Ep 1 Raipur to Kanker(On way to Bastar), Chhattisgarh | Gadh Kalewa | Famous Moong Vada of Dhamtari
Hello friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Today I am in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. We have begun our day with a visit to the Ghadi Chowk. You can see the time. It is 11.10 am. This place is a city landmark.
Today's our programme is that we are going... ...straight to Bastar. Bastar district is about 300 KM from here. We won't be able to reach Jagdalpur today. We will have to spend tonight somewhere on the way. We plan to reach Jagdalpur by tomorrow night.
In Raipur, we stayed at the Landmark Hotel. We had a comfortable stay there. The hotel is about 2 KM from the Chowk. Even the railway station is not that far from here.
The Raipur railway station is just 3.5 KM from here. Near Ghadi Chowk, you can read some very popular quotes. As you can see! Each quote is so good that you would be forced... ...to read each one multiple times. One quote that I really liked is written here... ..."The trouble is, you think you have time." Excellent! Let us have breakfast. After that, we will start our journey.
Gadh Kaleva is an eatery right next to Ghadi Chowk. Your food tour of Raipur is incomplete without visiting here. We have ordered ourselves some "Farra", which you can see here.
Besides, we've also ordered Chilla at that counter. Bhaiya, is chilla ready? It is getting ready. You can visit here anytime between 9 am and 9 pm.
So, this chilla is available throughout the day, right? Yes! Where is the chutney? You will get chutney from there. Okay! Come let us pick some chutney. hen we will set there and eat. This chutney has red chilies and garlic? Yes! What is this made of? It has tomatoes, coriander, and chilies.
Tomato, coriander and chilies! This Farra is prepared with rice flour. It is fried. You can see it has Sarson (mustard seeds) and til (sesame seeds). Really good flavor! This chutney has red chilies and garlic in abundance.
Very nice breakfast and snack item. The food here is quite reasonably priced. For Rs 50, we got Farra as well as Chilla. Each for Rs 25. The food is so delicious that I don't have words to describe.
That is why I said that this is a good start to the day. This chilla is fully crispy. This isn't fermented at all. Just rice flour made into a batter and... ...cooked as chilla on the tawa (iron griddle). But it tastes better only with this chutney.
Another highlight of this place is its ambience. It is interesting as well. Right now, it isn't crowded because the time is 11.30 am or so. But I have heard that this place becomes crowded... ...towards the evening though one can get seating space. That is because this space is huge. Beautiful! We are leaving here now.
I was looking at the distances to decide... ...where to spend tonight. So, I have zeroed in on Kanker for night stay. It is roughly 140 KM from here.
As I told you we are in Raipur city. From here, we will pass through Naya Raipur to reach Dhamteri. After spending some time there, we will go to Kanker.
Our car is parked on the main road. Let us begin our journey via Naya Raipur. After travelling for 45 KM from Raipur, we've reached Rajim.
I was told there is a mela (fair) going on here. In addition, there is a sangam (confluence) of 3 rivers nearby. After walking through the mela, we are now standing near the river First of all, look at this sangam of two rivers. These two rivers are Sondur and Pairi. After monsoon, if you visit here, you will be able to...
...see the two rivers distinctly. That would be because the colour of both rivers is different. Can you see this bridge? It has been built recently. It is called Laxman Jhoola! Somebody told me that this jhoola might look normal during the day. But during the evenings, after it is dark,...
...this structure is decorated with beautifully lights. There is another bridge, beyond half a KM from Laxman Jhoola. Under that bridge, the river Mahanadi joins these two rivers. This means after monsoon season, if we stand atop that bridge... ...we shall be able to see the sangam of 3 rivers. Mahanadi, Sondur and Pairi rivers! This meal here is an annual affair. Bhai Sahab! Are you a local? Yes, yes! How many days long is this mela? This is a 15-day mela.
It starts on Maagh Purnima and ends on Mahashivratri. This mela lasts for 14-15 days. Alright! This meal is 15-days long! Yes.
We saw a lot of hustle-bustle in the mela. But it is too hot here right now. Let us go towards the outer circle of the mela. There is a bazaar (marketplace) located there. We will see a glimpse of it and...
...then we will continue our journey. Okay Bhaisahab! Okay! Thank you! There is also a Meena Bazar inside this mela. Most of villagers from nearby villages... ...prefer to visit here during evenings. People visit here with their families, children. And they also like to do their regular shopping from here.
They shop for shoes, chappals, toys, clothes for children. You can see this huge ferris wheel here. During evenings, the crowd increases at least by 4-5 times... ...the number that you see here right now. Especially after it becomes dark. For now, you've seen a glimpse of this mela.
