A TRIP TO ODISHA

We boarded the Dhauli Express from Howrah scheduled to depart at 6 am. Train was very much on time and whistled to leave. I was with my parents and for the first time on an ‘actual family trip’. It was an a/c chair car and I relaxed. The stay at Puri was already booked at our departmental guest house. To spend the next two days at Puri was the plan. We reached just ten minutes late at platform no 2 and the air smelled different. Just outside the station, was the prepaid taxi counter, from where we got an auto instead. The driver had been following us right as we stepped out of the bogie. We had to reach All India Radio campus.

To the left hand side en route  the VIP road was the beautifully maintained asset built for public welfare. The boundary housed both the AIR  and a low power transmitter of Doordarshan. Shri Niranjan Das, Assistant Engineer of AIR had been very kind and welcoming and had arranged me the only room in the guest house. Lucky I was!

The famous Puri beach is just around half a kilometre from there where we spent the following hours.  The air was so fresh, the sound of the waves  as they came and returned, the sight of the watery horizon, everything just made me alive again. There were numerous  shops all around and opposite to it was an array of hotels. How I missed that! Next time I go there, I’ll be sitting on a chair somewhere on the balcony of any hotel  embracing the Bay of Bengal.

Oriya being very similar to bengali, most locals (ones you need the most-  autowalas and the hotel staff) can speak the latter. Also the geographical border with Bengal supposedly brings more bengalis than anyone else, if not for their holidaying habit. Packed our dinner from a hotel, and must say, the food was delicious.

Mr Dipu, the panda I reached for to visit Lord Jagannath Temple asked me to reach the temple by 0430 hrs and we made it the next day. Yes, running autos are readily available at that time. At sharp 0430 hrs, the gate opened for the first time for the day. Devotees ran in for the best place inside the temple for the morning prayers, Aarti. I climbed up a store and tried my best to wake up the guy so that he could keep our shoes, but unfortunately I found myself in him. He said no and kept sleeping. Least to say, I was amazed! Ours were the first shoes anyway alongwith a mobile and a bag (for they are barred inside), for another shop though and we managed to get in along with our temple guide. We joined the clapping hands, the powerful chorus of male voice in full rhythm, the dholaks and the kartals. Kirtan can shake you from the inside if you can feel it. It was just the perfect start for the unknown day.

I even tried meditating to the tune. It was close to 0530 and temple door was to open for the first view of the deity for the day- from right, Lord Jagannath, his sister Subhadra and their brother Balaram, fully clothed with flowers, often referred to as the best attire of the day. A rush of crowd moved ahead to the gate. If you hire a guide, he will get your passes ready though, for Rs. 50 per head. You can then buy a bhog from the counter just outside the main temple. The rate chart was interesting, less price would mean bhog for a single god, some more would mean one more god to be added and minimum of 2000 rupees for all gods. Higher ones are also available depending on the bhog being on behalf of just you or your entire family. The bhog is served seven times a day. It is said, the lord was very fond of eating. But I doubt he had such schemes in mind then. The temple compound has numerous other temples and a full society of monkeys running, screaming and just doing anything they want. While we waited there for another two hours, finally left for breakfast in the nearby market with just made idlis served with curry. The main central market has everything to offer, from photos of the temple deities to the local made handicraft items which includes bags, clothes, etc. But you should bargain unless you read ‘FIXED PRICE’ somewhere. It was early November, so the weather was pleasant for moving around during the day. We did some shopping and by evening also received the bhog-prasad and khicdi brought by our panda. He talked about God, nature, our future and on many such things standing outside our room. And his last words of wisdom were, “Women and fire are the two things in this universe one can never satisfy, the more you give them, the more they want!” ;) :D

The local boy of the guest house had also arranged us the mid day bhog- rice, mixed veg and kheer. The Prasad is worth mentioning.

One of the best things about Odisha is its tourism cell, the OTDC. You may refer to the online site for details. And also, there are people to attend the phone numbers given there. The department’s guest house facility also called Panthanivas is at a walking distance from the AIR campus. Well, OTDC conducts daily sight seeing tours for both full and half days as per their chart. The rooms for stay may be a tap higher for the aam-aadmi, but the package tours are both affordable and comfortable.

It was the third day in Puri, the eleventh of the month, and Diwali for the year as we boarded the a/c bus from Panthanivas at 0700 hrs to Chilka lagoon via Satpada (one of the three entry points to the lake), for the next fourty eight kilometres. Enroute, the first stop would be after travelling twenty kilometres at Brahmagiri for a temple visit and breakfast. You should reach there by 0800 hrs at max. and leave by 0830 hrs. The next stop would be after another twenty eight kilometres (at around 1000 hrs) at Yatrinivas, Satpada, where you would pay your guide for the Chilka boat ride and also order your lunch before you leave for the three hour boat trip. From there you need to walk for another five minutes to reach the boat, a govt. one booked for the OTDC people. The private ones are usually quite small and they also charge much more. The interior houses benches which could accommodate 24-30 people. Rest are free to take a seat of their choice at the deck. Old people  and women are given preference for seats. Young ones like me had the other option which was actually better.

