Western Orissa - Badmal

A journey from Bhubaneswar to Badmal. 17th August 2005.

I did my Engineering from Bhubaneswar. During my final year, we went on trip from Bhubaneswar to Badmal. Its a small town in Bolangir district. Two of us started on my Car from Bhubaneswar. Myself and Satyajit (now a Doctor).
We took the National Highway to Cuttack..From Cuttack onwards, one has to stick to the State highway. Roads are pretty decent. There is an Ordinance Factory in Badmal. Its a small well planned setup with all facilities inbuilt for the factory workers.

As the time passed by, around 7 o' clcok in the evening, it started drizzling... The rain gets a lot aggressive in and around the Jungles. We had a 1997 model Santro with empty roads...We managed to see the headlight of a government jeep after more than 1 hour interval.

There were no street lights, neither there were any villages... It was so silent that we could hear the sound of raindrops falling on the car's metal body. We did not want to take a break either. It was too scary. I switched off the headlights of the car once or twice and we just felt lost in the jungle. My friend even claims to have seen a snake and a fox on the way. I was too scared to notice our companions.
My friend insisted to take a quick break and enjoy the surroundings. We decided to switch off the engine. Not even a single light source was visible with in the range. Both natural and artificial. The rain had stopped but the thunderstorms continued.

We heard strange sounds... That was more than enough to start the car and hit the empty highway again..... We reached Badmal at around 11PM. There are no hotels available but you can get in touch with locals who will arrange for a guesthouse accomodation. To our utter surprise, it was too cold to survive without putting on the winter clothes.

We spent the next two days in this small town... There is a dam and a small waterfall nearby. The Ordinance Factory requires you to take prior permission to give a visit to. We had a wonderful time in there......The air is fresh, the climate is awesome and the roads are well built to commute to and fro to the Factory.

Its a trip I will never forget coz of the dense dark forests and the dark scary night...