and a drum

a performer posing for my camera

a photo with a performer

performers taking a break

performers in their traditional costume

performers in their traditional costume

traditional folk dance of Chattisgarh

traditional jewellery worn by a performer

traditional folk dance of Chattisgarh

I was carrying my bulky backpack and it was getting tiring. Bhumika and I walked towards the food stall zone. I noticed local snacks being prepared right at the spot and sold. We purchased some and ate. Some distance away, we saw a hall where a temporary museum was set up. Once inside we saw the large posters including miniature tableaus showcasing the tourist attractions of Chattisgarh. I took a few tourism brochure from the table.

local snack of Chattisgarh

local snack of Chattisgarh

local snack of Chattisgarh

It was late afternoon. Bhumika called up her father. He was working as a co-ordinator during the festival. He handed us lunch coupons. Both of us had delicious vegetarian lunch at the festival.

lunch at the festival ground

I was extremely grateful to Bhumika for atking the opportunity to show around the festival. We were complete strangers at the start of the day that turned to friendship by the end of the day. She told, “You are a guest in my state. It is my responsibility to be a good host so that you could take back some good memories from here.” She further added “Wish you had more time to stay here! I would have loved to show you Raipur city as well.” I smiled!

We left the festival ground. We had to change shared auto twice to come to Bhumika’s previous hostel. She wanted to introduce a few friends and hence the hostel visit. I met her friends. We shared a few laughs and a few jokes. Time flew and it was time to say goodbye to them. I boarded another shared auto that dropped me to Panchpedi Naka Chowk. I had to wait for some time before the Jagdalpur bound night bus arrived. People at the bus stop were quite helpful. They made sure I boarded the right bus.

I could experience the tribal culture specially the traditional folk dances of Chattisgarh under one roof. A chance opportunity to see and interact with them gathered there from the different districts of Chattisgarh. It was a short stay at Raipur, but it was a very sweet one. Special thanks to Bhumika!

Thank you for stopping by! Happy travelling feet!

Travelled on: 14 January 2020

©️ The content and pictures are copyright of Hema Hazarika (thehaflonggirl).