Me, My People and My World!!!: July 2009

My First Camel Ride

It was pleasant surprise for me when I decided to go to Bhubaneswar!!! Does this statement sound ok?

Yeah… it was indeed a great decision. We had to take 2 and half days of leaves, limited time to enjoy and high budget.
So what? It was Biswa's marriage, one of my best friends and only one from Bhubaneswar. I dare not to miss this one :)

The marriage was on 26th June. There was big planning amongst our gang from Great Lakes - Prasadh, Divakar, Vimal, Sat, Sudarshan and me.
The plan was to travel in train as that was the cheapest. The journey from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar in the Prashanti express was my longest journey. It was a 30 hour travel and the driver just managed to reach us on time. The entire journey went watching movies on my i-pod, sight-seeing and eating.
Our friends from Chennai had reached Bhubaneswar few hours before us. If you are planning to visit Bhubaneswar, never plan to go there during Feb to July. You will be deep fried. Just like other coastal areas in India, Bhubaneswar is very hot and humid during this period. It’s best to go there during the month of Sept to Jan.
We started finalizing on the places to be visited. We just had one & half days with us to roam around. Bhubaneswar is associated with cluster of magnificent temples, mostly built during the Kalinga period.
26th June
The marriage was in the afternoon. So we decided to go to some of the nearby places in the morning and then visit the marriage hall for our lunch J. We started off by going to Lingaraj temple. It’s a beautiful temple. Sculpture and architecture fused elegantly to create a perfect harmony. You are not allowed to get inside the temple if you are not a Hindu and no electronic gadgets (like cell phone, cameras) are allowed inside.
After visiting this temple, we went to Khandagiri & Udayagiri. The twin hills of Khandagiri & Udayagiri, few kilometers from Bhubaneswar, served as the site of an ancient Jain monastery. We decided to climb the hill to get a good view of the whole place.
There were some showers when we visited this place. We decided to watch the entire marriage rituals and enjoy the traditional food. The process was long with some interesting games towards the end. We came to know from people around that we could book for bus tickets to see places in Orissa through OTDC (Orissa Tourism Development Corporation). We went ahead and booked the ticket for the next day.
27th June
Our plan was to take up the bus that goes to Konark and Puri. Here is a fact for people who look out for information: Just like Delhi-Agra-Jaipur, Bhubaneswar-Konark-Puri forms a Golden triangle. It’s better to take OTDC bus rather than taking up any cab because it’s very safe and cost-effective. Our first stop was at a place by name Ekamra (I am not sure if this is right, I forgot the name of this place. I got this name through Google search). May be my friends can help in getting this name right. I bought few handcrafts and bags here. They were one of the cheapest that I had seen anywhere in India. Our next stop was at Konark. Unfortunately, our bus had to stop few kms before our destination due to some technical failure. It was small village with green lush around. We decided to explore the place till OTDC arranged for another bus. The place had lots of coconut trees round and to our misfortune there was no one over there to help us with some tender coconut. Within half an hour we got into the alternate bus which OTDC had arranged. Throughout the journey our guide was giving explanations on the places, statues, rivers, etc that were passing by. The places exhibited natural splendor that showed the high quality art work of Kalinga or other great dynasties of Orrisa.
We stopped at Konark to see the mighty Sun temple. The entire structure was built with highest level of precision and thinking. The temple is now a world heritage site. The entire complex was designed in the form of a huge chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated wheels. You will see the entire life of man from birth till death including various sexual positions as depicted in Kamasutra shown as a sculpture here.
Some taking some beautiful snaps at Konark, we had our lunch and went to a nearby beach. The beaches are clean and there are some scenic spots on the way from Konark to Puri temple. Sat and I had a camel ride which was one of the joyous moments for me. We had gone there few days after the rath yathra and hence, we had to visit a nearby temple where the deity was placed.
Interesting fact: Once a year, Jaganatha, along with Baladeva, and Subhadra, are taken out of the temple and pulled on huge chariots through the streets of Puri. It is from these huge chariots that the English word 'juggernaut' originates.
It’s a small temple as compared to large ones that we see in south India. But one can see a large and unmanageable crowd here.
We started from Puri to Bhubaneswar and came back to our hotel. We had our dinner at the hotel. We were all tired and we knew that we still had a long way to go (approx 20 hours of journey to Chennai). The train was fully packed but we managed to argue and get our birth back to us which were otherwise occupied by some ticketless travelers.
The beautiful trip to Bhubaneswar will remain in our hearts forever. I should thank my friend Biswa for creating such an opportunity to us. The beautiful place has left a footprint in our heart that will be remembered forever by all us.