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 ...
The rains came at last, and brought along the usual problems – flooding for one, failure of my network for another. The latter was simply because some water entered the main switchboard of our broadband connection in the building, and it took them 2 whole days to figure out what the problem was.
Water logging in Mumbai is no longer news, though the news channels keep calling it ‘breaking news’ for some reason which somehow makes no sense to me. After all, what else can we expect, living on an island which once belonged to fishermen, but now belongs to builders who are intent on covering every piece of land with concrete?
The area we live in was once covered with salt pans. Some chap got the idea of leasing it out to builders, who promptly built around a 100 buildings in the area. The salt commissioner then went to court, challenging the ownership of the land. That was about 35 years back. Till date, there has been no settlement, the case is still in court, and we are technically living on disputed land. Recently, a building tilted, thanks to poor construction (of course, it had lasted for 30 years with the fault!!!) and all the residents are in deep trouble, living on lease within the colony, their homes in shambles. I shudder to think what will happen in a few years time!
Anyway, the rains brought along the usual problems this year, but the one positive aspect was Samhith’s school, which functioned through the flood! I called them up early in the morning, and they informed me that school was on, since most students would be arriving by buses, and hence would be safe. I have known the bus driver and the organizer for four years now, and knew he was a responsible man who would take care of the children, and breathed easy. The bus arrived on time in the morning and afternoon, and Samhith enjoyed the drive along water-logged roads, excitedly telling me when he came back –“Mamma, there was SOOOO much water on the road!!!”
Here are a few pics…
Waiting in the rain for the bus….
The roads around our building…..
The pav-wala arrives.... Come rain or shine, he is on time....
The bus arrives…
This is our all purpose garden and joggers park... needless to say, no one has been jogging for days!
And finally, after the rains…… Samhith is happy, for the snails are back!!!!! Here are some of them…..
And this year, we have discovered mushrooms…….
They look nice to see and photograph, but as Samhith asked me “how can anyone eat them???”
Water logging in Mumbai is no longer news, though the news channels keep calling it ‘breaking news’ for some reason which somehow makes no sense to me. After all, what else can we expect, living on an island which once belonged to fishermen, but now belongs to builders who are intent on covering every piece of land with concrete?
The area we live in was once covered with salt pans. Some chap got the idea of leasing it out to builders, who promptly built around a 100 buildings in the area. The salt commissioner then went to court, challenging the ownership of the land. That was about 35 years back. Till date, there has been no settlement, the case is still in court, and we are technically living on disputed land. Recently, a building tilted, thanks to poor construction (of course, it had lasted for 30 years with the fault!!!) and all the residents are in deep trouble, living on lease within the colony, their homes in shambles. I shudder to think what will happen in a few years time!
Anyway, the rains brought along the usual problems this year, but the one positive aspect was Samhith’s school, which functioned through the flood! I called them up early in the morning, and they informed me that school was on, since most students would be arriving by buses, and hence would be safe. I have known the bus driver and the organizer for four years now, and knew he was a responsible man who would take care of the children, and breathed easy. The bus arrived on time in the morning and afternoon, and Samhith enjoyed the drive along water-logged roads, excitedly telling me when he came back –“Mamma, there was SOOOO much water on the road!!!”
Here are a few pics…
Waiting in the rain for the bus….
The roads around our building…..
The pav-wala arrives.... Come rain or shine, he is on time....
The bus arrives…
This is our all purpose garden and joggers park... needless to say, no one has been jogging for days!
And finally, after the rains…… Samhith is happy, for the snails are back!!!!! Here are some of them…..
And this year, we have discovered mushrooms…….
They look nice to see and photograph, but as Samhith asked me “how can anyone eat them???”
Nice snaps and great report :)
ReplyDeleteTV Tower on Sinhagad - Going Inside Clouds
But the kid must be loving it going to school in rains? What a lot of water in the streets!
ReplyDeleteIts not raining in Delhi :(
ReplyDeleteBut hearing about your building. I am now thinking about the illegal colonies on Delhi, and even my legal colony, which is incidentally built on what was once a swamp land.
Oh, monsoons! I love rainy season, in general and more so now because currently, we are experiencing the high temperatures of the summer here.
ReplyDeleteWhich area is that where the salt pans were?
Hey thought you would write about our excursion to the station :P I will, probably
ReplyDelete@ Bhavesh: thanks....
ReplyDelete@ Mridula: yes, he does!!!!!!
@ Tarun : there are places like that all over India... guess everyone wants a building.. where theres no space to build one!
@ celine: we are in chembur, near the highway
@ usha : didnt get around to writing it down yet... wish i had taken pics!!!
Cool post and nice images Anu, My favorite is the portrait shot of your son, he looks cute and looks like he can't wait to go and play in the rain.
ReplyDeleteSamhith is very cute, Anu.
ReplyDeleteIm sure he enjoys more and more rains on the way to school and back.
I guess Mumbai is the only place momsoon is not enjoyed at its fullest. People await the rains and then when the rains arrive they also get many more questions to be handled daily...like how do i reach office? how much time will it take? Should i even go? I should leave early..dont know how long will it take to reach home? etc etc...its all the water logging on the train tracks. Trains are slow, the panic of people make them much slower!! :)
Dear Anuji,
ReplyDeleteI took the photographs in my Snail Post on the second highest peak of Maharashtra — Sinhagad :)
I liked your blog very much.I appreciate for your beautiful post with mind-blowing photographs.You are welcome in my blogs.
ReplyDeletethe road is completely flooded....
ReplyDeletehmhm-- hope u guys are doing fine.. :)