It was our third day in Puri and we decided to go to the Puri beach. The beach was quite close by to the hotel so we went there walking. On the way we saw Iskcon’s mobile restaurant and had the breakfast. We took 3 masala dosas for Rs. 12 each. It was nice and tasty as you can expect because it was from Iskcon temple. Then, we went to the beach and I clicked some shots:

For more photos of Puri beach, click here.

It was a nice and beautiful beach situated on the shores of the breathtakingly beautiful Bay of Bengal. A person was selling bangles made of shells and I bought a pair for Rs. 20 for Lucky. Then, we decided to check out Iskcon temple, which is about 4 kms from the beach. I asked a rickshaw (a mode of cycle-powered transport: a rider rides a three-wheeled cycle which seats one or two persons) and he told that he would take just 15 Rs. to take us to the temple. The rickshaw was very small to accompany 3 people and I said that only two people could sit. But he told that 2 can sit on the rickshaw and the third can sit on his seat. I was amazed on the idea. My father and I sat on the rickshaw and my brother was sitting on the rider’s seat and the rider was standing and riding the rickshaw It was quite funny to see that. We arrived at the Iskcon temple and I took this beautiful photo of Lord Krishna:

For more photos of Iskcon temple, click here.

Then, we went to Sri Jagannath temple in a rickshaw in a similar fashion. Well, this time I was sitting on the rider’s seat Again we deposited the cell phones, camera and shoes at the temple facility. We had the darshan of the Lord and then sat in the temple for a while. The atmosphere of the temple was magnificent, we found thousands of people visiting, praying, sitting and then going back. There was sweet sound of prayers, chirping of birds all around the place. Every time I visit this temple I feel there is something divine and which attracts me to visit the temple again. My brother told that he will be visiting Balighai for Kriyayoga and will be catching us in the Puri bus stop. He left and we sat there till afternoon and then took a rickshaw to the beach. Amazingly the rates are so cheap over there, he just took fifteen rupees. After reaching the beach we decided to go for the lunch in a Bengali restaurant just near the beach. It was a nice restaurant and I could smell the mouth watering Bengali dishes. I ordered prawn malai curry, fried prawns and a fish curry along with rice and curd. Prawn malai curry was very delicious and the prawns were almost the size of tiger prawns so I ordered 2 more plates. It was the tastiest fish curry I ever had and the best part is that it was quite cheap, just Rs. 70 a plate. After a nice lunch we moved to the beachside. It was quite hot in the afternoon along the beach. There were few shades in the beach and they charge Rs. 10 per hour to sit in the chair. I gave him Rs 20 and we picked two chairs. Thanks to them who were offering this kind of service otherwise it was very hot to sit under the sun. After that we went back to the hotel for checkout. Then, we took a rickshaw again and went to the Puri bus stop. There my brother joined us and we took a private bus to Bhubaneswar. It was a couple of hours drive to Bhubaneswar and we got into the train, which will take us back to Bhilai. We reached Bhilai in the morning and the great journey came to an end. When I reached my home I still remembered the line told by a guide that a person who visits one time to Puri has to visit many times and Yes I am eager to visit Puri again to see Lord Jagannath, the amazing beaches and the Chilka lake, which we missed.
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After Udaygiri and Khandagiri Caves our guide told that the next and the last spot of our trip would be NandanKanan National Park, which is about 20 kms from Bhubaneswar. It is a biological park established in 1960 sprawling across the Chandaka forest. The Nandankanan national park houses the very first captive gharial-breeding center of the country. The zoo at Nandakanan is world-renowned for its white tigers. In 1980, for the very first time, three white tiger cubs were born from normal colored parents. With facilities for boating, white tiger and lion safaris, a nocturnal animal house, reptile park, aerial ropeway and cable car, it is the place for a person with a penchant for the great outdoors. A camera ticket was required and I took that from the counter. We saw a Himalayan bear sleeping and I took the shot:

Next, was a sloth bear:

Leopard Madhu, the straying leopard was captured form a toilet at Madhupatna in Cuttack city on 6.3.92 by the staff of the biological park. Unless we preserve their habitats such incidences will be more frequent in future. I got these details from the labels painted in a board near the cage:

Next to see was the most amazing, a white tiger. That was the first time I ever saw a white tiger. White tigers are mutants of the normal colored tiger and are highly endangered. It’s a beautiful animal and really a treat to watch:

We also saw some tigers, stripped hyena, spotted deers and crocodiles in the park. The rare species was this rhinoceros. In recent decades rhinos have been relentlessly hunted to the point of near extinction. Since 1970 the world rhino population has declined by 90 percent, with five species remaining in the world today, all of which are endangered. This was the first time I saw a rhino even in captivity:

