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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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Review of The Four Fountains Spa, Powai, Mumbai

Travel can get quite hectic, and life even more so, when we get back from our travels. For the past few months, I have been travelling so much and have so many things to write about, but I am just about managing to cope with all the pending work I have... With school on, taking a break of any kind is not possible, and being alone at home, the days have been even more tiring than usual. Hence, when I received an invitation to try out and review the Four Fountains Spa, I jumped at the chance! 




It has been a long time since I went to any kind of spa. I have tried out different sorts of massages sometimes on a holiday, but nothing recently... even my vacations have been filled with things to do! This was a good opportunity to actually relax and enjoy the experience! 

I fixed an appointment on a weekday, at their Powai center, which was the one nearest to me. They also have centers at Bandra and Malad in Mumbai, apart from centers in other cities too. I arrived late, thanks to the usual Mumbai traffic jams, but the staff were ready for me. They in fact, called me up twice to confirm that I was, indeed on my way! I hadn't been able to decide which therapy to go for, since it had been a while since I had one, but the staff was extremely helpful, and in a matter of minutes, helped me make my decision, which was to go for a Swedish massage with a head and shoulder massage. I was shown into a room where I met Purnima, the therapist, who was extremely soft spoken and friendly. Her hands worked their magic on me for over an hour, which was certainly the most relaxing one for me in a long time! By the time she was through, I felt refreshed and energetic, so much so that I didn't head straight back home after it was over, but roamed around the Powai area for quite a while!

The spa experience was quite a good one, one I would put on par with my other experiences so far. The staff were friendly and helpful. The rates seemed to be quite reasonable, similar to those at other spas I have tried. They also have a lot of attractive packages, which are worth checking out if you live near any of their centers. The premises were simple and basic, which didnt really invite me to take out my camera, so thats probably the only negative factor in the whole experience. But then again, this is Mumbai. Every space is small and cramped, and functional! Beauty and spaciousness come far far behind here, so that was not really a surprise. All in all, this was a good experience, one I would try again!

Comments

  1. NishaJuly 5, 2012 at 5:12 PM

    Great!! After travelling so much one definitely needs such rejuvenating experience.

    Would love go for spa myself, it's been long time. *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 5, 2012 at 7:36 PM

      Yes, Nisha! travelling is tiring work! we need something like this to relax after all that hard work :D

      Delete
  2. UnknownJuly 5, 2012 at 7:08 PM

    Spa is is an excellent place of destination. In fact the ready made mantra of stress relief. I like visiting them a lot. specially the Spa's in Mumbai provinces are cool to visit in.

    ReplyDelete
  3. krishnaJuly 6, 2012 at 7:40 AM

    missing mumbai!! :(

    ReplyDelete
  4. Indian BazaarsJuly 8, 2012 at 11:18 AM

    Love the idea of going to a spa. Sometimes, they just seem a bit expensive. Would be great to have more of the "affordable" kind.

    ReplyDelete

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