A memorable trip!

I have never been so keen on exploring new places, so when I got a chance to visit a place like Orissa I was a little apprehensive about it. But owing to circumstances I had to go! Having stayed in Mumbai for the past so many years anyone would get accustomed to the fast and busy life here. So when I landed in Bhubaneswar the capital of Orissa I found the airport to be very calm and quite contrasting to the hustle and bustle of the Mumbai airport with people flocking at the ticket counter even at a time like 4 or 5 in the morning! Our accomodation had been arranged in a place called Patia a little distance away from the main city. The journey from the airport to the villas, the place where our stay was arranged for the next 2 months, was also very plain with just open grounds to look around, serene and peaceful.
When we finally reached our destination we couldn’t find even one person around, with dead silence pervading the surroundings. Soon we were informed about the villas where we had to stay and assigned the respective rooms. The first thought that came to my mind was how could I spend the next 2 months in a boring place like this. But as they say the journey turns out to be a memorable experience when you meet the right kind of people on the way! So the next 2 months were full of hardcore training but at the same time we got the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful places, the chance to revisit history.
Orissa is basically known as the land of temples, so the trip would have been incomplete without visiting these places of historic importance and architectural brilliance! Situated on the eastern sea coast of India it is the land of hoary antiquities, magnificent monuments, exquisite handicraft and wide ranging flora and fauna. So the next plan of action was a trip arranged to visit all these places. Though we didn’t have the opportunity to visit all the places but we did manage to visit three temples Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri, Sun Temple at Konark and Lingraj Temple at Bhubaneswar, they are called the Golden Triangle of Orissa! We also managed to visit Dhaulgiri and Khandagiri-Udayagiri caves at Bhubaneswar.Let me quickly take you through these beautiful structures!

The first temple we visited was the Lingaraj Temple. King Lalatendu Keshari built the temple in the 11th century A.D. Inside its expansive precincts there are around 150 subsidiary shrines. Its magnificent architecture leaves you spellbound and enchanted!
The next temple on the list was the Sun Temple at Konark also known as the Black Pagoda. King Langula Narasinha Deva built it in the 13th century A.D with the help of 1200 architects in 12 years in the form of Chariot of sun God..
The temple is fitted with 24 wheels and 7 horses. The temple in itself is comprised of significant architectures. The Stone Chariot wheel 24 of them have been affixed to the platform each of them 9’9” in diameter having 8 spokes. The significance of this, are the 24 wheels indicating 24 hours and the 8 spokes signifying 8 prahars (three hour periods) of a day. The spokes of these wheels serve as sundials, and the shadows formed by these can give the precise time of the day. Isn’t it truly amazing?
The other equally marvelous structure includes the two strikingly caparisoned warhorses in front of the southern gate of Konark.It depicts the strength and the vigor of the horses trampling down the warrior. This has been accepted as a symbol of the state government of Orissa.

The two majestic lions in front of the eastern door, the main gate of the temple is seen pressing down a big elephant, which has caught a man in its trunkThe entire block has been carved in one huge stone itself.


Lord Jagnnath temple at Puri is considered to be one of the four holy temples of India.The deities residing in this temple are Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Jagannath.These three deities are known as the Trimurti (Trinity).

The temple has many other deities, which nearly encompass the entire God and Goddess of Hindu mythology!Though due to time constraints we couldn’t visit every nook and corner of the temple but of whatever I could manage to see, the temple structure and the sheer vastness of it left me awestruck!We also got a chance to visit the famous Puri beach popularly known as the Golden beach, which stretches out over a vast area and attracts thousands of tourists from around the world.

The caves Khandgiri-Udayagiri are the twin hills having 19 and 44 caves respectively. The Elephant cave records the life chronicles of a king named Kharavela.These caves, spread over a vast area, really make you appreciate the sheer brillance of our ancestors at erecting such huge and architecturally beautiful strructures!

But one thing I observed during all these trips was the state of these temples. The maintenance of these ancient heritages have been ignored for a long time leading to the disintegration of many subordinate structures and perhaps this condition has finally made the state authorities to wake up and start the renovation work. Such great architectures are the pride of our country with lakhs of tourists visiting these places every year and rather than preserving and treasuring such great architectures we turn a blind eye to the hopeless conditions in which they exist. It is time we start valuing these precious monuments and give equal attention on their maintenance and preservation.
After we visited such historic sites we managed to have a tour of the capital of Orissa, Bhubaneswar! A well-planned city with wide roads and less traffic, it had its own charm with a natural mix of urban and rural life! The city I surmise only had one hang out place, the Big Bazaar where the entire population of the capital would gather to have fun! Hmm and what is the fun if you visit any place and don’t catch up with the latest movie in the nearby theatre? That’s what we decided to do. But it was quite a humorous experience since the tickets for the same seat would be booked for 2 people and then when you finally enter the hall there would be a big brawl between the 2 people as to who would have the privelege to be seated! And another ludicrous fact was regrading the show timing. In this matter I can definitely say that Mumbaikars are the least punctual by starting the movie nearly 15 minutes after the displayed show timing, but I guess we really need to appreciate the over punctuality of the orissa people wherein the film starts nearly 20 min before and all your excitation would be trashed with you missing maybe your opening fav song or a scene inspite of arriving on time! This happens only in Orissa!
And finally how can I forget the great time we spent in our villas, the late night New Year celebrations and all the fun we had on our weekends! It was really a great experience wherein people from different parts of India met for the first time and became such good friends in a short span of time.
All in all a great time spent with great people in a great place contrary to my initial expectations of Orissa!