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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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Trysts with Swifts

My tryst with Swifts seemed to continue, even on our trip to Morachi Chincholi......

My regular readers will remember that the first time I saw swifts in large numbers was when I had been to Omkareshwar - We had then seen swifts nests in the rocks lining the river Narmada......

I got  a closer look at the house-swift's nest on my trip to Binsar, where we were lucky to see a mother swift in her nest with her swiftlets.....

And now, on our trip to Morachi Chincholi, we stopped by a river to dip our feet in the cool water, and what do I see, but a group of swifts flying hither and thither, and under a bridge, a cluster of their nests!! What a sight! I was happy to show off my knowledge, and we began clicking photos.... Of course, we couldn't get any closer thanks to the water, and this is the best I could do!




Hoping that my tryst with swifts continues in the future too... and not just with swifts, but with other birds too!!
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Comments

  1. UshaJuly 7, 2010 at 2:50 PM

    Hey! Saw some swifts here yesterday and I also quickly showed off my knowledge :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.N. SubramanianJuly 7, 2010 at 6:43 PM

    Life is like that. All good wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaJuly 7, 2010 at 8:42 PM

    It is still very beautiful. And I usually get to see the other Swift, the Maruti Swift!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 7, 2010 at 9:54 PM

    Oh.. that must have been beautiful..

    ReplyDelete
  5. IndraniJuly 8, 2010 at 11:15 AM

    Oh! To see them so close! How lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  6. RashmieJuly 8, 2010 at 1:17 PM

    it must have been exciting! Nice short post :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. rahul kumar singhJuly 8, 2010 at 2:57 PM

    To see them so close! How lucky

    ReplyDelete
  8. Indian BazaarsJuly 14, 2010 at 7:39 AM

    This is really interesting! Never seen this before.

    ReplyDelete

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