It was 6 pm and was getting dark. I was taking the pictures quickly as after some time nothing will be visible. Check out this Hippopotamus:

Then, we went to see the reptile park. A life sized Tyrannosaurus Rex stands as a sentinel on the gates of the Reptile Park that is home to crocodiles, lizards, turtles and snakes. The Reptile Park at Nandankanan is apt to introduce your kids to the world of reptiles, thereby infusing interest and eliminating fear from your kids mind. Reptile Park has many varieties of snakes including Krait, Cobra, Russels Viper and Saw Scaled Viper. Banded Krait-Kraits are the most poisonous snake in India. They rarely eat eggs and never drink milk. They feed on rats, mice, frogs, birds and lizards.

On a small enclosure I found this baby crocodile:

For more photos of Nandankanan National Park, click here.

By the time we came out of the reptile park it was completely dark so we thought of returning to Puri. We had some snacks and got in to the bus. It was a couple of hours drive to Puri and we were very tired after the trip. My brother suggested that we should check out some restaurants near the Puri Beach for Dinner but my father told that he will take dinner at hotel only and he will sleep and advised us to go over there. So my bro and me went to the Puri beach. We thought of having a walk to the beach and then go for dinner. The beach was nice and cold and after traveling in hot sun for the whole day the walk was very refreshing. We went to a nearby restaurant for the dinner. If you had been reading my earlier posts you will know why I love these beach side restaurants, Yeah, the seafood! I checked the menu quickly and ordered some fried prawns, rice, and ruhi fish curry (they call it ruhi but in bangalore it is called as rohu). We enjoyed the delicacies till we were full. After dinner we had a nice walk to our hotel and discussed about the whole day. The next day my brother was having plans to go to Balighai as he is into Kriyayoga (a meditation technique) and I was having plans to go to Sri Jagannatha temple again and then to visit the Puri beach.
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After Dhauli hill our guide told that the next stop would be at Lingaraj temple, Bhubaneswar, which is located 8 kms. from Dhauli. The Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar dates from the 11th Century A.D. It is one of the grandest and loftiest (147 ft. high) temples in eastern India. The construction of the temple is similar to Lord Jagannath temple in Puri. It has 64 secondary temples clustered around the central pine. Lingaraj, the God in the temple is represented by a LINGA, a natural black stone, 8 ft, in diameter. Such a representation of Lingaraj is called Swayambhu, a natural Linga. The gate is guarded by two stone lions and capped by a pyramidal roof. It was Yayati Keshari, the king of Keshari Dynasty, who laid foundation of the Lingaraj Temple. His great grandson, Lalatendu Keshari completed its work. The sculptures in the temple depicting Kings and their Queens, Royal Court, dancing girls, hunters, cultivators, musicians playing on musical instruments, males and females clad in fine attire are beautifully chiseled on stone. Here also camera and cell phones are not allowed inside the temple. So I could take the pictures only from outside:

For more photos of Lingaraj Temple, click here

Then, we moved to our next spot Udaygiri and Khandagiri caves, which are situated at a distance of around 6 km from Bhubaneswar. Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves are rock cut caves excavated in two adjacent hills that rise abruptly from vast expanse of barren land. Both the hills stand separated only by a narrow road. Udayagiri hill, which is 135 feet tall, was earlier called Kumari Parvata whereas 118 feet high Khandagiri hill was known as Kumara Parvata. Udayagiri Hills, which means Sunrise Hills. You will find caves at different levels of the hill. There are 18 caves in Udayagiri starting from the base of the hill itself. All the caves are numbered and many of them are also named.

We found many friendly monkeys over there. If you wish you could buy some nuts and feed the monkeys and they will come quite close. Check out this one having a small baby:

The carvings on the wall generally depict scenes of celebration on king’s victorious return. There are religious carvings as well as scenes from the royal courts. Jain symbols are also found at many parts. The figures on the wall clearly show that they were once the worship halls for Jain monks. The main and the most attractive caves is situated at the base itself. Named as Rani Gumpha, it is one of the few double storied caves in these hills. Rani Gumpha or Queen Cave is the largest cave and has gone under extensive repair work. Other interesting cave is Bagh Gumpha and Hathi Gumpha. The entrance to the Bagh Gumpha is carved in the shape of a tiger’s open mouth and is visually quite splendid. Though Hathi Gumpha is not as appealing as others but it has great importance historically. A 17 line Brahmi inscription tells us about the expeditions and victories of King Kharavela.

