A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan

Tripoto
22nd Jan 2018

Tribal Dance

Photo of A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan by Aniruddha and Debabrati
Photo of A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan 1/1 by Aniruddha and Debabrati
Sonajhuri haat also known as “Khoai Boner Onno Hut”
Day 1

You must be crazy about clay jewelleries? And that too from Santiniketan? Then Khoai Hut is the perfect destination for you beside Khoai River. Here you will get numerous exclusive clay jewelleries of different designs made by local inhabitants. Not only clay jewelleries but also you can get handmade clay toys, showpieces, bags of different Santinekatani prints, garments made of Katha Stitch and Batik Print and even local ethnic Bengalee dishes like pithey and payesh. So we planned 

A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan.

Handmade Ornaments made by Local Artisans

Photo of Khoai Boner Hat, Amar kutir Road, Kabi Mohanpur, West Bengal, India by Aniruddha and Debabrati

“Khoai” is the erosion of the soil which basically happens due to the flowing stream of Kopai River and wind. Besides the Kopai river, an eroded landscape of red laterite soil, covered with the dry forest of Shal, Piyal, and Sonajhuri trees. Both the Kopai river and forest holds a significant beauty.

Santiniketani Bags

Photo of A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan by Aniruddha and Debabrati

In the context of Kopai River, Rabindra Nath Tagore composed a poem–

Amader chhoto nodi chole bnāke bnāke
Boishakh maashe tay hnatu jol thake.
Paar hoe jay goru, paar hoy gaari –
Dui dhaar unchu taar, dhalu taar paari.
Our little river flows in graceful loops
The summer heat dries her to a gentle flow,
Both cart and cattle travel across with ease
Her banks are high, her depths are shallow
                                   By Rabindra Nath Tagore

Photo of A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan by Aniruddha and Debabrati

Sonajhuri :

                  Sonajhuri means “Droplets of Gold”.

In winter small yellow flowers bloom all over the trees and the whole path turns into golden path due to the downpour of the flowers. According to our guide, Tagore apparently was impressed by the beauty of the profuse blooms of the small golden yellow flowers on the trees and by the fallen ones on the grounds under the trees. And, his poetic entity gave a title “Sonajhuri”.

Beauty of Shal Bon

Photo of Sonajhuri Forest, Birbhum, West Bengal, India by Aniruddha and Debabrati

The forest is very clean and well maintained.

INSIDE THE FOREST, KHOAI HAAT WHICH POPULARLY KNOWN AS “KHOAI BONER ONNO HUT” OR “SONAJHURI HAAT”, HELD EVERY SATURDAY FROM THE MORNING AND CONTINUES TILL THE DAWN.

Musical Instruments and different products for selling

Photo of A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan by Aniruddha and Debabrati

This market holds the legacy of the Santineketani Art and culture, where local artisans sell their creations. On every Saturday, the turbulence of the shop owners and the visitors offer a life to the forest. Moreover, you will found the Bauls, stringing their Ektaras and singing to the tune of the winds on the banks of Kopai. The Tribal dancers perform different cultural activities which are worth watching.

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Local sellers with their Shops

Photo of A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan by Aniruddha and Debabrati

Santiniketan, Must visit place in West Bengal, West Bengal Tourist spots, Rabindra nath Tagore, A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan

Sunset in Shal Bon (Forest)

Photo of A Small Day Trip To Khoai er Haat-Santiniketan by Aniruddha and Debabrati

We roamed in and around the market for some time and got attracted to the tribal dances and also the Baul songs. We got the actual taste of the culture of Baul community and their day to day activities. Moreover, the formation of the forest and the perfect distances between the series of trees made us astonished. The forest looked like someone has intentionally created the forest with perfect measurement. But all the credit goes to the creator of our motherland.

We made some shopping and reached at the end of the day.

But before ending we must say if you ever have a chance to visit this type of market, you can actually get the essence of the culture of Bengal. Do visit and enjoy the market as well as the tribal dance and Baul Songs.