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Odisha Part 11: Discovering the Jaina Heritage of Odisha at the caves of Udaygiri and Khandgiri

The Hindu and Buddhist history of Odisha , or rather, ancient Kalinga, is rather well known to everyone. Who hasn’t heard of the grand temples of Odisha – Puri, Lingaraj and Konark, or the great war of Kalinga which inspired Ashoka to convert to Buddhism? In contrast, very few know of the Jaina heritage of this region. This is quite a pity, since, just around 7 km from the city, is one of India’s most ancient inscriptions, which throws light on the Jaina heritage of Odisha. This inscription is the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, in the hills of Udaygiri. Udaygiri and Khandgiri are two hills located opposite each other, and both are testaments to the rich Jaina heritage of Odisha. The caves at Udaygiri are older, while Khandgiri is relatively newer, but has lasted much longer, and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for Jains even today. These hills, from inscriptions and excavations of caves, shrines and rock beds, appear to have been a haven for Jaina monks, right from the ...
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Snails are interesting........

Snails are interesting creatures... Did you know that they are herbivores? Well, last week, we were waiting for Samhith's school bus when we saw this one eating up a flower. We were curious about how long it would take, and photographed it..... It took less than 5 minutes for the small creature to finish it off!

Here are some pics in slideshow form....





Here is another one, on a branch, hanging on, and eating a tiny flower.....








It has been pouring here since the last couple of days, and Samhith is looking forward to seeing more snails. They are, after all, interesting, aren't they?????



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Comments

  1. MridulaOctober 4, 2009 at 2:36 PM

    Anu, that slide show was a wonderful way to present the snail eating the flower!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SoulSpaceOctober 4, 2009 at 7:50 PM

    Lovely slide show..

    ReplyDelete
  3. sriOctober 5, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    i had a garden at my grandma place but never watched snail eating flowers! thanks for the slide show and wonderful thought! yes indeed they are interesting!

    Lifes greatest wonders lies in the smallest things like this :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. A journey called LifeOctober 6, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    u r a cool amma arent u.. i loved this whole write up and the work that has gone into it.. im sure Samhith thinks u rock! (i do, actually)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anuradha ShankarOctober 6, 2009 at 10:39 AM

    @Mridula, ssstoryteller : THanks a lot......

    @Srivats: i never watched them either till Samhith started noticing them.... and now both of us look out for them once the rains arrive....

    @ Aparna ..Thanks so much....... lets hope Samhith thinks so too....

    ReplyDelete
  6. chitraOctober 6, 2009 at 8:17 PM

    Wow! that's a wonderful slide you have created. Loved the same. But I like it in pictures because when I was in Kerala these creepy things were inside my house everyday had a tough time keeping them out

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anuradha ShankarOctober 6, 2009 at 8:23 PM

    @ Chitra.... UGH! can imagine what a nuisance they must have been... as you say, I can enjoy watching them since they are outside the garden, and incidentally, they are not even eating my plants :-))

    ReplyDelete
  8. SankaraOctober 8, 2009 at 1:08 AM

    the slide show is a neat concept and it worked well with the snail eating the flower

    ReplyDelete
  9. AartiOctober 8, 2009 at 2:53 PM

    Loved the slideshow... never seen a snail eat a flower like that!! i love observing creatures, all kinds!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bhavesh ChhatbarOctober 9, 2009 at 4:05 PM

    Snails are indeed very interesting creatures, and quite beautiful if we have that eye.

    I've never seen any snail eat anything, in my life! I can't believe myself.

    Thanks for sharing this new information with me :)

    Thoseghar Waterfall

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anil POctober 11, 2009 at 8:28 PM

    Which means they might actually consume quicker than they move! Nice takes.

    ReplyDelete
  12. muthuOctober 15, 2009 at 12:13 PM

    awesome slide show ---

    thanks a ton 4 it.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousOctober 16, 2009 at 12:29 PM

    hi there came across while i was searching for info on snails &blogs, great pics. Bol
    www.depalan.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bindhu UnnyOctober 29, 2009 at 10:48 AM

    Interesting photos!
    Snails are interesting too. I had trouble saving my plants from them. :)

    ReplyDelete

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