We are leaving here now. We are headed towards Dhamtari. Our rest of the journey would be about 67 KM long. So we will reach Dhamtari in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. We have reached the Gangrel Dam.
A few years ago, the tourists who came here... ...could go further on foot. But since past 4-5 years, the access has been restricted. So, the tourists can come, park their vehicles here. There is another tourist spot, at a walking distance from the dam.
It is also known as 'Mini Goa' among the locals. We will also visit there. First let me tell you a few things about the dam.
In present times, this is the largest dam in Chhattisgarh. It generates electricity. Besides, through a few gates on this bridge... ...water is also supplied to farmers for irrigation. These are the two main purposes of this dam.
This dam is build upon the Mahanadi river. We showed you the Mahanadi river a short while ago. This river originates in Chhattisgarh itself.
This river passes through Chhattisgarh before reaching Odisha. There, I remember when we visited, we saw the Hirakud Dam... ...which is also built upon the Mahanadi river. I will share the link of that episode in the description... ...of this video. You can check that as well. In brief, I would say Mahanadi is the lifeline of Chhattisgarh.
Alright then! We learned a few things about this dam as well as Mahanadi. Now, we will go down a path from this side. It will take us down to the riverside... ...where some water sports activities are available. We will see that.
And we will also see the place that is called Mini Goa! We walked 200-300 metres straight and now... ...we've reached near the river. This place is a cafetaria. There are kept a lot of chairs here. Some persons are playing games. This place is spacious. And this is the riverside.
Bhai Sahab, are you a local? Yes! Tell me one thing, this place, which people call Mini Goa... ...when was this developed? It was developed 4-5 years ago. 4-5 years ago! The tourists who come here, they go for jet-ski! Yes! And boating, etc. Yes! Nice! I can also see some accommodation facility as well. Yes Sir! All these are residential facilities.
Residential facilities! Yes! The dam isn't far from here. It is hardly 300-400 m away. Nice view! Good! Let us go closer to the river. I told you already that this place also has water sports activities. I have come to the jetty point now.
There are two types of jet-ski rides - for Rs 500 and Rs 800. There is this slow boat too, which costs Rs 2000. It can be hired for 12-15 minutes. It seats upto 10 persons. Today is a weekday and evening time. Despite that, this place is crowded.
I've been told that on weekdays as well as ... ...on Sundays, this place is a popular picnic spot for locals. It is a nice place to visit. And I had told you earlier as well...
...this place offers a clear view of the dam as well. A floating restaurant is also being built... ....right next to the jetty point. I have with me the manager of the floating restaurant. He told me that the place will be inaugurated in a day or two.
Now, you've told me that the restaurant will be towed... ..200 feet further on the water. The guest will be taken in boats to the restaurant. After dining on water for an hour, the guests will return on boats. What would be the charges for that? 500 Rs. per person.
What food items would you offer in that amount? Food items would mainly be snacks sir like burger, sandwich, cold drinks. Alright! Interesting! People call this place Mini Goa. I was thinking about the reason behind this name. Now I have seen the sand. There is a lot of sand here. Where did this sand come from? Did this come from the river? No sir, we've built this place.
Alright, you mean... We brought the sand from elsewhere and dumped it here. Thus, we've created this beach.
Alright, to lend a feel to this place. To lend a feel. This is another way to develop tourism of a place.
This place was developed 4-5 years ago and today, it is highly popular. Other states, which have rivers like these,... ...it is a good lesson and opportunity for them to... ...ensure growth of tourism in their state. Both for the locals as well as the outsiders. We will go there and see those cottages as well. Please come! Alright! Will you accompany us? Yes, I will.
Great! Thanks! These cottages are hardly 70-80 meters from Mahanadi river. We cannot show you inside the cottages because... ...he told us that the cottages are fully occupied. About the tariff, he told me the tariff on weekdays is... ...in the range of Rs. 4000-5000 and on weekends,...
it is between Rs 7000-8500. That would also depend upon the tourist season and festivals, etc. We are done with this visit now. We want to visit the Angaar Moti Temple now.
Did I say it correctly? Absolutely Sir! Angaar Moti Mandir. Angaar Moti Mandir! How far is it? Sir it is just 200 m from our resort. Quite close, right? Yes, nearby. We will visit there. And tonight, we're going to stay in Kanker.
Kanker must be 60 KM from here? Yes, 60 KM. So, we will reach Kanker only by 8 or 8.30 pm. So, bye-bye now! Bye-bye Sir! Thanks for spending time with us.
And I will join you again once we reach the temple. Okay bhaiya! Thanks! We have reached the Angaar Moti Temple gate. This is where we will go in from. We reached Angaar Moti Mata Mandir. I paid my obeisance inside the temple. I came to know that the aarti (prayer ceremony) was about to begin.
