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Odisha Part 5: Two less visited temples

My quest for ancient temples often takes me to hidden corners of the country, often less visited by regular tourists. More often than not, my drivers are completely unaware of these temples, and we often get lost looking for them, despite the ease that Google Maps has provided. On my recent visit to Odisha, I had only two such less visited temples on my list – the Varahi temple at Chaurasi, and the Gangeshwari temple. I had heard and read about the Varahi temple at Chaurasi , and was eager to go see her. The form of Varahi has always fascinated me, and this particular temple was said to have an exceptionally beautiful idol of the deity. Persuading my driver wasn’t an easy feat – he was reluctant (to say the least) about going in search of temples he had never heard of, but my persistence paid off. The Varahi Temple at Chaurasi The Varahi temple dates back to the 9 th century, and the architecture is unusual, as compared to the other temples of Odisha. The temple is closest in st...
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Rangolis - Maharashtrian style!

I have always been fascinated by the Maharashtrian way of drawing rangolis. While I love drawing the traditional 'kolams' with rice paste, I am no good at using the kolam powder or rice flour. These are typical Maharashtrian patterns drawn at Jalgaon, where, as I mentioned earlier, we attended a puja.

The girl was young, must have been younger than me, and she drew these two rangolis in a matter of minutes!



Normally, when we use rice flour, we can only draw one line at a time. Here, in the next rangoli, she drew 4 at a time!!! It was fantastic to watch her, and I tried taking a pic of her drawing the rangoli. Unfortunately, it was dark and they did not come out well. These pix were taken the next day, and I wasn't able to locate her and ask her to pose next to her creations.




A wonderful job,isn't it? what do you say????



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  1. NishaJanuary 17, 2010 at 12:30 PM

    These are beautiful. Kudos to that girl. I could never learn doing complicated designs.

    But I still feel that south Indians make faster rangolis. In Chennai during festivals seasons they make big ones on the road... each better than the other one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MridulaJanuary 17, 2010 at 2:45 PM

    I am sure I will never be able to make these even in days! My teachers used to give me passing marks in drawing because I used to do well in other subjects :P

    ReplyDelete
  3. SoulSpaceJanuary 17, 2010 at 8:10 PM

    lovely
    actually Yu must visit vilages in Tamilnadu during Marghazi(if yu have, then do tell!)...entire streets with wonderful elaborate kolams...
    its beautiful
    and so were these...

    ReplyDelete
  4. sriJanuary 18, 2010 at 5:12 PM

    beautiful creation, from the professional girl :) and as story teller said if u visit agraharams of south during margazhi that would be a virtual delight :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 12, 2012 at 2:26 PM

    Loved the rangoli designs. Very creative.Love to feature these rangoli designs here http://www.3mik.com/group/rangoli

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownOctober 22, 2013 at 11:50 AM

    What an amazing artwork! I am always feeling awed everytime i see these Rangoli designs made for the festivals, so amazing! thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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