Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Puri-Bhubaneswar-Puri
A Visit to Bhubaneshwar’s Lingaraj Temple and Orissa’s State Museum
Namaste from Puri in Orissa!
Since we did not really have anything drawn up in our itinerary today, I decided that I would return to the capital city of Orissa, Bhubaneshwar, as I really did not have much of a chance to see it at all on the day I arrived—when I was merely whisked off in a car to Puri which we made our base.
I had also discovered, in the past few hours, that the Lingaraj Temple is one of the most important temples in Orissa and one that should not be missed. It is certainly the oldest of the three that are most significant—these include the Jaganath Temple in Puri and the Sun Temple in Konark which were built a century later. And so I told my travel companions, Nafisa and Hosefa (who had plans to rent a two wheeler and drive along the coast) that I would find local transport and go off to the city on my own. From what I gathered it was only 37 kms between Puri and Bhubaneshwar and I was pretty sure I could get public transport to take me there. They thought it was a good idea and Hosefa suggested I also make the time to visit the State Museum—which seemed like a very good plan.
Accordingly, I awoke at 6.30 am and began blogging—I did not finish and decided to complete my blog post later in the day. My posts are longer when I am traveling and I do not often have the time to finish them in the morning. I showered but did not have any coffee as we had decided to go back to the Chanakya Hotel for their breakfast buffet. The manager at the restaurant had told us last night that if we came by 8.00 this morning, we would partake of it. Only when we reached there after the short stroll from our hotel, we were told that there was no buffet as there weren’t enough people staying in the hotel. However, in view of the wrong information we were given last night, they agreed to charge us the buffet rate of Rs.375 per head for whatever we wanted from the a la carte menu.
And so this was what I chose: a masala omelette, toast with butter, a vegetable sandwich and idlis with lassi. It turned out that the sandwich was made of four slices of bread and the idlis were four in number. We ended up sharing our orders. Nafisa also had an omelette and Hosefa had the Egg Paratha. Overall, it was really great value for money and we were lucky they permitted it.
After breakfast, we trooped out of the hotel compound and I hopped into a rickshaw that agreed to charge me Rs. 80 for a ride to the Main Bus Station.
Taking a Bus to Bhubaneshwar:
If I was worried about taking a bus alone to Bhubaneshwar, I was certainly not going to show it. As it turned out, it was a beautiful day today—the sun was out in blue, cloudless skies and the temperature was just right—neither too hot nor too chilly. I was a bit overdressed in my layers, but I peeled one out before long.
I barely got out of the rickshaw at the city bus stand when someone approached me and asked if I wanted a bus to Bhubaneshwar. I said I did. I was immediately directed to a bus standing nearby. It was a “luxury air-conditioned bus”. I was told that it would be leaving in about 20 minutes, would take one hour to reach, was non-stop and would cost me Rs.80. As opposed to this one, there was the cheaper (Rs. 50), non-AC, non-luxury bus that would make many stops and pack them in. Naturally, I chose to go on the luxury bus. Many passengers collected around it as the time passed and, on schedule, we were directed to one of the bays so that we could board it. It turned out that the folks on the bus were well-to-do and of a better economic class that most of the folks at the bus station.
True to their word, I was able to buy my ticket on the bus from the conductor. It sped along the highway (a really good road) and I actually dozed off for a bit. I called my Dad’s place to speak to Chriselle but ended up getting Russel only as she had gone out with Dad to buy some fruit.
A little later, I pulled out my map of the state and realized that we would actually be passing very close to the Lingaraj Temple which was going to be my first stop. So, I made brave to go up to the driver’s cabin and ask if they would drop me off as close to the temple as possible. The conductor and his cronies in the front were extremely obliging and they told me that they could certainly do so. He told me to bring my things up as we would be reaching the temple in five minutes! So I ended up requesting the favor in the nick of time. It had turned out to be an incredibly comfortable, cheap and very safe bus ride. I have to say that my fluency in Hindi (which has improved a hundred fold since I first came to live in India) is a huge asset and is the only reason I have the confidence to move around alone in a strange city.
The conductor instructed me to get off and then walk along a narrow lane that would take me directly to the temple in 200 meters. I did as I was told and passed by a number of smaller ancient temples—all built in the same style. About ten minutes later, I could see the tower of the deul of the temple, i.e. the structure in which the deity is housed. As I reached closer, I found that the area became more crowded.
As a non-Hindu, I am not allowed inside the Lingaraj Temple. This did not stop Viceroy Lord Curzon from wanting to visit it in 1929 when a special stone platform was constructed by the British right outside the main high wall to enable him to peak inside it. It is used by non-Hindus and foreign tourists even today and it was exactly the platform that I looked for as I circumnavigated the complex to try to find it.
As it turned out, I was not the only person there—three or four people were there before me and I requested a lady there to take my picture before she disappeared and I was left with no one to help. Once my picture was taken, I could focus on taking in the striking details of the complex.
It is huge—it comprises several structures of varying heights. In its present form it dates from 1090 to 1104 although parts of it are at least 1400 years old. It certainly wears its age on its sleeve and as I took in the various structures, I could see just how old those stones were from the fact that they were exceedingly weather-beaten. I used the zoom lens on my camera to take pictures of the various carved details on the exterior of the temple buildings which were threaded through with lovely green manicured lawns. The architecture is stirring in the extreme and lent itself beautifully to the camera’s genius. I took in the sight of devotees piling in and out of the deul where the deity Tribhuvaneshwar is housed—he is known as the Lord of the Three Worlds and is also called Bhubaneshwar—so now you know where the city gets its name. Of course, I could not see the deity from my vantage point as it is concealed deep inside the sanctum sanctorum. But it was wonderful to be at the spot where Lord Curzon once stood and to take in exactly the same sight that he saw for nothing has changed at all through the centuries that these structures have stood the test of time.
