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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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Ganesh Chaturthi 2011 - The Festival begins!

This blog has been selected by Blogadda for the week's Spicy Saturday Picks, 3rd September, 2011! Click on the image or the link above to see the other wonderful posts on the list!






Ganesh Chaturthi is here and Mumbai is all set to welcome its favourite God. The most interesting thing about Mumbai's Ganesha's is their variety - we see all sorts of Ganeshas in all sorts of sizes - tiny to huge, Ganeshas with their parents, Ganeshas dressed like Krishna, Ganesha dressed in modern clothes.. the list in endless. Come and see our Ganeshas through my lens....

Waiting for a coat of paint





Work in progress


Finishing touches




Strumming a guitar!


Shivaji and Krishna side by side

With his parents

Dattatrya is sandwiched between two others

On his father's shoulders







Dressed as his father




As peshwas

The Lord of the hills - Balaji





And finally, coming home!
Meanwhile, this year, I am doing a series of posts on my stories blog, where I shall be putting up stories of Ganesha every day for the next ten days of the festival. Do go over and take a look. Here are the posts up there now....



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Comments

  1. RajeshSeptember 1, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    Wonderful and colorful idols of Lord.
    Happy Ganesh Charturti.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Indrani GhoseSeptember 1, 2011 at 10:33 AM

    Wow! So many of them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ArtiSeptember 1, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    Wow!! I am speechless!
    So colorful..
    Wish you and your family a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mridula DSeptember 1, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    Lovely images all around!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anu ShankarSeptember 1, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    THanks Rajesh! wish you too a happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anu ShankarSeptember 1, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    Yes Indrani! and these were from just two shops in my area!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anu ShankarSeptember 1, 2011 at 3:04 PM

    Thanks Arti! Wish u too a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anu ShankarSeptember 1, 2011 at 3:04 PM

    Thanks Mridula!

    ReplyDelete
  9. aJSeptember 1, 2011 at 7:16 PM

    Feels like I am a part of Mumbai right now. What a joy ride. 

    Happy Ganesha Chaturthi :)
    regards, aJ

    ReplyDelete
  10. teamgsquareSeptember 2, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    Happy festival to you and your family

    ReplyDelete
  11. chitraSeptember 2, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Fantaastic pics, bright and colourful...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anu ShankarSeptember 2, 2011 at 11:15 AM

    Thanks so much, Aakash! Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anu ShankarSeptember 2, 2011 at 11:15 AM

    Thanks so much Chitra!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Shekar RaghavanSeptember 3, 2011 at 4:15 PM

    You have managed to capture the astounding variety of His forms. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bubblegum....September 9, 2012 at 9:01 PM

    I feel Nostalgic. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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