BHUBANESHWAR:AN AMAZINGLY RARE PLACE WITH TRADITIONS MATCHING STEPS WITH MODERNITY,CULTURE &TECHNOLOGY FLOURISHING IN TANDEM,GLORIOUS PAST PRESERVED&ILLUSTRIOUS FUTURE IN THE MAKING,SITES OF KALINGA WAR & DHAULI SHANTI STUPA CO-EXISTING TOGETHER

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In Feb.2011 we,a family of four, set off on our LTC Tour of the amazing 1)Bhubaneshwar(popularly called’temple city of India’ with exquisite architecture) 2)Puri (with Rath yatra/Jagannath temple/priestine beaches) 3)Konark(with glorious architectural Sun temple/Black Pagoda) 4)Sambalpur(with temple of Maa Samaleswari,the presiding deity of Sambalpur) 5)Hirakud Dam(its multipurpose,longest Earthen dam of India built on Mahanadi) The ‘Swarn tribhuja’ is formed by three main beautiful temple-towns of Eastern Odisha namely: Puri-Bhubaneshwar-Konark :where the wheels of Chariot(time) never stops.We thoroughly enjoyed our Bhubaneshwar trip & will always cherish the lovely memories of our memorable visit!

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BHUBANESHWAR :

The capital of modern Orissa has a great historical importance having inherited a rich cultural & traditional heritage.Being the Kingdom of great rulers of past who were active in activities like temple building reflecting the architectural excellence of Oriya sculptors! Owing to the evolution of Kalinga Architecture from inception to maturity it has earned the title of Temple City of India.The main attractions are the temples of Parshurameshwer(7th.c AD),Vaital(8th.cAD),Mukteshwer(10th c AD),Rajarani(11th c AD),Brahmeswar and Lingaraja(11th c AD). While the tradititional heritage has been embraced the technological advancement with equal fervour .Amusement parks,star hotels,Discotheques & IT Parks in the city provide ample opportunities to chill out and enjoy life.There are some prime tourist destinations like Nandankanan,the open -air zoological park,Ekamra haat-the handicrafts & textiles market,state museum,the Tribal museum of Natural History,market building,Bigbazaar,Pantaloon,the World-Shoppers destinations,Ekamra Kanan.Regional plant Resource centre etc are other avenues which cater to the specific interests& tastes of various cross section of tourists.Bhubaneshwar has a great historical significance as it was the scene of some of the major turning point in history.The Great Kalinga war which led to the miraculous transformation of Emperor Ashoka was fought along the bank of river Daya on the outskirts of Bhubaneshwar in 261 BC.Now there stands a Peace Pagoda with the Ashokan rock-edicts.The city also has the oldest rock -cut caves in Khandagiri and Udayagiri.

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HISTORY OF BHUBANESHWAR :

Its an ancient city with many temples built from sandstone around Bindu Sagar lake including the Lingaraj temple.Outside the Rajarani temple are sculpted figures of the Guardians of the 8 Cardinal & Ordinal directions,Jain antiques,weaponary & indigenous Pattachitra paintings fill the Odisha state museum.Its dubbed as the temple city of India owing to the 700 temples which once stood there with Kalinga architecture.Its also called Kamra Kshetra(mango trees area).Established in 1948 its history can be traced back to 7th century BCE.Its the confluence of Hindu ,Buddhist and Jain heritage and includes several Kalingan cultures.Bhubaneshwar stands near the ruins of Sishupalgarh,the ancient capital of erstwhile province of Kalinga.Dhauli was the site of Kalinga war(c262-261BCE)in which Mauryan Emperor Ashoka invaded & annexed Kalinga.In 16th century the area came under Panchamani Moghul rule.In 1803 area came under British rule & was under Orissa province 1936-1947.The capital was Cuttack.In April 1948,PM Jawahar lal Nehru laid the foundation of new capital in Bhubaneshwar.The name of new capital came from Tribhubaneshwara or Bhubaneshwar-the lord of Earth-the name of Shiva-the deity of Lingaraja temple.

CULTURE :

Bhubaneshwar is supposed to have over 1000 temples once earning the tag of the ‘temple city of India’ made in Kalinga architecture style with a pine spire that carves upto a point over the sactum having the presiding deity and pyramid covered hall where people sit and pray.Famous temples include Lingaraja temple,Mukteshwar temple,Rajarani temple,Ananta Vasudev temple, Ram mandir & Iskon temple. Twin hills of Khandagiri & Udaigiri have amazing rock-cut caves with a huge statue of Mahavira worth visiting.Dhauli Hills has major Ashokan rock-edicts and a marble Peace Pagoda was built by the Japan- Buddha Sangha.Bhubaneshwar & Cuttack is the home to the Odia cinema industry dubbed as Ollywood where most of the Film Studios are situated.Odia culture survives in the form of Odissi dance,handicrafts , sand artistry ,sculpturing ,theatre ,music.Odissi, the oldest of the 8 surviving dance forms can be traced from archeological evidence from temples of Bhubaneshwar.