When I was done taking my fill of pictures, I descended the high steps and looked for a rickshaw to take me to my next port of call, the Orissa State Museum. This was located in a place called Kalpana Square and when I saw a passing rick, I asked the driver if he would take me there. He said he would do so for Rs. 50 and so in I hopped. Ten minutes later, I was at the main gate of the Museum with a confidence level that was soaring with very second.
Exploring the Orissa State Museum:
The Orissa State Museum is massive—it is built around a beautifully landscaped quadrangle that is filled with colored flower beds in the periphery of emerald green lawns. I bought a ticket for Rs. 20 and entered through the main gate. For the next two hours, I lost myself fully in the exhibits on offer. I started with the archeological galleries that contained a vast number of stone carved statues of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain deities that were wonderfully displayed.
Next, I saw the Natural History section with the regular dioramas of wild life and birds. As I went from one section to the other, I saw handicrafts, ornaments, arms and armor, brass, ivory and wooden carved items. The highlights, however, are the palm leaf etched manuscripts that date back several hundred years. They are displayed in glass vitrines under very dim lighting as they are extremely fragile. The patachitra panels are also a highlight—these are paintings that are created on a particular type of cloth made in layers by the aid of tamarind glue. I saw all these rather rapidly and was quite impressed by the vast space at the disposal of this receptacle of art, crafts and antiquities. There were also sections on tribal art and crafts for a large amount of Orissa is inhabited by tribes that live in traditional fashion and have not even been penetrated by so-called civilized peoples. I have to say that it was a very enlightening visit and I was truly in my element as I surveyed everything on offer.
Before I left the museum, I found a quiet corner and chatted with my Dad and with Chriselle who are both doing fine in India. They are all in high spirits and Russel is very happy to have Chriselle to himself. I also stopped to ask a Museum employee about how I could most easily make my way to the bus station for a bus back to Puri. It was then about 1.30 pm and I wanted to get started with my return journey as it tends to get dark by about 5. 30 pm. To my immense surprise, he told me that I could find a bus right outside the Museum and would not need to go to a bus station at all. I was thrilled! In fact, from the window, he showed me exactly were I should stand for a bus back.
Bus Journey Back to Puri:
As it turned out, I found the place really easily. But as soon as I got there, touts rushed up to get me into their bus. I stepped back because they almost came to blows trying to entice me! If it wasn’t so scary, it would have been funny! That was when a kind man stepped in and told me to stand aside and take the next bus. Buses arrived literally every five minutes, but no one was sure when the next AC bus would arrive—understandably, they are few and far between. Hence, after waiting for a couple of buses to go by, I made the decision to take one of the regular, non-luxury buses for Rs. 50.
The journey, needless to say, turned out to be less pleasant than the one in the morning. People were packed in and began standing in the passage before the bus left. It made many stops and did not take the highway. After 20 minutes in my journey, I took a little boy on to my lap as I could not bear the thought of him standing throughout the 90 minutes it would take us to reach. Traveling the way most Indians do was a very interesting experience. We reached on schedule at 3.15 pm at which point another man at the bus stop came up and asked if I wanted a rickshaw. I did. For Rs. 80, he took me to a waiting rickshaw that then dropped me back to my hotel in the next ten minutes. It was painless. At about 3.30 pm, I was back in my room. I was ready to vegetate for the rest of the evening as my main objective had been accomplished. I had seen the highlights of Bhubaneshwar and was ready to wire off. Nafisa and Hosefa texted me to let me know that they were at the beach which was actually quite inviting in the late afternoon light. But I preferred to get to my room, stretch out in bed for a short nap, watch CNN on TV and loosen up.
Dinner at the Hotel’s Restaurant:
Nafisa and I made plans to meet again at 7.30 pm for dinner--this allowed me to finish up my blog post. In a little while, I started to pack as we have a very early departure tomorrow morning by train for Calcutta’s Howrah Bridge Station. I am beyond excited to be traveling on the Great Indian Railway which never fails to evoke wonderfully happy memories for me of multiple family summer vacations taken together when I was growing up in Bombay.
Most of my packing (except for last-minute items) was done at 7.30 pm when Nafisa and I had a lovely dinner together—Hosefa had eaten at the point when he went to return the hired motorbike that they had used the whole day to explore the coast and beyond. Speaking to the hotel receptionist, we asked if he could suggest any typically Oriyan dishes we could taste—he referred us to the chef who suggested Mutton Jhol and Vegetable Santool—a sort of thin vegetable stew. Both dishes were very delicious and we enjoyed them very much indeed. I ate them with chapatis while Nafisa chose rice. For dessert, we had something called Baked Rasgulla which was simply awesome. It was three rasgullas soaked in malai-rabri —amazing. We chatted throughout about our trip which all three of us had thoroughly enjoyed.
It was about 10.00pm when we decided to square up our bill at the hotel as we had an early morning start. That done, the two of us headed back to our rooms where we clocked off for the day.
Until tomorrow
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