Mitra Stay — Shantiniketan

01

The House

Mitra Stay is not on the tourist stretch, and that is rather the point. It stands in a quiet residential lane two kilometres out, where the days are unhurried and the evenings are made for walking.

You come in through an iron gate onto a red-oxide courtyard laid in swirls — past aloe and bougainvillea and a coconut palm that came up through the paving long before anyone thought about parking. Inside it is cool and plain: terrazzo underfoot, whitewashed walls, wrought-iron jaali at every window so they can be left open.

There is parking in front, a grocery next door, and the market a hundred metres on.

Red oxide, hand-swirledcourtyard & paths
Terrazzo, marble chips in grey cementset on site
Wrought-iron jaali, four-petalevery window
Brick trim against lime-creamBirbhum clay

The garden courtyard: red-oxide paving in swirl patterns, terracotta pots of agave and flowering shrubs, a coconut palm and dense green trees. — The courtyard, late morning. The pattern repeats every four feet and never quite lines up.

The verandah: terrazzo floor with coloured marble chips, a long concrete bench under a wall of four-petal iron grilles, a wooden folding chair with green cushions. — The verandah, where most guests end up with tea.

02

The Rooms

Spacious and airy, each with a private washroom and a private balcony — with its own entry and exit, so you come and go on your own schedule.

In every one of the six

Private washroomgeyser, hot water
Private balconyown entry & exit
Air conditioningand a ceiling fan
Wi-Fifree, work-ready
Parkingin front of the house

In four of the six

A private kitchenyours alone
Refrigerator, gas stovemixer, utensils
Grocery storenext door
Market100 m

Say so when you book if you want one — there are only four, and they go first.

A curved balcony with a polished marble floor, a wrought-iron railing in a branching leaf pattern, two crotons in terracotta pots, and green trees filling the view beyond. — The curved balcony, with the leaf railing — its own way in and its own way out.

Four of six Rooms with a kitchen of their own

03

Inside, plainly

Nobody has styled these rooms for a photograph. Block-print curtains, wooden beds with storage under them, brass and terracotta on the shelves, and a fan turning above the air conditioner.

A bedroom with a carved wooden bed and floral bedcover, leaf-print curtains, framed photographs on narrow shelves, a cane chair, and a polished wooden door standing open to the balcony. — The cane chair by the window, and the wooden door out to the balcony.

A bedroom with a pink-panelled ceiling, a green ceiling fan, blue checked bedspread on a wooden storage bed, a tall almirah, a framed pattachitra of Ganesha, and block-print curtains on two walls. — The panelled ceiling, and curtains on two sides — this room takes light from both.

A large high-ceilinged room with a yellow checked bedspread on a wooden bed, ceiling fan, air conditioner, a shelf of books and curios, and an open door through to the balcony. — High ceilings, fan and air conditioning both, and the balcony door left standing open.

A bright bedroom with a wooden storage bed, bird-print bedcover, block-print curtains and an air conditioner. — Storage under the bed; grey marble underfoot.

A room with a dining table and four wooden chairs beside the bed, a horse painting on the wall and an iron-grille window. — A table of your own.

A bedroom with built-in white niche shelves holding brass and terracotta objects, a wooden cupboard and a doorway through to the next room. — Niche shelves, and years of collected brass.

A bedroom with a purple and yellow plaid bedspread and an open doorway showing a second bed in the adjoining room. — Two rooms that open into each other.

A small simple room with a green bedcover, a standing fan, a shelf, and a blue folding table holding an electric kettle. — The simplest room, with a kettle.

A washroom with pebble-textured white tiles, a toilet, a shower with an electric geyser above it, and a block-print curtain at the window. — Geyser over the shower; hot water all day.

A washroom with beige marbled tiles, a toilet, a health faucet and a blue bucket. — Private, in every one of the six.

An external red-painted iron staircase against a cream wall, with a purple bicycle parked beneath it on red-oxide tiles. — The outside stair, and somebody's bicycle.

A small dark red wooden shoe rack against a white wall, holding two pairs of rubber slippers. — Chappals off at the door.

Rooms differ — some have a kitchen, some a table, some a second room off them. Tell us who is coming and we will put you in the right one.

04

The Table

We keep no dining room — and four of the six rooms don't need one. They have a kitchen of their own: gas, sink, filtered water, and every pot you would want.

A kitchen with a black granite counter, a two-burner gas stove and cylinder, an electric kettle, a stainless sink, a wall-mounted water purifier, dark patterned tiles and a wood-look floor. — Gas, sink, filtered water, and shelves underneath.

