Chupichar, Purbasthali is one of
the best places to see birds in West Bengal. It is a small place in Kalna sub division of Burdwan district, where on the banks of river Bhagirathi an Oxbow lake have been formed as the river changed course over time.
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water that forms when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. This landform is so named for its distinctive curved shape, resembling the bow pin of an oxbow. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether it is cut off from the main stream or not. This lake is still connected to the river. The length of the lake is around 2-3 km.  During monsoon when the water level rises, the whole area gets flooded, but in the winter when the water subsides, lots of small islands rise up. This has created a unique ecosystem where tall grasses and scrubs grow in abundance on these islands, making it the safe haven for the birds, both resident as well as migratory. Birds fly from North India, Africa, Siberia. I was planning to come here for last 4 years at least !
Orientation
The place is called Chupi or Chupi Char by the locals. It is only 8 km from the holy
town of Nabadwip (of Chaitanya deb fame). It is 8th stop from Kalna and 3rd stop after Nabadwip.
The train station /Post office is called Purbasthali. The Purbasthali water-body area
basically comprises of two villages Chupi and Kasthashali. I read from a blog, Poet Satyendra Nath Dutta
was born here.
How to go there ?
Train : It is better to take train.
Road conditions are not good as on date.
5.12.15.
We (Madhurantika, Debasreee & family) left by 5.38 am train from Howrah and took Katwa local (fare Rs 25 and Rs 15 for half fare) and reached there at 8.15 approx. It takes around 3 hours to reach there, depending upon the time you leave from Howrah / Sealdah station.
Tip:
Either go early morning or the evening before
to plan the boat trip in the early morning, to get the right angle of the sun.
It makes a huge difference.
The ideal way to see birds would be to take a train in the afternoon. Then spend the night at Purbasthali and start early on the next morning at 6.30 am. Do not miss the early morning hot Rosogolla there !
There are two places
to stay in Purbasthali :
1.Govt run guest
house. Rs 500/- per day - Parijayee Abash
2. Pvt run guest
house – run by ‘Kasthashali Banabithi’ a body formed by the
local people for preservation of the biodiversity of the lake area and the
birds (Secretary of Banabithi - Nabi Baksh Seth - 97321 423 62). Our guide Sanjay is also a
member of this group. We have been told that the room is very basic. So
please enquire properly before staying. The room rates are Rs 400. Upto 4
persons can stay. There are 3 rooms.
After we reaching
there, we took a cycle van (Rs 10 per head) to go the market/bazar area which
is the only place where you can take Packed lunch. (Electric car Toto's fare
is also same). On the way we saw an old dilapidated Atchala and Pancharatna
(5 Tower) terracotta temple. Actually the architecture of the temple is quite stunning.
We bought some
Petai Parota ( Rs 8/- for 100gm !!) and got it packed for eating in the boat.
We met our guide Sanjay Singha (9564 64 26 94) at the Bazar area.
Before leaving, we ordered for our lunch. There is no restaurant there, in
true sense of the term. My friends bought some locally made jhola gur and
Patali gur (Jaggery) .
We started our boat ride at 9.30 am with our guide Sanjay.
‘Kasthashali Banabithi’ understood that this
would be an unique opportunity to develop the area as a tourist destination
and thus local economy would see an upsurge. Their vision is coming to
reality and today ‘Purbasthali’ is an important bird sighting place of
Bengal.
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Without him, we would
have been clueless. Do not make the mistake of not taking his help. Not only he
knows the routes in the lake, but also birds like the back of his palm ! We are
astounded by the commitment of our guide Sanjay . He is trying his level
best to promote the place and save the
birds from poachers.
He has been featured
in leading dailies of Kolkata (ABP) at least four times, for his effort. His own
house is engulfed by river and comes from a very poor background. He has hardly
any place to stay. He got himself literate only in the year 2000 or so. Now he
travels with books of Salim Ali in his hand ! some dedication ! Number of times
he had to show me the name of birds from the book. He is carrying other books
also. He has a binocular with him for spotting birds. He once accompanied Discovery
channel in 2007 – they have gifted him the binocular for his great service. But
he has binocular vision ! He has drawn attention to the authorities whenever
there has been a case of poaching. His effort has not gone wasted.
The rates are Rs 100
per hour for Sanjay and for the boat it is
Rs 150 per hour. Even in February 2020 it has remained Rs 150 per hour. He can arrange everything including food,if you want. Since the weather was pleasant we enjoyed our boat ride a lot. I kept on asking various questions to Sanjay. He was courteous to answer all my queries.
What we saw :
1. Lesser Whistling Teals – many
2. Red Crested Pochards- many
3. Cattle Egret, Great Egret - many
4. Kingfishers - many
5. Asian Openbill Stork - many
6. Cormorant- many
7. Black headed Ibis -many
8. Green Bee-eater
9. Black Drongo
10. Little swallow
11. Common coot
12. Bronze winged Jacana
13. purple moorhens
14. Little-ringed Plover
15. Common Greenshank
16. Indian Pond Heron - many
17. Osprey
Photo credits : Madhurantika Moulick
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| Garganey |
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| White breasted Kingfisher |
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| Red wattled Lapwing |
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| Pond Heron |
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| Purple Heron |
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| Purple Moorhen |
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| Marsh Sandpiper |
We returned back to the shore at around
2.45 pm. There is a personal tragedy. My mobile (smart phone) fell inside the
boat, when I dozed off ,while returning back to the shore (water sips inside the
boat all the time and it fell into that water) and was declared dead in Kolkata !
We had a quick
lunch and took 3.32 pm Katwa
local to reach Kolkata at around 7 pm.
Tip 1: Do not forget
to get a good pair of binoculars and a camera with a good telephoto
lens otherwise be
content just with the boat ride and by viewing the birds from a distance!
Tip 2 : If you are
going to go to Purbasthali please carry your own food.
Tip 3 : This area is arsenic prone hence avoid drinking water from
tube wells.
Note : We again went to Chupichar by Car in 2020 (February)
Source/Credits :
wikipedia,
e-rail, Madhurantika for pics and some of the write ups, https://sagar-sen.blogspot.com/2015/01/purbashali-paradise-for-birds-at-chupir.html
field notes and others
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