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Once a flourishing port and a favourite seaside
resort of the British, Gopalpur-on-sea lost its importance when trade
with Burma ceased during the Second World War. Today, this small
fishing village is again attracting attention and becoming a popular
holiday resort.
Somewhere on India’s
coast still survives a quiet hamlet with beaches, picturesque fisher
folk, swaying palms, colonial ruins and few tourists-Gopalpur-on-sea.
How very British the suffix on sea, like the names of little English
fishing villages, for example, Middleton-on-sea, Frankton-on-sea and
so many others. Yet nothing could be more Indian than the name
Gopalpur. A curious meeting of east and west; the history of the
place explains why.
On a visit to Orissa we
were attracted by report of its magniattracted by reports of its
magnificent and comparatively undiscovered beach, and decided to cut
short our stay at the popular resort of Puri and continue our journey
southwards to Gopalpur-on-sea.Arriving at the nearby railhead of
Berhampur, we took an autorickshaws and made the 16 kilometers drive
to Gopalpur. The road meandered through coconut plantations and
casuarinas groves, before sharply dipping downwards through
Gopalpur’s narrow marketplace. We rounded a curve and saw
stretching infinitely before us the dark blue waters of the Bay of
Bengal. Reports of the splendour of Gopalpur’s beach had not
been exaggerated and picture postcard-like, it flanked the sea in a
shimmering expanse of silver white.
The seafront was bathed
in the soft yellow light of sunset which lent a warm, lively glow to
the several old bungalows that stood literally on the beach. Compared
to the beach at Puri-littered with petromax-lit stalls selling a
tawdry selection of souvenirs, Gopalpur’s sands were unsuilled.
We could see a number of fisherfolk, a group of overweight Russians
and a few others.
We finally got place in a
century old bungalow, barely 25 metres from the water’s edge.
It turned out to be the old Port Commissioner’s residence when
the port was a flourishing one in British times. The double-storied
rambling place was run more on the lines of an inn than a hotel and
our innkeeper, Mr.Jana, was certainly a colourful character.
Belonging to a family which has lived in Berhampur for generations
and had purchased the house as a seaside home soon after the Second
World War, he explained to us how Gopalpur acquired its name.
Originally a small
fishing village on the coast of Orissa, it was so named when a temple
dedicated to Lord Krishna was constructed some time in the 18th
century. As Indian temples go, a fairly small one, but with a
beautifully ornate dome, and an extremely tranquil air. During the
year before the British shifted their capital from Calcutta to new
Delhi, Calcutta developed a number of satellite getaway resorts like
Curseong, Kalimpong and colser home, Diamond Harbour. Apart from its
temple Gopalpur was distinguished for its magnificent beach and was
discovered as a perfect winter resort. Soon hotels and guest houses
lined the seafront. The East India Company built huge warehouses and
godowns’ for trade with Burma had picked up and Gopalpur had
become a trading point for rice from Rangoon. Reminisced Jana, who
must have been a child then, that there used to be dancing and
parties that continued till the early hours. Wealthy Bengalis from
Calcutta too made it their holiday home.
Gopalpur’s
importance dwindled when trade with Burma abruptly ceased furing the
war and never revived again. When the British left India, even
members of rich Bengali homes preferred to holiday in other places
and Gopalpur began to revert to what it originally was a fishing
village.
With an increase in
tourist trade in the late seventies, and the opening of an Oberoi
luxury hotel, it experienced a slow revival, and I am sure that a few
winter hence bookings will be as difficult to get as they are in
Puri.
We got up early the next
morning for we had heard that the fishing boats came in at sunrise.
Walking up the beach, we stared at the lighthouse dominating the
landscape. Banded in broad stripes of red and white and built on a
bantage point, we wondered how, the previous evening, we could have
misses seeing a landmark so prominent.
Narrow canoe shaped
fishing boats had already been pulled up on the beach, and at various
intervals crowds had gathered to bid at the impromptuauction that was
taking place. We ventured closer, following a graceful girl moving
sinuously in a mustard sari draped sarong fashion. We watched her
haggle for two enormous mackerel from amongst the glittering catch;
placing them in a rush basket, she balanced them on her head and
insouciantly walked away.
In fact most of the women
seemed to be imbued with their own grace, their own style. While
about a dozen gold rings heavily adorned their earlobes, each wore a
nose pin on either nostril apart from a nose ring dangling above the
mouth. A number of them puffed on crude cheroots made from rolled
tabacco leaves.
On waling by the
fishermen’s huts at the edge of the quiet backwaters beyond the
holiday homes for the tourists, we saw more of these women. Here the
waters had none of the turbulence of the ocean and the scene was an
unhurried, peaceful one. A fisherman was rhythmically whirling his
net flinging it and then gathering it towards him. A basket nearby,
crawling with tiny bluish crabs bore the fruits of his labour.
