100-Day Road Trip: Kerala Doc & Son Carry Back Rich Memories From Odisha Hinterland

Bhubaneswar: She has already travelled 4700 km and made one exception to her ‘no travel at night’ rule to watch the entire process of ‘Chhena Poda’ preparation at Pahala, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday.

“It was an exhilarating experience. I also had Dalma and returned around 11 pm,” said Mitra Satheesh, a professor at the Government Ayurveda College in Kochi.

She made a trip to Konark and then Dhuli on Wednesday morning and returned to the city to spend time at the Tribal Museum leisurely. “I plan to explore Odia food this evening,” she said.

Mitra began her pan-India road trip of 100 days by car on March 17 with her 10-year-old son Narayan. After covering Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari, Pattamadhai, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Thanjavur, Puducherry, Chennai, Ongole in Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda in Telangana state, she entered Odisha last week.

The 40-year-old with a passion for travelling had prepared a proper route chart to explore the rural belts of India and learn more about its culture and customs.

She ticked ‘Meeting the Bondas’ off her bucket list after entering Koraput. “It was top on my list of things to do in Odisha”, said Mitra.

She visited the weekly Onkadeli market, where the tribal women sell forest produce and traditional ornaments. The doctor then drove to Kangrapod village to meet the Gadaba tribe. She also had ‘mandia’ (ragi soup) with them. “I learnt to make bowls from leaves and had ‘mandia’ in it,” she said.

What impressed her the most were the neatness in the villages and the simple way of living. “The houses were small but it was green all around. No garbage dumps, maybe because they don’t use plastics,” she said.

The mother-son duo also drove to Duduma waterfall and enjoyed the scenic beauty there.

Mitra had hired a guide for the two-day tour of this hinterland to overcome the language barrier.

‘Oru Desi Drive’ written in bold on her car signifies the motto of this trip. “Oru in Malayalam means one and desi stands for the rural side of India. “The idea is to promote rural tourism and motivate people to see and enjoy the beauty of the countryside,” she said.

She brought her son along on this trip as she wanted him to know what life is and how people live in rural India. “I also want to set an example for women who are reluctant to travel after having kids. It’s high time they live their dreams,” said Mitra, who has been driving for the past 11 years and made her first solo adventure trip to Bhutan in May 2019. 

From Koraput, she travelled to Bastar, reentering Odisha. “I had plans to stay in Sambalpur but could not get a hotel there since it was Holi. I had to drive another 300 km and reached Bhubaneswar around 8 pm on Monday. It got a bit tiring then,” she said.

Mitra was surprised to see the huge traffic on Bhubaneswar roads at around 9 am. “I never expected this city to be so big,” she said.

She will soon be packing her bags and accelerating towards her next destination – Kolkata, on Thursday morning, drive to the northeastern states, and then take a turn to the northern states, covering a total of 18,267 km.

We wish her a safe journey ahead!