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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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Bulbuls

Its been a while since I posted any bird photos on the blog...So here are some photos of Bulbuls....

I see Bulbuls every day....... These Red Whiskered Bulbuls come home to eat the food we put out for the birds....





The Red Vented bulbuls, for some reason, never come to eat the scraps of food. They are busy eating whatever food is available on the trees around our house...



And then, there are these... cousins of the birds which come to our house, these birds live far far away... in the cold climes of the Himalays, these birds are just as common... These are the Himalayan Bulbuls. I clicked these photos on my recent trip to Vaishnodevi.






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  1. MridulaJuly 5, 2012 at 2:07 PM

    I love the hairstyle of the Himalayan Bulbuls a lot. Lovely clicks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ/ AshwiniJuly 5, 2012 at 2:19 PM

    Nice clicks.. I find them around my house too. They chirp almost throughout the mornings and the evenings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AshJuly 5, 2012 at 2:43 PM

    lovely pics... the third one looks so cute :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    the himalayan bulbuls are so chic ! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 6, 2012 at 9:51 AM

      Thats an interesting way of describing them, Shruti!!

      Delete
  5. P.N. SubramanianJuly 5, 2012 at 10:20 PM

    Extremely beautiful captures. I am yet to spot one around my home in Kerala.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 6, 2012 at 9:53 AM

      THanks PNS! I am so surprised to hear that! I see these birds here all the time and they are quite common wherever i have been...

      Delete
  6. krishnaJuly 6, 2012 at 7:39 AM

    nice!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. R Niranjan DasJuly 6, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    Wonderful photography. The bulbuls look beautiful.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/07/night-safari.html

    ReplyDelete

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