The first stop would in the lake itself several times to spot the dolphins. They are usually seen in pairs of two, one following the other. And you shouldn’t dream of them jumping upto three feet high above the water. We spotted around ten to twelve that day. The lake is quite shallow, 5 feet at max at this time of the year. The season just begins then. The best time to visit is however December-January when different species of birds arrive from far flung areas. The next two destinations are the sea mouth and the Rajhans Island. There, you can try the fried prawns and crabs. However, the system wasn’t as I expected. You first need to buy them raw and then order to cook them at the nearby hotel. So I opted for coconut water instead. A pretty long walk  makes way for the sea at the other end. The beach was so steep as compared to that of Puri’s.

Rest about the trip was our moving boat and the ones passing by, many, so many of them. On the way back from the lake, you will find yourself scrutinizing the skeletons of the dolphins at the Chilka Visitor Centre. Staring from the skeletons to the history of the lagoon, everything you wanted to know ever about Chilka, you will find here. Then we had our lunch which was indeed very good.

Our guide for the day was Mr Prashant Kumar Sahu, a very decent man and delivered a hell lot of information about the lagoon and the other places we visited. He helped me book the package for the next day (Bhubaneshwar – Konark - Puri) and also gave me a lift to my guest house thereafter from the OTDC office. That way, I skipped the idea of staying in Bhubaneshwar and extended another day in Puri itself.

The bus leaves at 0630 hrs from Panthanivas. Breakfast at around 0730 hrs and then the first spot, the Lingaraja Temple. In between, your guide will collect money from you for the entry pass to Nandankanan. Other than the main temple, there are numerous other very small, medium sized temples all around. It’s is tough to cover all in the time frame allotted for the spot. So you should move as fast as you can. There is another temple on the way before you reach the Khandagiri and Udaigiri Caves. Again the time constraint won’t allow you to go through and read everything in detail. I just bypassed so many of the caves. We returned to where the bus was parked by a five rupee auto drive. The next was a delight to the kids who were in the bus. Yes, Nandankanan. Enough time is given for the visit there. Fishes, crocodiles, snakes, white bengal tiger, lion, giraffe, bear, deer, peacocks, ostrich, the world’s smallest monkey and many more animals can be seen, but from a distance ofcourse. Later in the day we were taken to the historic place, Dhauligiri where the battle of Kalinga was fought. Although he won the battle, King Ashoka was deeply moved by the amount of bloodshed that resulted and later ensured that this place becomes an important centre for Buddhist activities. The beautiful Shanti-Stupa stands tall spreading the message of peace and harmony. This then makes way for lunch nearby, a hotel branch of Panthanivas is at a walking distance.

As you prepare for the last leg of the journey, a power nap for an hour as you reach Konark is a good choice. The bus would wait for just an hour over there. To fully understand the architecture and learn to read the time of the day, you would want to hire a guide, which is very much available and also at a very low price. You can actually calculate the time of the day by tracing the shadow at the specially designed wheels. I realized that a full day is must at the place. The huge lawns are lush green and very well maintained which serves as the perfect resting place in the midst. The time of the day as we reached was good enough for this wonderful creation, The Sun Temple. However, we found it in a web of iron structures as renovation work was underway by the Archaeological Survey of India. And yes, you should keep a watch at the time lapsed because the bus may not wait for an extra minute just for you! We almost missed it due to my curiosity for the items at the nearby shops. Also, you need to buy the tickets yourself before you enter. The day ends at the beautiful Chandrabhaga beach on
the way to Puri. The shore is almost at the same level which makes the sunset marvelous. An hour and a half journey later will take you back to Puri, and this ends the package.

Food rates  at Panthanivas are almost comparable to the IRCTC ones, a little higher but the quality of the food is much much better.

For breakfast you will find idli in almost all hotels, even on the way to Sadpada and Bhubaneshwar.

The roads were broad, smooth, clean, fully lighted at night, and so well planned specially the Puri-Bhubaneshwar link.

Rate chart :

Chilka full day package (under OTDC): 300/- per head + 250/- per head for boat ride

Bhubaneshwar-Konark-Puri full day package (under OTDC): 430/- per head

We spent all our evenings in the beach. Just sit by the side, enjoy the breeze with tea/coffee and jhaal-mudi and wait until a tide reaches you. On the Diwali night, there were many tourists who were burning crackers here and there. The night sky sparkled frequently, hotels beside were decorated with lighting all through. The sight was beautiful to say the least.

Although I wasn’t fully done with Odisha but had to return due to time constraints. The only motivating factor was the first Shatabdi-ride of my life on thirteenth early morning at 0545 hrs. The station looked stunning under lights. Platform no. 8, it was.

And I have so many pictures, so have to share a few more. :)

NOTE: Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement.