The drab and dull city life sometimes aligns us with monotony in ways that we become used to. To break away from this very alignment, you folks should take a drive (read road trip) to Amadpur, a small village in the district of Burdwan.
Amadpur is a place where you can see a marriage of history and natural beauty. The place is always incandescing with a sparkle of life no matter when you visit it. The closest railway station is Memari, and after you get down, you're suddenly welcomed by a wide expanse of countryside, as you pass by quaint hamlets during your 4-km rickshaw ride to Amadpur.
The Baithakkhana Heritage Homestay is one of the main attractions here. The mansion of the Chaudhuri, Baithakkhana is majestic with a surrounding lake and four 8-roofed terracotta temples, which are no less than 500 years old. Rooms here have tall ceilings with wooden rafters, antique furniture, carved four-poster beds and dressers. And to maintain the archaic charm of the rajbari, there's no Wi-Fi or TV. Impossible to even imagine nowadays, right?
Very closely situated to the Chaudhuri bari are the Baagh Bari and the Dol Mancha, which is where the family deities of the Chaudhuri family are worshipped every year during doljatra or Holi. You will have a lot of things to take back from here and a lot of stories to tell, once you go back into that mundane city life again.
Situated 95 km northwest of Kolkata, it will be a maximum two-hour drive and if you are coming by train, there are trains from Howrah station which you can hop on. Double beds start from INR 3,000 at the homestay, including breakfast.
