It's the Experience that Counts. Review on Planning a Road Trip

Whenever we go out either on  a day trip or for a weekend vacation, we make a thorough preparation in all respects. This is Planning a Road Trip. This summer, in the first week of this month, we had taken the students of the Bajiraut Chhatravas on a Road Trip to Kapilas, where the famous Temple of Chandrasekhar Mahadev is situated on the top of a beautiful hill called Kapilas. It is in Dhenkanal District of Orissa.

Size of the Group

This was the starting point of our Planning, and on this depends so many factors: Number of Buses to be hired; Need for another vehicle which would go straight upto the Temple; Food, Snacks, other Drinks and Drinking Water to be carried; Medicines to be carried in a handy Box, or better still a First Aid Box; and the need for a Nurse/Midwife to accompany. And last, but not the least, the time of departure from Bajirauit Chatravas.

Actual Plan

Mr. Debu Bose, of Cuttack, who supplies us Buses for our trips, was contacted, and the time of departure was fixed as 2.30 AM. He agreed and said that the two Buses( for 180 Children and 20 inmates) would be available by midnight. I do not know whether he had instructed accordingly his Coordinator and the two Drivers, because the Buses were not available till 6 AM the next morning. We and our Children, in all excitement had got ready by 2.30 AM, and were frustrated when the two Buses were not in sight. My son, Amlan,  went to the Bus Stand at Angul, and detected one Driver, who told him that he was waiting for the other Driver, who had gone to despatch one marriage party. I was contacted by Amlan, and in turn Debu Bose was contacted. He was upset. Poor man did not get sleep at night. Finally, the second Bus came, and we left at 8 AM, almost 6 hours behind schedule. The Marshall Driver was very punctual. He had come at 2 AM and was constantly grumbling, because he also did not sleep at night. In the Marshall were myself, my wife, Amlan and two ladies of the Utkal Navajevan Mandal, our sister organisation.

We left Angul, and on the way had breakfast comprising bread, banana and biscuit. By the time we arrived the foot of the Kapilas Hill it was 10 AM. Many children and some inmates climbed the hill through the stair case, and returned to the foot of the hill completely exhausted. Some girls had to be physically carried, as they were on the verge of collapse. The Sun was really brilliant that day radiating much heat, without caring for us.

The Marshall took us to the Rest House adjacent to the Temple. I, being a devotee of Lord Shiva( my name is Bibhuti Bhusan) went to the Temple, and offered Puja to Lord Chandrasekhar. My wife did not come up. She was at the foot of the hill, showing the children the Science Park, and the Deer Park. On the way to the Hill, there is also a Pantha Shala of the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation, but there nothing is available without prior order.

Amlan and other youngsters climbed still  further to the Deva Sabha, from where you can see Cuttack. They were quite tired.

Kapilas is not free from the Monkey menace. The red faced creatures  of all ages and all sizes are there to look for opportunities to snatch away whatever they get from the hands of the visitors, whether  these are Prasads,  flowers or cameras.

We left Kapilas at 1 PM and arrived at Kaimati, where the Child Development Officer, Sm. Tuna Behera, an ex-student of ours, had arranged a delicious lunch. We were really hungry. After some rest, we came to the Dhenkanal Science Centre, where our Children spent about two hours. It is a fantastic place, and needs a full day for seeing every exhibit. We left the Science Centre and arrived the Chhatravas at 7.45 PM. Not bad.

This was the Road Trip we had organised early this month, when Angul and all the places we visited, excepting Kapilas, were very hot. The pictures we had taken in my Digital and Analog Cameras have come very nice.

What's the lesson we learnt? A well planned Road Trip, equally well organised,  becomes a success providing happiness to all and training to some. After all, it's the experience that counts.