Bortir Bill- A evanescent gateway brought to you by Facebook

Introduction

There are sometimes when we get tired of our daily lives chained in a routine that we somehow created on our own and caged ourselves in it like a lab rat. We have made ourselves so accustomed to this routine lifestyle that we can't take long breaks from it to take a free breath. Here small breaks come to our rescue. These small breaks like an outing with some friends, a dinner with our family or even a lonely time with ourselves help us to rejuvenate our souls, give us new perspective and give us a sense of freedom from the cage and if this outing is to so called off beat location then our temptation increases many folds. Here comes to play the social media pages.

The social media pages are filled with pictures of others enjoying there small gateways with friends and family in this off beat locations. The FB and Insta stories are filled with tons of pictures with some uncanny captions that make us feel to do the same thing and earn likes and comments. This has become a habit of ours. The only thing people are searching in internet these days is "off beat places near me" and I am no exception.

So, on a fine day when I was scrolling through my social media page I came across some stunning pictures of a place called "Bortir bill" and I was awestruck. My fingers froze on those images and I was like I need to go there anyhow someday. The person who posted that pictures may not ever thought in his wildest dreams that these will become so viral that it will become an hot topic of discussion. An unknown place become so popular in an instant thanks to the power of social media that suddenly this place is in the bucket list of everyone's. In the coming weeks my social media page is filled with pictures of people going gaga over this place and become a trend. I was also curious like everyone to explore this place and one fine day me and my friends took out our motorcycles and reached this place. Like those perfect pictures in social media pages this place is magnificent.

A brief history

Like every place I have visited so far the first thing that attract me is the name of the place and the history behind that. Now the name "Bortir bill" is a culmination of two Bengali words.  The word "Borti" is derived from the bengali word bottris (বত্রিশ) as in 32 and the word "bill" means a waterbody or lake created in a lowland. As per the locals, once upon a time a total 32 canals and  small waterways were originated from these lake thus the name "Bortirbill" or the lake of 32.

Things to do in Bortir bill

The place is basically surrounded by Jute fields and the waterbody is generally use to cultivate jute and fishing. But in the four months of the Monsoon season this place transforms itself in a local paradise. The waterbody can be seen in its full charisma and you can enjoy the nature at its full glory.

When I talked about this with my father he was stunned that how am I came across of this place and a little bit of denial because he told nobody goes there for a good reason. But what he is not aware of till now is the power of social media. The place has become so popular that thousands of people visited this place since those pictures came out from various corners of Kolkata and it suburbs even after a year has passed since then. This has also changed the livelihood of the local people. In the four months of monsoon (July-October) the locals who generally earn their daily livings by farming and fishing turns their fishing boats into tourists boats and arrange paid tours for the visitors in a reasonable price (also depends on your bargaining skills) of the lake. When these small boats traverse through the waterlily, lotus covered waters it feels so peaceful and magical that one can easily forget all the worries of his/her lives and get lost in the lapse of the nature. The landscape is picturesque and awesome that mere gazing though the images is not enough. One need to go to this place to really enjoy the experience.

   

When to go?

The ideal time to visit would be in the Monsoon season (July-October). The lake is filled with rainwaters. The cottony clouds that appear in the sky near the end of monsoon and the begining of autumn creates astonishing reflections on the lake water & creates a magical painting that can only be crafted by nature and no one else.

How To Reach?

This off beat place is located near Kolkata and can be reach within hours. This place is near Nilgunge on Barrackpore-Barasat state highway. A bike ride will be an ideal way to visit this place. The journey time will vary depending where you live in the city. From Barrackpore or Barasat it will hardly take 40 minutes. From the city center as in Esplanade around 2 hours. You can take a car also but as the road around the lake is not paved and its narrow I would suggest to take a bike instead.

If you don't have a personal vehicle, don't worry at all, you can easily catch a local train from Sealdah and reach either Barrackpore or Barasat and from there take an auto or bus (route no 81 Barasat-Barrackpore, route no DN-5 Naihati-Barasat) from either side and reach to Nilgunge. From there take an auto or e-rickshaw (toto) and reach BortirBill. I would suggest to go via Barrackpore as the number of trains are way more than the Barasat section and this way you can also dive into the famous lip-smacking biriyani of Dada Boudi restaurant which is located just beside the Barrackpore railway station.

So leave all your worries behind and enjoy nature within the reach of your hands and take that much deserving small break you are craving for. Here are some more picture and a video of this place to motivate you. Thanks to Facebook.......