So I attended that as well. The aarti is over now. I have with me the pujari Ji (priest) of this temple.
He is also a priest here. So, please give me some information about this temple. A lot of people had asked me to visit this temple... ...while going to Bastar on this route. Alright! Most of the devotees who visit here are those who don't have children.
People come here with a wish for a child. When their wish is fulfilled, they make offerings in the temple. We were told that earlier, Mataji was placed at a different location.
Yes! Where was that? It was a place between Sukhanadi and Mahanadi. When the dam was built and the water level started rising... ...we shifted the idol to this place. Alright! We have been praying here since a long time.
Alright! Mine is the 8th or 10th generation of priests to pray here. Really!! Yours is the 10th generation! Yes! Obviously, you must also be living on that island earlier? Yes! About 54-55 villages were drowned when the dam was built. Alright! I've heard that some devotees, especially the tribals,... ...also donate a goat here. What is that exactly about? Those devotees whose wish gets fulfilled, they offer... ...an animal as sacrifice here. But that is not offered at the Mataji temple.
The sacrifice is offered here at Bhairon Baba's temple. The sacrifice is offered on Fridays and Sundays here. Maharaj Ji, I will take your leave now! Alright! Good night Sir! Thank you! A lot of people had told me that before leaving Dhamtari... ...I must eat the Moong Dal Vada. That should give you an idea how famous this snack is.
And also look at the texture of the Vada. The thing that I find different in this snack is... ...the coarsely ground Moong dal. It isn't finely grounded, like in a mixer-grinder at home. It is coarsely-grounded and that is one difference. Its taste is unique. Let us taste it with some chutney.
This chutney is so spicy that I cannot explain it. Extremely spicy chutney! It tastes good with or without chutney. Moong Dal Vada is a popular breakfast item here. With jalebi as a combination! People elsewhere do eat the combinations of...
...samosa-jalebi or kachori-jalebi. But this is the first time that I am eating Moong Dal Vada-jalebi! Good! I enjoyed my visit here. It will take us at least an hour or so to reach Kanker.
So, I will join you once I reach Kanker. We've reached Kanker. The time is 10.15 pm. I thought if we go for dinner at the hotel where we are staying.... ...it would be very late. This place is also in Kanker.
So, we thought it better to have dinner here at Makri Dhaba. When we parked our car here, I saw that this dhaba is huge. And I got to know that it remains open for 24 hours. And right now, we are sitting right next to NH 30 highway. This dhaba is located on the highway itself. Traffic moves here all the time.
So, obviously, people visit here for meals even through the night. There is one section, which has outdoor seating. And the other section, which is inside, has air-conditioning. We are sitting inside. Since I wanted a light dinner, I've ordered khichdi with curd. I was also told that I shouldn't miss the kheer here.
Since we had to stop here for kheer... ...we thought we might as well have dinner here. The curd looks delicious from its texture itself. Khichdi is okay! Just like it normally is. But I liked the curd more.
Good! Now I am going to finish this Khichdi and curd. Then, after 10-15 minutes, I am going to taste the kheer. Just look at the texture of this kheer.
By the look of it, anybody can say that it is going to be delicious! It has been cooked slowly and properly. The kheer is really delicious! No doubt! This taste is amazing! The milk has been boiled to the extent that... ...the grains of rice seem to have melted into it. But I think it would've been more delicious if it... ...was colder. Right now, it is at room temperature.
It is neither warm nor cold. It is at room temperature. However, despite that, it is very delicious! A lot of people praised this kheer to me. Just imagine, if there were 5 persons who told me to eat here... ...all five also recommended this kheer to me.
That should give you an idea about how popular this kheer is. Let me finish this kheer. I will now join you in another 10-15 minutes. Our hotel is nearby. There I will say bye-bye to you. For night stay in Kanker, we've booked ourselves into...
...a guest house of Chhattisgarh Tourism. This place is located 10-12 KM before Kanker. This means, it is 7-8 KM before the dhabha where we had dinner. So we had to return to reach here.
I will show you the accommodation with surroundings tomorrow morning. This place offers two categories of accommodation. The tariff of the A/C room, which we've booked ourselves... ...is Rs 2500 on double occupany basis. For non-A/C rooms, the tariff is Rs 1500 on double occupancy.
This place has only 4-5 rooms available. Now I will say bye-bye to you. I will also tell you about our programme tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to leave here between 8 and 8.30 am.
Tomorrow's night stay will be at Jagdalpur. Though, this journey won't be long... ... in terms of distance that we need to cover. This total journey would be about 150 KM or so.
But we will stop on our way. Alright! Bye Bye for now Good night , Thanks for your time
2022-03-23 21:27
