Khoai at Sonajhuri, Shantiniketan

What comes to your mind when you hear about Khoai? Is it the “ranga matir poth” of Bolpur and Shantiniketan? Or the “amader chhoto nodi” poem of Tagore? Or the famous creations of painters like Ramkinkar Baij and Nandalal Bose? Well, all these sum up to the cultural heritage of Sonajhuri, Khoai.

Description: Located at a distance of about 170kms from Kolkata, Sonajhuri provides a region which is made up of laterite soil, popularly known as Khoai. Due to the presence of iron oxide in the soil, this region has very less vegetation; the only trees present here are Acacia or Sonajhuri. It is the wide number of acacia trees naturally arranged in rows and columns which create a picturesque in this region.

Every Saturday, from 3:30pm to 6:30pm, a “haat” takes place in the Khoai region arranged by the Santhal community where one can buy the local arts, handicrafts and the traditional Shantiniketan sarees at an affordable rate. 

Baul performance

Here, the famous “Baul” singers create a mesmerizing effect with their performance. The soulful tunes of “ektara” along with the baul songs fill the place with a soothing tranquillity.

Nearby Attractions: Shantiniketan is the nearest town, at a distance of about 8 to 9kms, which can be reached in half an hour from Khoai. Some of the places to visit here are the Vishwa Bharati University campus, Kala Bhawan, Uttarayan, Geetanjali Theatre, Chatimtala, and Shantiniketan House, Bichitra Bhawan or Rabindra Museum and others.

There is also the Ballavpur Wildlife Sanctuary with a wide variety of trees, animals and birds, located a few kilometres away from the town. One can also visit the Srijani Shilpagram, started in 2008, which portrays the lifestyles, houses and handicrafts of different Eastern and North-Eastern states of India.

If one wishes to see the river mentioned in Tagore’s poem “amader chhoto nodi”, then he or she can visit the slow flowing Kopai

River, which is just 10 to 15mins from the Khoai region. Other nearby attractions are the Kankalitala Temple, which is one of the Sati Peethas having the waist of Goddess Parvati; and the Amar Kutir, about 15kms from Shantiniketan, which was once a place of refuge for independence movement activists but now has been turned into a cooperative society for the promotion of arts and crafts.

How to reach: Khoai, Sonajhuri can be reached from the town of Shantiniketan either by local vehicles or private cars. Many trains are available from Howrah station which will take about 2.5 to 3hrs to reach Bolpur, Shantiniketan. 

  One can also reach by car from Kolkata by taking the Durgapur Expressway and reach Nawabhaat, just after crossing the Bardhaman Bypass and then take the road towards Ghuskara keeping the 108 Shiv Mandir to the right to reach Sonajhuri via Bolpur Railway Station.

Ideal time to visit: The months of March and December attract the highest number of tourists to Shantiniketan. Basanta Utsav in March which transforms Bolpur into a vibrant and colourful town on the day of "Dol" (the day before Holi) and the famous Poush Mela in December, from 8th poush to 10th poush (according to the Bengali calendar) attract tourists from all over the world. Khoai can be visited throughout the year except in the summer season, when the scorching heat of the sun becomes unbearable.

Lodging and Food: There are many home stays and resorts available at Khoai, Sonajhuri. Some of them are the Sonajhuri

Home Stay, Shakuntala Village resort, Banalakshmi Resort, etc which provide lodging as well as dining facilities. A perfect combination of authentic Bengali cuisine in banana leaf plates and earthen pots and “baul” music in the background pours the heart and taste buds with pleasure.

Khoai is the perfect tourist destination to run away from the hustle and bustle of the city and indulge oneself in the essence and culture of “gram bangla”..
 

Khoai,Sonajhuri

Kopai Nodi

For more photos go to the link below:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/cnEnbB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIss5UBCPS8