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Odisha Part 10: Bhubaneshwar – the city of temples

Bhubaneshwar is often called the city of temples . It is impossible to know exactly how many temples there are, but it has been estimated that there might be over 700 temples in the city. This number, while impressive, is just a fraction of the original number, which, sometime in the 13 th century, would have been about 7000. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the Hindu temples of Bhubaneshwar , where 93 temples are listed. All these are ancient temples, built between the 7 th and 13 th centuries CE. Bhubaneshwar was once known as Ekamra Kshetra , the sacred mango grove. We know this name from an inscription at the Ananta Vasudeva temple, which mentions the name of the place, and the main temple (that we now know as the Lingaraja temple) in the mango grove. Ananta Vasudeva Temple, with a sculpture of Trivikrama in the niche It is extremely interesting to note that the Ananta Vasudeva temple is the only temple to Lord Vishnu in this city. Varaha, Ananta Vasudeva Temple Located v...
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Rose Ringed Parakeet

Summer always brings a number of parrots to our house. The red berries growing on the tree opposite our house  ripen in the heat of peak summer, and attract these birds by the dozen.They blend in so well with the greenery that we know of their presence only by the racket they make. Unfortunately, it has not been all that easy to photograph them so far. This year though, I managed to get some decent pics...







Incidentally, these are called 'Rose Ringed Parakeets', though we all simply know of them by the generic name of 'parrots'! You can see the ring around their neck clearly in the next couple of pics.....



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