Orissa: A must visit tourism place

For the intrepid traveller Orissa offers several lonely spots- untouched by civilization, virgin, fascinating- apart from the other much publicised tourist places.

Orissa, lying along the eastern seaboard of India, is today considered one of our poorest states but culturally and architecturally, one of our richest. It can lay claim to enough historical sites, monuments of archaeological and architectural interest, and traditional handicrafts of unusual artistry to beckon tourists.

Orissa has had its quota of over published tourist spots. The golden Triangle of conveniently –distanced Bhubaneswar –Puri-Konark is, invariably, the first item on any tourists itinerary. There remains, however on this very route, much more beauty hidden, like Wordsworth's pansy beside a mossy stone.

MARVELS OF ARCHITECTURE
Most of the architectural marvels we see today in Orissa- the small and large temples in Bhubaneswar, the 12th century Jagannath Temple in Puri And the Sun Temple of Konark- were built during this classical period. Many of these monumental Hindu works were destroyed subsequently by the infamous fanatic, Kala Pahar, in 1592 and to a lesser extent by the Moghuls thereafter.
Bhubaneswar today is a sprawling city in two parts, each distinct in character and topography. New Bhubaneswar houses the offices, hotels, educational institutions and every other establishment a fledging city should have.
The other part of this city purportedly had a thousand temples at one time and is still preserving 600 of them intact. It is one of India's oldest cities.

Temples in Bhubaneswar were mostly built with laterite and sandstone quarried from the nearby Khandagiri and Udaygiri hills. The wonder of ancient masonry is that a judicious, balanced placement of huge slabs of stone hold the structure together.
Almost all temples in Orissa have huge courtyards and tanks – the characteristic of living temples.
The most imposing of these abodes of Gods is the Lingaraj temple, dedicated to Tribhubaneshwar or “the Lord of Three Worlds". The city derives its name from the presiding deity. The main temple is a 54 mt structure, intricately sculpted.

The gigantic lions victorious over crouching elephants, signifying the re-emergence of Hinduism over Buddhism. There are 150 smaller temples and shrines within the temple precincts, notable of which is the Parvati temple in a corner.

Close by, within walking distance is a cluster of 20 smaller temples named Siddharanya or grove of the perfect beings. Here stands mukteshwar, only 11 mts high, but loveliest of them all. Its intricately carved arched gateway is an art-lover's delight.

The standing ganesh makes the Siddeshwar temple worthy of a look. The parshurameshwar temple, the oldest extant structure, well preserved with latticed windows, shows animal processions with other Shiva themes. One can almost feel the movement in these vigorous carvings.
The Raja Rani, a 100 mts east of Mukteshwar, is the last of these temples to be constructed. Rising to a height of 58 feet and built of yellowish sandstone amidst emerald paddy fields, this 11th century structure has on its outer wall life-size statues of graceful alasa –Kanyas – slender – waisted, full- breasted feminine forms that have few equals in Indian sculpture. Erotic carvings are also to be seen here in limited numbers.

ANTIQUE TEMPLES
Brahmeshwar is a complete complex of temples but the main structure is more or less a miniature of the Lingaraj temple.
Kedareshwar is a 12 mt high temple considered to be older than lingaraj. The statue of durga riding on a lion is its chief attraction.
Lakshamaneshwar, Megheshwar, Bhaskareshwar, Kedareshwar, Kotitirtheshwar, Bakeshwar and Jameshwar are the other Shaivite temples in the same locality.
Off Bhubaneswar, one may chart a route comprising Dhauli hill- the site of kalinga war- and see the 13 still clean Ashokan edicts with the single hewn elephant and the Buddhist peace pagoda.
15 kms from Bhubaneswar on the same Puri - Bhubaneswar highway is Hirapur village. The 11th century hypacthral (circular vault enclosure) temple of 64 yoginis which are carved in black chlorite is one of the 4 of its kind in the country.
Midway to Puri is pilpi, famous for its bright appliqué work. 2 km is off the main road further one may visit Satyabadi to pay obeisance to Lord Sakhigopal where a life size statue of the Child Krishna is installed.
16 kms before Puri is reached, lies Raghurajpur, the village of Pattachitra artists. It is a rare experience to see these pieces of folk art in the making and be in a village whose mud –plastered walls are its artist's canvas. On this route lies the partly excavated ruins of a presumedly Ashokan city, Sisupalgarh.

TOURIST SPOTS
Puri sea beach, due to heavy tourist's traffic is crowded. For most, sea – bathing , watching catamarans sailing on the horizon, sun-rises and sun- sets, eating special chat masala are in themselves thrilling experiences.
On the return route on the marine drive that connects Puri with konark one may visit the sun temple of konark the monument that has been declared by the UNESCO as an internationally protected monument.
The twin hills of Khandagiri and Udaygiri, 8kms from Bhubaneswar and honeycombed with caves is a pleasure to the eye. The best is to be seen in the Queen's cave and the one's named as the Tiger and Elephant Gumpha.The 18th century temple of mahavira jina affords an interesting view of the sprawling Bhubaneswar city.
25 kms hence is Nandankanan, literally the Garden of Gods. It comprises one of the best wild life sanctuaries in the country, housing among other animals the rare white tiger and India's largest lion safari.
The botanical garden is adjacent to a large lake providing boating facilities. Overnight cottages are also available.
Orissa also has holiday resorts for those who live with ancient monuments, like the Delhilite. Seeking solitude away from the madding crowd, they may choose Chilika Lake, 100 kms from Bhubaneswar. It is the biggest island lake in the country spreading over 1100 square kms.
The Lagoon connects with the Bay of Bengal. Sun-sets and sun-rises present an almost other –worldly feeling, specially if you are in a fisherman's boat sailing into the sun on the blue lagoon. Even otherwise, the ever-changing colours of the water, and the hundreds of boats setting sail early in the morning for their catch is a wondrous sight.
16 kms from Berhampur is the beach resort of Gopalpur-on –sea. Once a seaport has place is for the ones who seek to be away from the madding crowd. Huge sea shells and other interesting objects of the deep sea are available for throwaway prices.
65kms from Cuttack is an ancient Buddhist complex comprising hills –Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udaigiri. One may see the famed 3-metre, 8th century lokeshwar image here.
Orissa's festivals, almost all the year round will provide the visitor a quintessence of its culture. The greatest of these of course is the Rath Yatra.