A glass-topped wooden dining table with carved chairs, block-print seat cushions, Bankura terracotta horses as a centrepiece, and a cane chair beside it. — And somewhere to sit down and eat it, with the Bankura horses looking on.

A green marble kitchen counter with a single-burner gas stove, a stainless sink, dish soap and a window looking onto banana leaves. — A window over the sink.

A kitchen counter with a cutlery caddy, plates, glasses, blue mugs on a tray, storage jars, an orange chopping board and a plate of wrapped sweets. — Set out before you arrive.

A small kitchen through an open wooden door: a blue water dispenser, a gas stove on a green marble counter, and pressure cookers and pans stacked in the shelf below. — Cookers and pans, stacked below.

Four shelves recessed into a white wall holding storage jars, glasses, teacups, a pan and a black kettle. — Jars and cups, in the wall itself.

Recessed kitchen shelves holding a karai, lids, a saucepan, a baking tray, a knife and an orange chopping board. — Enough to cook properly with.

A tall recessed shelf unit of pots and jars beside an open door looking through into the bedroom with its bookshelf and television. — The kitchen, a door from the bed.

A grocery store is next door and the market is a hundred metres on. If you would rather not cook at all, every other way to eat is below.

Cook in your room, if yours has a kitchenfour rooms
Order from us, home-style Bengali₹200 veg · ₹250 non-veg
Tiffin services, two of them nearbyfrom ₹80
Swiggy & Zomato, both deliver to the doordaily
Hotel Utsav, right across the waywalk over

Bonolokkhi's tourist lunch must be booked by 10 AM; Bharat Sevasram Sangha at Muluk serves a satwik lunch on donation, called for the evening before. Cafés at Ratanpally and inside the campus. Every number arrives with your guest guide.

05

Around, & further out

Ours is a residential area, so the sights are not walkable — but the roads are uncrowded and almost everything is a quarter of an hour by e-rickshaw. Two toto drivers we trust work with us at fair prices.

Bolpur Shantiniketan station2 km
Rabindra Bhawan — closed Wed & Thu2.9 km
Sonajhuri Haat — Saturdays4 km
Bishnubati tribal village & museum10 km

Nandan Gallery

Facing the museum

Artists show here regularly — ask the security what is on and walk in. Ramkinkar Baij's sculptures are scattered across the campus around it.

Prakriti Bhawan

Beside the haat

A private museum of natural rock sculpture. Easy to pair with a Saturday at Sonajhuri.

Art & ceramics

Working studios

Krittika, Tokaroun, Mrittika and SSVAD for art; Hasa and Lipi's for Shantiniketan-aesthetic ceramics — Hasa is loveliest in the evening.

Cloth & carving

By appointment

Shibori and kantha stitch with Karma Ashrama and Papri Basak; Robi Bhaskar carves wood at Palashbuni Gram, and any toto knows the way.

Auroshree & Sriniketan

On foot

You can walk to Auroshree market with the campus gate right there, or out to Sriniketan for the agricultural departments.

Zamindar houses

Close by

Raipur and Surul, both an easy half-day. Amar Kutir, the society-run craft shop, sits between them.

An hour out

By car

Chinpai Dam, Hetampur Rajbari, and Tarashankar Bandopadhyay's house at Labhpur.

Shaktipeeths & terracotta

Ask us for routes

Kankalitala, Labhpur and Attahaas; temple trails at Illambazar, Ghurisha, Joydeb Kenduli, Nanoor, Supur and Itonda.

06

Coming, & staying

The gate, iron with tiled caps, opening onto a quiet road, with the red-oxide drive and a scooter parked inside. — The gate on Jambuni Sericulture Road.

Bolpur Shantiniketan station is two kilometres from the door. Send us your train number and someone will meet you — the lane is easier shown than described.

Howrah to Bolpur, fast trains≈ 2½ hrs
Station to the house, by toto10 min
Sharing totosfrom Jambuni Mor
Scooty, bike & car hirewe will call

Good to know

Check-in1:00 PM
Check-out11:00 AM
Early check-inoften possible, ask
Curfewnone at all
Childrenvery welcome

Write to us

Phone+91 78278 58997
WhatsApp+91 78278 58997
Emailrupa@kokumlabs.in
Also listed onAirbnb

Tell us your dates, how many of you there are, whether you want a kitchen, and which train you are on. A person replies, not a system. The guest guide follows once you have booked.