To the place I belong

Its said that the formative years of a person go a long way to shape his/her future persona. There are many contributors in this time frame. Friends, parents, the ideas, education and of course the neighborhood/surroundings. All these and many more factors contribute to the growth of a sound mind and body; ultimately playing a significant role in shaping who the person grows to be later in life. Among all these I do feel the place where a person grows up, the 'cradle of growth' plays a very crucial impact. I , for one, was blessed to spend the first 15 years of my life in a small but beautiful town called Maithan on the banks of the river Barakar (A tributary of Damodar) at the border of West Bengal and Jharkhand (erstwhile Bihar).

The genesis of the name of the place is where I shall start from. Ma ka sthaan (Obode of the Mother) led to Maithan. Mother here referring to the temple of Godess Kali at the Kalyaneshwari Temple.

The town was a Govt. colony of the Damodar Valley Corporation, serving as the field headquarters of the place. The biggest attraction of the place happens to be the dam, one of the oldest dams of Independent India. The town is on the Chhota Nagpur Plateau portion hence slightly elevated when compared to the sea level and surrounded by the hillocks an the river. The opening o the sluice gates during the monsoon to release the excess water is a treat to watch, Open up all the gates and we have ur own version o the famed Niagra.
Clean air, fresh water and smell of fresh rain on the grounds happen to be my first memories o the place.


More on Maithon to come up in the later posts on the subject



Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
Take me home, country roads.....

By John Denver