We have just visited the most surprising
and talented village of Odisha as well as India – Raghurajpur.
The art works done by the craftsmen of this heritage village is just amazing.
We were headed towards Bhubaneshwar now. I had heard and
studied about how Bhubaneshwar was the center during the reign of Kalinga
Empire. Also that the war which transformed “Ashoka – the great” was fought
around Bhubaneshwar only. I also found that the remains of some of the caves
dating back to Ashoka’s time are still present there. I was looking forward to
visit the same.
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| Bhubaneshwar - Welcome to the City of temples |
Our driver informed us that Dhauligiri
hills or Dhauli hills will come in our way as it is
situated 8kms south of main city. We agreed upon visiting the place. There is a Shanti
Stupa or peace pagoda located atop the hill which is
splendid. These hills are situated on the banks of River Daya.
It is believed
that this place was the actual battlefield of the Epic Kalinga War. It is said
that because of the bloodbath, the water of the river turned red which in turn
made Ashoka understand the gloomiest side of battle. He then converted to
Buddhist and became a peace propagator. Later with his help this place was
developed into a Buddhist peace centre.
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| Dhauli Shanti Stupa |
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| Buddha and carvings |
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It was the time of sunset and the setting
sun was transferring a golden soothing effect to the white walls of Stupa. It
was as peaceful environment as it could get. We sat there gazed upon the sunset
from the top, acknowledged the beauty of the pagoda. It looked like that the
time had stopped there. I am attaching few pictures for you.
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| Buddha carvings at Dhauli Stupa |
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| Sunset at Peace Pagoda |
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It was already dark by the time we got free from Dhauligiri. We rested for the
day in our hotel in Bhubaneshwar. We had kept full next day for the local
Bhubaneshwar sightseeing, in particular the caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri.
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| Udaygiri sign board |
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| Aerial view of Udayagiri |
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Dhauligiri hills or Dhauli hills are situated
on two different hills separated by a narrow road in between. They are situated
6km out of the city. Their creation dates back to 2nd Century
AD during the reign of King Kharavela of Chedi Dynasty. Then
these were carved out as residential places for Jain Monks, because of which
they are also referred to as “The Once School of Monks”.
Discovered in 1825, these caves have beautiful carvings inside them which
reveal a lot about the time they were built. The caves are open from sunrise to
sunset and a nominal entry fee of Rs. 5 is charged from Indians.
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| Aerial view of Khandagiri caves |
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| Khandagiri Sign Board |
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| Inside Udayagiri caves |
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| Aerial view |
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There are in total 18 caves in Udayagiri and 15 caves in Khandagiri. While most
of the caves are single storied, few of them in Udayagiri are double storied
too. The caves rise from the base till the top of the hill. The route to top of
the hill goes through a terrain where you can spot lot of “Langoors”.
They are very friendly and don’t mean any harm to anyone. Instead if you offer
them nuts or something to eat, they happily take them. We fed a few and moved
forward. Visiting the caves dating back to 2nd century was one
awesome experience for me. I enjoyed every bit of it.
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| Terrain to the top |
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| Gaurav is super excited to reach on the top |
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| Gaurav is feeding chanas to Langoor |
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| Divyam feeding Langoor |
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We spent so much time at the caves that we
almost forgot that we have more places to visit. Since we were running out of
time, we decided to choose Nandankanan Zoological Park as our
next destination as the white tiger and orangutan in
the park are a lot talked about.
It took us around half an hour to reach the
park. There was a long line at the ticket counter as it was Sunday and all the
locals and few school groups have rushed in to see their favourite animals.
Entry fee was Rs. 20 for Indians. Timings of the zoo are 8 AM – 5 PM.
I learnt
that it is the only zoo from India to be registered with World
Association for Zoos and Aquariums for its low death rate. This
place is spread over a large area and all the animals are kept in their natural
habitat and less of cage.
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| White tiger on round |
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| The Royal Bengal Tiger |
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| Orangutan |
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| People feeding the elephant in zoo |
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As we finished the tour of the large zoo
it was almost dark and only few hours were left for our flight to Delhi. We had
to rush towards the airport to catch the flight back. We missed out on a few
places in Bhubaneshwar like Lingaraja Temple, RajaRani
Temple and few more of temples. But the way my vacation had gone was
completely different from any other vacation.
This part of the country is so
separated from other parts yet amalgamated in the mainland. Every time I take a
trip to any part of the country I get reminded of “Unity in Diversity”
phrase that is repeatedly mentioned for India. Brilliant it is!
.jpg "Apes Relaxing in Zoo") |
| Apes Relaxing in Zoo |
Stay connected for the next article. Readers please share your feedback in
the comments section below.
.jpg "Apes Relaxing in Zoo")
.jpg "Apes Relaxing in Zoo")
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