Trip tips

By road from Digha. Vehicles are available on hire from Digha and New Digha. Several buses leave for Digha from the city daily. The other option is to go to Kharagpur by train and take a bus to Digha. The Orissa Tourism Development Corporation guest house is a good place to stay. You will have to book in advance. Ideally, spend a night at Talsari.

If you long for a short trip to a scenic spot that will offer solitude as well, Talsari is just the place to visit. The beach in Orissa is not far from Calcutta but does not attract many tourists.

Digha is by far the most popular beach in the area. Finding even a modest accommodation there, especially on a weekend, can be difficult. While just a hop away, in the neighbouring state, Talsari is relatively tourist-free, and consequently, pollution-free.

The road from New Digha, which is south of Digha, towards Orissa meanders through casuarinas standing on both sides like sentries. The trees make a hissing sound as the sea breeze blows through them.

Generally, only men on bicycles can be seen on the 15-km drive along a very, very bad road. Most parts of it are devoid of a surface.

After crossing the state border, we reached a village where the newly painted and repaired Chandaneswar temple is located. Along with other offerings, small chillums of ganja were being sold as a special offering to Shiva, the deity.

Thankfully, there were no pandas. The villagers moved around the temple prostrating themselves in salutation of the deity. There’s a small pond around the corner where the devotees can take a bath before entering the temple.

Inside, there’s no shivling. A circular hole on the marble floor, filled with flowers and leaves, represents the lord.

The first impression of Talsari is unlikely to blow you away. You may wonder what’s there to see except a few country boats, roving fishermen and casuarina coves. But the serene villages and tall palm trees will grow on you.

The cashew trees sway in the breeze welcoming the visitors. In February, red and orange flowers appear on the plants. The cashew kernel hangs outside the fruit, which is also edible.

You will find only sand dunes on the beach — no heckling hotelier, no screaming hawker, no bargaining tourist. There are a handful of small hotels and a Panthasala run by the Orissa government.

The beach is quite flat and the waves are small and playful. The estuary of the river Subarnarekha can be seen in the distance. The crests of the waves glow as darkness descends. The full moon rose gradually the night we were there and the beach turned a dreamscape.

There’s a concrete structure on the beach that serves as a fish market in the morning. The catch from the sea is piled on the floor before being sorted and auctioned. The fishermen return in the evening and sit on the beach mending their nets.

Some of them also take the tourists to the river mouth. Early mornings are excellent for a stroll. The beach is quite hard and hence, easy to walk on.