Khandagiri hill houses 15 caves of which Ananta Cave is the most impressive one. Along with the caves, there are a couple of Jain Temples as well. Even these caves are numbered with few are being named. One thing to notice is that most of the caves are named based on the carvings on the walls of the caves. Like Cave 1 and 2 are named Tatowa Cave, as there are carvings of two parrots on the door arches. The caves have figures as well inscriptions on the walls. Then comes the main Ananta Gumpha. The cave is named after carvings of two serpents on the entrance. To save the cave from falling, there have been few additions done as a part of restoration work. The carvings on the walls of the cave depict figures of women and children, athletes, lions, bulls and many other animals. The carvings are different in all the caves. Carvings and structure of some caves tells us that they were once used as dormitories for Jain ascetics. Due to lack of time we were not able to check the Khandagiri caves, I could only took this shot of Khandagiri hill from the top of Udaygiri hill:

For more photos of Udaygiri Caves, click here

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At 8 am Prabhakar came to the hotel and gave us the 3 tickets for Rs. 390. He also told that there is a trip next day to Chilka Lake but we were not having time as the next day we have to leave for Bhilai. So I thought that I would visit Chilka Lake the next time I come to Orissa. After some time the bus came and I thanked him for his help. If you want his contact number just send me an email. It was a normal bus and there was a guide, which was impressive in his communication skills. He greeted everyone and started giving the information on how the trip is scheduled. He told that we need to pay some money for the entry tickets in Konark and other places and asked Rs. 20 per head for his services. He gave us an option that we can collect the tickets from the places or we can give him collectively the amount. I gave the amount to him to avoid any waste of time at the places. He also told that they will provide limited time to see the spots and if the tourists don’t come back they will wait for 10 minutes more and after that the bus will leave. Fair enough, I can understand that because we need to cover many places in limited time. After 10 inutes of drive we were in the Marine drive of Puri, as it is called. Our first spot was Chandrabhaga beach. It is located 30 kms. from Puri and is close to Sun temple. The guide gave us 15 minutes to check out this place. However, that was not enough but still I managed to click some nice shots:

Its an amazing beach and considered as one of the finest beaches in eastern India. The main enticement of the beach is its solitude. You can also take a horse ride or a camel ride over there. Just 100 meters from the sea lies the ancient Chandrabhaga River. Now, you can only see a small pond in place of the river:

But still people believe in its cleansing powers, they gather here in large numbers for the Chandrabhaga Fair in Magha Saptami(January-February). The roots of this festival are traced to a mythical tale wherein Shambhu, the son of Lord Krishna, trespassed into the chamber of his parents when they were in a state of private bliss. Upon this, Krishna cursed his son with leprosy. Since the punishment was too acute for such an inadvertent act by Shambhu, Narad took pity on him and instructed him to seek a cure at the Chandrabhaga River. The place where Shambhu is said to have meditated and worshipped the sun God after ablutions in the river for twelve years has become a sacred spot possessing curative properties.

For more photos of Chandrabhaga beach, click here

Then, we got in to the bus and went to see the next spot, which was the world famous Sun temple at Konark also spelled as “Konarak” or “Konaraka”, Kona meaning corner and ARKA meaning the Sun. The Sun temple (a.k.a Black Pagoda) was built in Orissa red sandstone (Khandolite) and black granite. It is located 5 kms. away from the Chandrabhaga beach. The temple has thousands of images including deities, the Surasundaris, heavenly damsels, and human musicians, lovers, dancers, and different scenes from courtly life. Some of the sculptures were also inspired by Kamasutra. The magnificent Sun Temple at Konark is the culmination of Orissan temple architecture, and one of the most stunning monuments of religious architecture in the world:

The entrance is guarded by two lions, which are each shown crushing a war elephant:

The history of the Sun temple goes like this: In 13th century King Narasimha Deva-I of the Ganga Dynasty had ordered the temple to be built as a symbol of political supremacy of his dynasty. He gave order to a workforce of twelve hundred skilled artisans and architects to construct the temple in 12 years and he spent an amount equal over 12 years of the tax collections. After 12 years when still the construction was incomplete the king was angry and issued an ultimatum that the work should be completed by a stipulated date with dire consequences otherwise. The team of architects headed by Bisu Maharana was unable to produce a solution to their architectural problem. Dharmapada, the young son of the chief architect Bisu Maharana, arrived there and came to know about the problem. Although he did not have any practical experience of temple construction, he offered a solution to the problem of fixing the last stone at the top of the temple. He surprised everyone by doing that himself. It is said that soon after his achievement he jumped from the top of the temple and committed suicide to save the life of twelve hundred workers. Today nobody worships in the temple and no priests chant their prayers.

