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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 performance by the Parakeets.....

Do you remember going to the circus and seeing birds performing feats? They gave the gymnasts and athletes a run for their money, didn't they? Yesterday morning, a group of parakeets put up a show right outside my window... Take a look at their antics....





























Did you enjoy the performance? Waiting to hear your comments................
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Comments

  1. Shyam Govind - International SEO expertJuly 4, 2010 at 8:45 AM

    Wow !! nice one...

    how much time did it take to capture all this ??

    You have some patience ma'am... :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The wildJuly 4, 2010 at 9:15 AM

    Interesting ,its amazing what a shower can do ,it brings joy to so many :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. IndraniJuly 4, 2010 at 12:46 PM

    They are such fun to watch. You got a great series.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sankara SubramanianJuly 4, 2010 at 12:53 PM

    Brilliant! This is so beautiful that I am surprised people kept these rose-ringed parakeets in captivity in yesteryears.

    After watching this show I am curious to know as to what they found so interesting under the street light :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. UshaJuly 4, 2010 at 2:21 PM

    Was Samhith around or did the poor chap miss it owing to school timings?

    ReplyDelete
  6. MANISHAJuly 5, 2010 at 1:28 AM

    HI! VERY NICE PHOTOS.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anuradha ShankarJuly 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM

    @Shyamgovind: thanks... but i took pics for barely 15-20 minutes! they had already been there for a while before I could get my camera and start.... but they were just too fascinating to watch. so the question of patience didnt arise at all!

    @Shilpa: thanks...

    @The Wild: Absolutely!

    @indrani: Thanks.....

    @sankara: so true...... and I wondered about the same thing... but its not just these parakeets, but all birds come to perch there... wonder what is the secret!

    @Usha: no, as usual, the chap was in school....

    @Manisha: thanks...

    ReplyDelete
  8. MridulaJuly 5, 2010 at 10:52 AM

    A nice show indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. jayasreeJuly 5, 2010 at 4:30 PM

    Thats indeed a beautiful show. Glad you could notice them and capture it, brilliantly.

    ReplyDelete

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