Boating in Black & White

Sometime back I had seen on television about this part of the Ganges in Hooghly District which was nominated for one of the wonders of India. The lady in the show waited all day in vain, staring at the waters hoping to catch a glimpse of rare species of freshwater gangetic dolphins.

One Saturday evening, after having a heavy lunch at Bandel, the three of us moved towards the river leading from the banks of the beautiful Bandel Basilica towards the Shahi Imambara. The boat ride was uneventful and we hid under the umbrella to escape from the scorching sun which seemed to tempt us more to jump into the water.

The boatman was slow and the heat was getting onto us, when we caught a glimpse of the Shahi Imambara.

The building is ancient and would have prospered right after Bandel was captured and ruled by Mughals. The Imambara clock tower gives a bird’s eye view of the entire Hoogly District which makes it a worthwhile effort to climb.

On our way back we were being convinced by the boatman to do an elaborate ride around the river. Considering the heat we didn’t show much interest, but he kept moving on regardless of our inclination. And then he nonchalantly pointed towards something and we jumped off our seats ….unlike the reporter in the channel we were lucky to catch a glimpse of the shiny black dolphin which moved back into the water gracefully as it came out.