The temple was believed to be supported by two magnets with the poles placed in such a way that the throne of the king was suspended in mid-air. The magnets were so powerful that the compass gave a wrong direction and the ships sailing in the nearby sea were misguided. It is believed that the magnets were stolen and that caused the temple to crumble.

Another speciality of the sun temple is the wheels. The temple was built like a chariot of Sun god. There are 24 wheels fixed to the temple, each about 10 feet in diameter, with a set of spokes and elaborate carvings. The 24 wheels signify 24 hours of a day and the 8 spokes signifies prahars (three hour period) of a day. Our guide told us that the shadows formed by these spokes gives the precise time of the day. He also showed us how to calculate the time of the day with the use of the shadows:

There are three superb life-size statues of the sun god, done in green chlorite:

Then, we moved to the other side of the temple called The Bhoga Mandapa (porch). It is believed to have once been the Natya Mandir (dance hall):

For more photos of the Sun Temple, click here

The, we went to the lunch in a nearby restaurant. You can get vegetarian meals over there and I ordered a Gujrati meal. After the lunch we hurried towards our bus as the time was over. Our guide told that the next place was Dhauli Hill (Dhauligiri). It was a couple of hours drive to Dhauli as it is near to Bhubaneswar. Dhauli hill is famous for Shiva temple and Shanti Stupa. The Shiva temple is called as Dhavalesvara:

For more photos of Shiva Temple, click here

We saw a river from the top of the hill called the River Daya. Daya River, a tributary of Mahanadi , flows through the districts of Khordha and Puri in Orissa in India. The river looks very beautiful from the top:

This river has got historical significance. The history goes like this: The Kalinga war began in the 8th year of Ashoka’s reign, probably in either 265 or 264 BC. Ashoka’s father Bindusara had previously attempted to conquer Kalinga, but had been repulsed. After a bloody battle for the throne after Bindusara’s death, Ashoka tried to annex Kalinga. He was successful only after a savage war, whose consequences changed Ashoka’s views on war and led him to pledge never to wage a war. It is said that in the aftermath of the Battle of Kalinga the Daya River running next to the battle field turned red with the blood of the slain; about 100,000 Kalinga civilians and more than 10,000 of Ashoka’s own warriors were among those slain. Ashoka had seen the bloodshed with his own eyes. He saw over two hundred sins and felt that he was the cause of the destruction. The Kalinga war was a turning point in his life. Deeply distressed, he gave up war and sought peace in Buddhist teachings of love and non-violence. It was Dhauli Hill where Emperor Ashoka, full of remorse renounced his bloodthirsty campaign and embraced Buddhism.

The other side of the hill has Shanti Stupa(Peace Pagoda), at the top of Dhauli Hill, built by Indo Japanese collaboration in 1972, standing in the form of a massive dome with lotus petals as its crown. The five umbrellas placed on its flattened top represent five important aspects of Buddhism:

We found many stone panels comprise of the bodhi tree, footprints of Buddha bearing the chakra (wheel) etc. Also there are statues of Lord Buddha including sleeping Buddha and meditating Buddha:

For more photos of Shanti Stupa, click here

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Starting from: Bhilai

Destination: Puri

Crew: Maneesh, Dr. Sharma, Pawan.

After the trip to Rajim we had to catch a train as we decided to go to Puri. There are a lot of options to go to Puri from Bhilai, you can pick a bus and also there are many trains. But at that time I got a reservation only from Raipur to Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa in Intercity express. We started from Bhilai on a local train at about 2 pm in the afternoon and reached Raipur at 4.30 pm. Then at 5 o’ clock we got into the Intercity express. After a full night in the train we arrived Bhubaneswar in the morning. From Bhubaneswar we got in to a bus, which took us to Puri. Puri is about 60 kms. from Bhubaneswar but it took a couple of hours as it was a private bus and it stopped many times. In the Puri bus stop I met a guy Prabhakar who told me about a nearby hotel and he also told about the tourist buses. We went to the Jagdish hotel prescribed by him. It was a nice and cheap hotel near to the temple and I got a double room for just Rs. 350 per day. Prabhakar also asked if we are interested for the tourist bus on the next day. I gave him Rs. 50 advance and booked three tickets of the bus, which will take us to the Konark Temple and beaches on the next day. After having a shower we went to the see the famous Sri Jagannath temple. “Jagat” means “universe” and “natha” is “master”. It was lunch time so I told that we can have lunch but my brother told that we can have the mahaprasad in the temple. The Mahaprasad (offering) of Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity is world famous. While the offerings for the deities in other temples in India are called prasad, those made for Jagannath are called Mahaprasad. We agreed and decided to go the temple. The name “Jagannath” (Lord of the Universe) is invariably a collective representation of the Triad (Jagannath – Balabhadra – Subhadra) and has been in use since the dawn of the last millennium. I took this picture from outside the temple, as camera is not allowed inside the temple. This gate is known as the Lion Gate. In this picture you can see the Aruna Stamba(monolithic pillar) which is 34 ft. high and one single stone pillar. This pillar was originally in the front of the Konark Temple, brought to Puri by Marathas in 17th century AD:

