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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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Celebrating Pongal with books


Any festival is a reason to celebrate, and Pongal happens to be one of the important ones. Here is the kolam welcoming you to our home....





This year, the festival   has brought along an unexpected deluge of books, and what better way to celebrate than read!!  It all began with a temple visit which got so delayed that the temple closed! With nothing better to do, we ended up at a book store, and ended up coming home with a bagful of books for Samhith!!



With so many books for him, could I be far behind? Here are mine.... two different genres, two completely different kinds of books, but I am eager to read both!



The first book Bala Saraswati, is part of Blogadda's book review program, and I need to read it soon so that I can review it. The second, The Reluctant Detective, is the first novel of Blogger Kiran Manral, whom I met during the Lavasa Women's Rally. I am eager to read it, for this is the first time I am getting to read a book by a  person I actually know!!!

So now you know what I am going to be doing for the next few days, so if you don't see any posts here, please excuse me, for my nose will be buried deep inside one of these books!

Meanwhile, wish you all a Happy Pongal!!!

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Comments

  1. Aabha MidhaJanuary 15, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    Hi Anu, wishing you a Happy PONGAL. The welcoming Kolam is lovely..... so traditional.  I didn't know Kiran Manral had published a novel.  I have read both her blogs... 36 and counting and Karmic Kids where she blogs about her son.  wud luv to read her book.. thanks for sharing this info.

    Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PN SubramanianJanuary 15, 2012 at 11:03 AM

    Happy Pongal and happy readings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anu ShankarJanuary 15, 2012 at 11:28 AM

    Thanks Aabha! Kiran has been promoting her book mostly on fb, and its available online too...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anu ShankarJanuary 15, 2012 at 11:28 AM

    Thanks PNS!

    ReplyDelete
  5. SowmyaJanuary 15, 2012 at 1:22 PM

    Super!! Happy Pongal to your family!! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Indrani GhJanuary 15, 2012 at 7:54 PM

    A very Happy Pongal to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. ViyomaJanuary 15, 2012 at 9:10 PM

    So how do i start...from your Kolam i can make out..you are a Tamilian. And yet what fully agree..what better way to celebrate than read..we do this at our place during New Year.
    Happy Pongal to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Santosh bsJanuary 15, 2012 at 9:58 PM

    happy pongal, happy reading and happy posting so that readers like us can be happy :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. ZephyrJanuary 16, 2012 at 5:09 AM

    Happy Pongal to you and your family,  Anu! Happy reading! btw., I don't see my book! Is it among the 'read' list and hence doesn't feature in the collection? :))

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anu ShankarJanuary 16, 2012 at 8:30 AM

    THanks sowmya!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anu ShankarJanuary 16, 2012 at 8:30 AM

    Thanks Indrani!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anu ShankarJanuary 16, 2012 at 8:31 AM

    Yes, Viyoma, I am a tamilian, and we do celebrate the festival the traditional way.. the only thing is, for me, no celebration is complete without books :D

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anu ShankarJanuary 16, 2012 at 8:31 AM

    Thanks Santosh!! hope this year i can keep my readers happy!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anu ShankarJanuary 16, 2012 at 8:32 AM

    Thanks Zephyr!!! and ur book is not there because its being devoured!!! as of now by me.... but am planning to carry it to sringeri so he can read it in the train to and fro!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Capt T.RajkumarJanuary 16, 2012 at 6:27 PM

    Vanakkam--Pongal Greetings
     Excellent post glad -to see Arts &Culture spreading with Books at Pongal ;
    am telling  my friends too..
    Kind rgds &best wishes
    Capt.TR (Retd)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hindi SmsFebruary 3, 2012 at 3:42 PM

    happy pongal to all friends and families..

    ReplyDelete

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