1)The Odissi state museum offers archeological artefacts,weapons,arts/crafts& history. 2)Tribal Research institute museum hosts authentic Tribal dwellings created by the Tribal Craftsmen.

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FAIRS & FESTIVALS :

1)RATHYATRA or Temple Car festival :Its the most important festival celebrated on the day of the Ashokastava in march/april.The images of Lingaraja(Shiva) & other deities are taken in a possession from Lingaraja temple to Mausi maa temple where the deities remain for 4 days.Hundreds of devotees participate in pulling the temple car carrying the deities known as Rukuna Ratna.The festival commomorates Lord Jagannatha who is said to be the incarnation of India’s reverred deities, Vishnu & Krishna. 2)Novakalebra & Chariot festival Jagannath Puri 3)Durga Pooja/Kali pooja 4)EKAMRA Festival with many cultural celebrations 5)Mahashivaratri 6)Ashokastami 7)Bali Yatra 8)Puri Beach festival 9)Adivasi Mela 10)Konark Dance festival 11)Chandrabhaaga Mela or Megha Saptami mela :Its a grand religious festival celebrated in Feb when thosands of pilgrims take a dip in the curative water of the pool & then go to the beach to witness the sunrise over the sea.This is then followed by Navagrih pooja. 12)Kalinga mahotsava 13)Dhauli mahotsava 14)Mukteshwara dance festival 15)Toshali National Craft mela 16)Khandgiri Utsava 17)Odisha literary festival

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CONNECTIVITY :

BHUBANESHWAR is connected very well to major cities of India through Air(Bhubaneshwar A/P is only 5km from the city), Railway(Rly Stn is only 2km from the city) &Road (NH-5 passes through BBNSR connecting to Kolkatta,Chennai,Tatanagar & Vishakapatnam.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:

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TEMPLES-1)Lingaraja temple-,2)Parshurameswara temple,3)Rajarani temple,3)Mukteshwara tem ple,4)Vaital Deol temple,5)Swaranjaleshwar temple,6)Brahmeshwar temple,7)Kalijai mai temple in Chilka lake.8)Atri -temple dedicated to Lord Hatakeshwar &hot spring bathing complex,9)Udaigiri & Khandgiri Caves,10)Dhauli hills & Peace Pagoda -Ashokan rock edict is located here.Sculpted Elephant atop the edict signifies Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism after the Kalinga victory.The Vishwa Shanti stupa is located on the Dhauligiri hills -a magnificient Buddhist temple built built by Indo-Japanese collaboration.Below the Dhaulagiri hills river Daya flows peacefully. ,11)Nandankanan Zoological park-is endowed with a natural lake,its famous for the rare white tiger &migrating birds.It has countries largest Lion Safari with ropeway &Toytrain.,12)Hirapur -Hypaethral temple of 64 Yoginis,13)Pipli-home of Applique work &popular Craft items on sale,14)Konark-The crowning glory of Oriya temple architecture,the Sun temple is also known as the Black Pagoda built in the reign of Narsimhaden-I.Legends say that Samba the son of Lord Krishna was afflicted with leprosy brought about by his father’s curse on him.After 12 yrs of penance ,he was cured by Surya,the Sun God in whose honour this temple was built.Its a UNESCO World heritage site with unique architecture with images of Sun God!The temple depicts a 100ft high Chariot pulled by horses &wheels.The monument portrays the imposing chariot of the Sun God whose chariot is escorted by his charioteer Aruna.Its famous for Konark Sun temple,Chandrabhaga beach &the Ram Chandi beach ,15) Puri-Its one of the 4 dhams of Hindu pilgrimage sites of India.Puri is home to Lord Jagannath(lord of the universe),Subhadra(his sister)& Balabhadra (his brother),its renowned for the much worshipped Rath yatra and the serene beaches rather called the Golden beaches! Puri distt.encompasses most of the Chilka lake-Asia’s largest freshwater lake.Chilka lake-Its the biggest inland lake of India spreading over 1100 sqkm.Its a scenic spot for watching birds & dolphins.Also there is a Maa kalajai temple in the lake visited by many pilgrims,16)Rourkela-Its the steel city of Odisha having one of the largest steel plants-SAIL., 17) Sambalpur-Its the 5th largest city of Odisha located on the banks of Mahanadi.Its the home of Sambalpuri sarees which is world famous textile industry &diamond export to Rome,its renowned for Maa Samaleshwary(which is the presiding deity of Sambalpur) temple,Dr Abdul Kalam planetorium,IIM & Sitalsasthi Carnival,18)Hirakud Dam &Reservoir-Its built across Mahanadi river about 15km from Sambalpur in Odisha.Hirakud reservoir is 743 sqkm.The dam with 347.5 MW capacity hydoelectric station was completed in 1957.With 26km length Hirakud is the longest earthen dam in India.Its a composite structure of Earth,concrete & masonary.Its a multipurpose dam generating electricy,providing irrigation water & flood protection.

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My readers please note that all information on the above writeup has been collected from authentic sources & discrepancy if any may kindly be poited out on this site so that necessary corrections may be made!My sincere gratitude to the Wikipaedia &Incredible India for the related information & the photos! Happy Reading !