A small boat sluggishly
conveyed a group of women to the market place across the creek.
Fishermen had unraveled their nets on the white sands and were
checking them for rents. Two of them were industriously repairing a
badly splintered boat.
The boats were very
crudely constructed with strips of bleached, light wood roughly
joined together. Amazingly each boat could be divided longitudinally
down the middle into two separate halves. At the water’s edge
these would be joined together by lashings of rope. The whole
arrangement did not look the least watertight, but as we realized
later, did not really have to be. The wood used was so buoyant and
so fashioned that the boat stayed upright even with a heavy catch and
the weight of four fishermen. On coming ashore, the boats would again
be separated into two halves, slung on poles, and carried above the
high tide water marks where they were stowed for safety.
Intrigued by the
construction, we bravely asked to go for a ride on one. The
experience was an enthralling one. Our boatman, a wizened and weather
beaten man, took us to the anchorage where during British times,
ships used to come and lighten their cargo into barges which then
discharged at the jetty extending several hundred metres into the
sea. We paddled over the still existing pylons which used to support
the now vanished jetty. The sea shone thought he sapphire waters
catching the silver scales of giant fish which restlessly gleamed
between the pylons. However, it was not without some relief that we
turned back to the seafront of Gopalpur with its trademark
lighthouse, and alighted on terra firma again.
According to Mr.Jana,
legend has it that Gopalpur’s sands had witnessed maritime
ventures of a much earlier age when Orissa had flourished as part of
the Kalinga Kingdom in the 4th and 5th century
B.C. early colonists to Java, Bali and Sumatra were supposed to have
sailed from here, carrying the seeds of Indian civilization with
them.
That evening we hired
bicycles for an incredible 50 paisa an hour and cycled further
inland. Wandering aimlessly through orchards of ancient mango trees,
we passed several dilapidated old mansions. Walls peeling with
plaster, with tiles missing from their roofs and stray dogs
sheltering in their once grand porticoes, they wore a forlorn air of
neglect and discuss. Stopping by one that boasted of a chowkidar, we
asked to be shown around. Heavily carved front doors opened onto a
lofty hall. Light filtering in through the skylights revealed the
beauty of a black and white marble floor symetrically laid out in
checkerboard fashion. A chandelier swathed in heavy dust sheets still
hung, but there was no electricity and no furniture. All the houses
belonged to wealthy Bengalis who had left the property to
disinterested heirs who were either in the process of selling it as a
guest house or simply had ceased to care. It seemed a pity that the
Orissa government had made no effort to acquire them.
On the other hand many
smaller bungalows along the seafront had been developed by
Anglo-Indians retired from Calcutta. Today, these guest houses bear
names like whitehart and Smith’s place and are being run on the
lines of British Bed and Breakfast cottages. Their location was
fantastic. Beautifully maintained, they served as a foiled to the
crumbling ruins that lay alongside. One of the ruins still preserved
its name on marble pillars-The Blue Haven, once a hotel, now roofless
and open to the skies. An enormous but weather-beaten dance floor
bore testimony to past gaiety.
Our visit was drawing to
a close and as we regretfully packed. I wrapped with greatest care
some spiny shells and a first-sized pearl white conch found on the
beach. Even today, many months later, I press the conch shell tight
against rush and hiss of the ocean striking against the sands of
Gopalpur-on-sea.
VISITING
GOPALPUR-ON-SEA
GETTING THERE
By air
The nearest airport is
Bhubaneshwar. Indian Airlines connects Bhubandeswar with Bombay,
Calcutta, Delhi, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Raipur and Varansi. Vayudoot also
services Bhubandeswar.
By Rail
Bhubaneswar is connected
by express trains to the four metropolises
By Road
Gopalpur-on-sea is
connected by comfortable tourist buses from puri and Bhubaneswar as
well as local buses and taxis from the railhead of Berhampur. Long
distance taxis, air-conditioned and ordinary, as well as mini coaches
are also available for hire at Bhubaneswar, through the Orissa
Tourism Development Corporation at Satya Nagar, Bhubaneswar 751001.
MISCELLANEOUS
Excursions: Hot Sulphur
springs at Taptapani, 50 kilometres from berhampur.
Jaugarh, 35 kilometres
from Berhampur is famous for Ashookan rock edicts and other
archaeological remains.
Chilika Lake, about half
way enroute to Bhubaneswar is the country’s biggest inland lake
spread over 100 square kilometers. The lake is dotted with numerous
islands and is the home of a rich variety of aquatic fauna, besides
being the winter resort of migratory birds from as far away as
Siberia.
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