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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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A couple of birds.....

I started getting interested in birds only when Samhith began noticing them and asking their names. When I realised that his interest made him conscious about being quiet and calm while we were looking at birds, I decided to encourage him just to teach him some patience. You can see the influence he has had on me, just by going through my blog. But you can really gauge his influence when you see the pics below. These were taken by my sister-in-law, Sandhya, when she was on a trip to Chidambaram. Till now, she has shown no interest in birds, but thanks to him, the whole family has jumped on the birding bandwagon!  

I have no idea about the names of the birds, so if any of you do know, please leave a comment....



This is the best one - a bird inside its nest...... again, I have no clue as to the name.....


She actually took a lot more photographs, but they were not all that clear, and I could not put them up! But as of now, thanks to Samhith, there is a whole new family of birding enthusiasts!!!!

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Comments

  1. jayasreeFebruary 16, 2010 at 3:12 PM

    Thats good to know that Samhith has inspired you all. So we too can expect some virtual birding here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MridulaFebruary 16, 2010 at 4:10 PM

    Anu I am not 100% sure but that kind of nests are made by tailor birds. I unfortunately cannot identify the bird.

    ReplyDelete
  3. chitraFebruary 16, 2010 at 5:22 PM

    Nice interest you have all developed. now all of you will be looking for birds when you are out. To tell you the truth I don't know any thing much abt. birds other than the common birds we find around.

    ReplyDelete
  4. sriFebruary 17, 2010 at 4:55 PM

    Thats so cool, how one can infulence all others in the family. Thanks for the lovely pictures, in this fast paced world we dont even have time to look at flying pigeons, yet alone sparrows or anything.

    Try to keep some bird feed at home :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hema - AlankritiFebruary 24, 2010 at 11:28 AM

    Hi anu,,great to see a birding enthusiast in Samhith..my kids aged 12 n 10 love birding too..we are members of this adventure group called Sprouts..u can find them on the net..my kids have learnt a grat many birdnames thanks to the interest generated by the outings we have had with Sprouts..Cheers
    Hema

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anuradha ShankarFebruary 25, 2010 at 8:38 PM

    @Jayasree: Oh yes, i shall certainly try!

    @Mridula: even i wondered if they were tailor birds, but the pic is unfortunately not too clear...she took this one at dusk....

    @Chitra: Oh yes, it is a recent interest, but i find myself noticing more and more birds all around me...... till recently i too knew little...

    @Sri: you cant imagine the influence a kid has on the family.... which is why i just love being a mom!

    as to bird feed, we feed lots of birds... unfortunately, it is the crows which hog all the food... and barely allow the smaller birds near it...we get bulbuls and other birds when the crows have had their fill...

    @Hema: thanks so much..... I was so interested in Sprouts that I checked it out, and have decided to join too.... lets hope to meet sometime there...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hema - AlankritiFebruary 25, 2010 at 8:42 PM

    Fast work Anu..lets hope we meet soon:)

    ReplyDelete

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