We deposited our cell phones and the camera in a temple facility and also the shoes outside the temple. If you carry bags, it will be thoroughly checked by the security ouside the temple. Just near the temple we found a guide, he told that “just give me whatever you wish and I will show you the whole temple”. My brother had visited Puri many times and he told that we should be beware of thugs but I trusted that person as he looked genuine. There was a long queue to see the glimpse of the Lord Jagannatha. That person took us from the smallest route. After the darshan(to see with reverence and devotion) he showed us a place where the employees of the temple were carrying the Mahaprasad from the kitchen to offer it to the Lord. After the offering it is served to the people. After that, I told my guide that we will see the rest of the temple by ourselves and I gave him Rs. 20 for his services. He told that we should take the prasad from the place, which he will show, but I said that we would do that by ourselves. Then, we moved to see a museum inside the temple. There is an entry ticket of Rs. 2 and you can see various hand made idols in the museum. After that we went to the kitchen to have a glimpse of how Mahaprasad is prepared. There is a ticket of Rs. 3 for that but they will not allow you to go inside the kitchen, you can have a look from outside. The temple kitchen is said to be the biggest in the world feeding thousands of devotees daily with, its holy food called the Mahaprasad. It is said that there are 6,000 priests and about 14,000 employees in the temple. It was 4 pm and I was eagerly waiting for the Mahaprasad as I was very hungry. Every day Fifty-six varieties of dishes are prepared and offered to the deities, which are then available here for the public. There are shops in Ananda Bazar or the Pleasure Mart inside the temple from where you can buy it. Ananda Bazar is the biggest open-air hotel in the world where every day thousands of devotees purchase and eat together forgetting their caste, creed and status. After some time the employees of the temple brought it in huge earthen pots. Then, it is transferred in to small earthen pots and sold to the public. We got three of those and we ate it in banana leaves. It contained rice, dal, vegetable and kheer(a rice pudding typically made by boiling rice with milk and sugar). It was the tastiest meal I ever had in my life. Mahaprasad is cooked only in earthen pots and medium of food is firewood only. You can also take dry confectionaries from Ananda Bazar, which are prepared of sugar, gur, wheat flour, ghee, milk and cheese. The tourists also prefer to carry a particular type of dry Mahaprasad known as “Khaja” (made of maida, sugar and ghee), which stays fresh for days together. I took two packets of dry confectionaries for Rs. 100. Then, we went to see the Koila Vaikuntha, which is in the western portion of the temple between the outer and inner walls. There was a priest, which told us that during Nava-kalevara (new incarnation ceremony), when Lord Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra are newly carved, the old images are buried in this place. Deities are made from wood, each 12 years Nava-kalevara-yatra (or ritual of transformation) is hold. After elaborate preliminary preparations, the right trees are found, Deities carved, transformation made and old Deities buried in the ground. Last rites were done in 1996. Though as much as half million people attend the festival, most of the procedures are conducted in secret and no other than few appointed priests and servants can be present. Then, my brother told that you must see how a person changes the flag at the top of the temple. There is a wheel on top of the Jagannath Temple made of an alloy of eight different metals known as ‘Asta – Dhatu’. It is known as the ‘Nila Chakra’ (blue wheel). It is 11 feet 8 inches high and has a circumference of about 36 feet. A flag is tied every day on a mast attached to the Nila Chakra. Around 6.30 pm we saw a man climbing to the top of the temple. The height of the temple is 215 feet 8 inches and he was climbing very fast. He reached to the top and changed the flag. It was an amazing thing as he did not use any of the climbing gadgets. We stayed in the temple till 8 pm and then went to our hotel room. I was very thrilled by the things, which I saw that day and I had a long chat with my brother and father. It was a great experience to see something like that and I felt quite lucky to have a glimpse of the Lord. Then, after dinner we went for the sleep, as we needed to get up early in the morning to see the Konark temple and other places.

For more photos of Sri Jagannath temple, click here

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