Author: Dinabandhu Nayak
This was the last day of our trip; so we thought, why don’t we make detour instead of going directly to Ratapat. Two temples were on the way and our schedule was free till the evening Champanath Mahadevi Templesi Temples when the festivities were to start. So off we went. First we went to Champanath Mahadevi Temples in the village of Champeshwar. Lying pretty close to Narsinghpur, this Shiva Peeth is quite famous for the large number of turtles that reside in the adjoining water reservoir. Over 200 in number, these turtles attract tourists the year round. Another speciality of…
Those of us who still remember school level Dhauligiri history may recall that once upon a time in the ancient past, India was not a united country but a collection of feuding territories and kingdoms. From this chaos rose the Maurya Empire. Headed by the founder Chandragupta Maurya, this empire united the various quarrelling kingdoms into a cohesive territory. It was his grandson however, who contributed the most to this empire. At its height the Maurya Empire encompassed the whole of present day India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh except North-East India and some parts of South India. Most of this…
Introduction We got ourselves a DJI Spark in December and decided that the local landscape didn’t do its camera system any justice. So began our three day trip to Daringbadi. Daringbadi is situated 3000 ft above sea level in the district of Kandhmal. Considered by many to be the ‘Kashmir of Odisha’, this hill station is an ideal holiday destination in summer. We, being idiots, thought the middle of December was the right time to visit, when temperatures can easily go below zero. Luckily, we had a car and did not plan on staying long. We still managed to see…
As we have said at the beginning, we always try to bring out what is beautiful and ancient in our fair state and the Gorekhanath Temple at Jagatsinghpur is a good example. This post is a compilation of experiences that one of our team members collected when he visited the site about three weeks ago. We have collated all of that into a video for you to peruse. How do we get there? Jagatsinghpur is connected to Cuttack via NH43 splitting from NH12. From there on there is a 13 minute drive to Gorekhanath. However a better route will be…
We have all seen the news that the Hirakud Dam was opening its sluice gates to let off water before it was overwhelmed. Many commentators on news sites expressed dismay on the decision, however necessary it might have been. This could have been worse. In fact, about a century ago it was worse. Building the Hirakud Dam: A Modern Monument The Mahanadi Building the Hirakud Dam is a monsoon fed river and surges out during rainy season. Due to its nature, it used to shrink up considerably in the drier months. So the river delta was constantly plagued by both…
Introduction Clean Up Drive At Puri Beach Puri is famous all over the world for the Jagannath Temple and its history with the state of Kalinga. Thousands of tourists arrive every year at Puri to attend the world famous Ratha Yatra and thousands more come for the beach. However, Puri beach is a shadow of itself. The tsunami a few years ago eroded quite a bit of the sand and it is still recovering from the recent cyclone. People can’t do much for these as only time would heal the lands but there are other things which are quite attainable.…
Introduction Those who follow us on Facebook know that we were in Berhampur two weeks ago for a three day event. We were too busy for the first two days for any sightseeing so on the last day we set out for Gopalpur Beach. It is not more than a fifteen minute’s ride from Berhampur by road and quite easily accessible for everyone. Sadly what we encountered there was nothing more than disappointment. To be clear, the beach itself is clean and nice all told, but nothing like the tourism pictures depict. There were no crowds of beachgoers and the…
Introduction A year ago we wrote about a relatively unknown temple up a hill just outside Bhubaneshwar. We had no idea what were doing actually, as posts dried Revisiting the Temple Up the Hill out with us spending more time on other stuff. As the year draws to an end I have been looking back to see how far we have come and its quite far. So I decided one morning that it was time for a revisit. I started off at around 6:45 in the morning, the sun hidden behind the fog. A fortifying cup of tea later, I was on…
Chilika Lake on the coast of Odisha is a huge tourist attraction, being the biggest brackish water lagoon in India and the second largest in the world. Tourists flock here by the thousands for the spectacle, but also for its varied wildlife. Yes, the lake is home to a number of endangered species, chief amongst them the migratory birds of the Nalbana Bird Sanctuary. Situated near Barkul, the sanctuary is actually an island in the Chilika wetlands covering about 15.5 square km. The island’s name comes from the Odia language meaning weed covered island. During monsoon, the island submerges under the…
This ancient temple is located at Hirapur just on the outskirts of Bhubaneshwar city Chausathi Jogini Temple. Also known locally as the Mahamaya mandir, this temple is home to 56 idols made of black granite arranged in a circle facing the center. 7 more idols are situated in the central altar facing the four cardinal directions, making the total number of idols as 63. The missing 8th idol is said to have been taken to some place called Yamankunda. The temple itself is made of sandstone. The central altar holds an idol of the Goddess Kali, which stands upon a…