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Odisha Part 7: The Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneshwar gets its name from the stone used to build it - the red and yellow sandstone used here is locally called Rajarani. This temple was once known as the Indreshwara temple, which is mentioned in the Ekamra Purana, which tells us about the temples of Bhubaneshwar, which was then known as Ekamra Kshetra. Today, the temple stands in a well-maintained lawn, and is the only ticketed monument within the city. The temple is built in the typical Kalinga style, with the tall curvilinear shikara over the garbagruha , and a jagamohana connected to it. The temple is believed to date back to the 11 th century, and is most well known for its sculptures. The entrance to the temple has two pillars with a Naga couple protecting the sanctum, holding garlands in their hands. The base of the pillar shows 3 lions standing over 3 elephants, a typical motif in temples of this region during this period. On the other side of the pillar is a horse and rider, and the two mo...
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Pictures of 7 Cat Species Found in 1 Forest - A Record

I stumbled across this as I was surfing through the net, aimlessly as always...... and then my eyes fell on this, and I was absolutely stunned!

This article from the National Geographic News tells us of a rare sighting of seven different species of cats - one of which was totally unknown there. But what was really surprising was the location - Assam! Yes,  in our very own country!!!! Hard to believe isn't it, considering the state of our forests?? Maybe everything is not yet lost....Let us salvage what we can while we still have it.

You can read the whole article here.


Meanwhile, I couldn't resist downloading the pics onto my blog..... All the photos belong to Kashmira Kakati, the wildlife biologist whose research led her to this wonderful sighting. Thanks to Kashmira and National Geographic for these wonderful pics..

Leopard

Leopard Cat

Clouded Leopard

Golden Cat

Jungle Cat

Tiger

Marbled Cat

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Comments

  1. A journey called LifeMarch 17, 2010 at 5:18 AM

    Hey Anu.. loved ur new organised look.. This made very interesting read.. thanks so much

    ReplyDelete
  2. SoulSpaceMarch 17, 2010 at 7:57 AM

    wow..thats awesome
    going by this i am hoping this Tiger no of 1114 is false and there are many more safely (and thankfully)hidden away in our forests
    and not the end of the world as predicted...
    eternal optimist!
    love the blue feel to yr blog..feels like I am at the beach...and thats my fav.spot!

    ReplyDelete
  3. sriMarch 17, 2010 at 8:50 AM

    you wont believe how happy and scared this news makes me. Happy that such things still exists intact, scared that it may be the last time we see them, even in pics. I really wish the forests are conserved for the wonderful bio diversity they have. And thanks a load for the pics!

    ReplyDelete
  4. chitraMarch 17, 2010 at 10:53 AM

    That is really good news Anu and thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julia DuttaMarch 17, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    Wow! That is something!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anuradha ShankarMarch 18, 2010 at 10:30 AM

    @AJCL: thanks a lot...knew this would interest a lot of people like us, which is why i put this up...

    @ssstoryteller: i hope so too...... thanks...... i just noticed the new template designer on blogger and tried it out.....

    @Sri: absolutely!!!! it is great news certainly, but we dont want more tourists rushing there trying to spot them and disturb their habitat!!!

    @CHitra : its really great news..

    @Julia: Absolutely!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. UshaMarch 18, 2010 at 11:25 AM

    Hey
    This is awesome stuff! I'm fwding the link to ur blog to a few of my friends!

    ReplyDelete
  8. SaravananMarch 29, 2010 at 9:02 PM

    It is quite exciting to see all 7 breeds of cats

    ReplyDelete

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