I was very delighted when my father told me that he would take me and my sister for a boat ride from Belurmath to Dakshineswar. I live in the heart of Kolkata and unlike the village boys I do not know how to swim. Inspite of this I was not scared to go for a boat ride in the river.

Next day in the afternoon my father hired a small boat from Belurmath to cross over to Dakshineswar. The river Ganga was quite calm and still. Since this was my first time in a boat, my father instructed me not to sit on the side of the boat. But I was quite eager to sit near the river water. After begging him for a while, my father allowed me sit on the edge of the boat. It was a different experience to sit on the side of the boat. I was able to view the entire scenery without any obstruction. I saw some men and women bathing and washing their clothes on the nearby ghats. Some children were competing among themselves in swimming to reach to the other side of the river. I wished I could join them in swimming!

The cool air was blowing straight into my face. It really rejuvenated me. As we moved ahead, I saw some fishermen catching fish in the middle of the river. It was also quite beautiful to see the water dancing downstream in the afternoon sun. Then as one big streamer passed by, our small boat started to toss up and down the waves that were formed by the passing steamer. I got little scared. But the boatman assured me that everything was fine.

Our boat trip ended as we reached Dakshineswar. It was a very short trip, but a memorable one.
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