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Odisha Part 9 : The Vaital Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Vaital temple is of the many intriguing temples in Bhubaneshwar. To begin with, the structure itself resembles a South-Indian temple more than the typical Kalingan style that we see everywhere else in Odisha. The temple has been dated to the last quarter of the 8 th century CE. Further , unlike most of the temples in Bhubaneshwar, this temple is not dedicated to Lord Shiva. Inside the sanctum is one of the deities who is very rarely seen in a sanctum – Chamunda, along with the Saptamatrikas. This is evidently a Shakta shrine. However, the presence of Lakulisha on the vimana indicates the connection with the Pasupata sect, which is most prevalent in this region during this time period. Further, the name of the temple – ‘Vaital’, comes from the word ‘ vetala’ , referring to spirits, which were invoked by tantrics to attain siddhis. Thus, this temple is an amalgamation of Pasupata and Shakta philosophy, with a strong emphasis on tantric rituals, and this is reflected in the iconogra...
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Faces in the Crowd - Budding Cricketer

Cricket is probably the most-played game in India, and the game which brings out all the emotions in us! Even as I write this, there is a match in progress on the ground outside our house, and the screams and shouts gives me a running commentary even though the regular commentator doesn't seem to have arrived. The sounds tempt the hubby who hurries to the window to see who it is who has hit a six... in a short while, I know that he will give in  and go join the crowd, and if possible, a bunch of friends will get together and start a game of their own. Which is why, this is today's pic for Faces in the Crowd....





This was a small kid we saw somewhere in Kashmir, at one of the shops which lined the road, selling cricket bats. He was the son of the owner, and was learning how to hold the bat.... Need I mention how excited Samhith was? He wanted to buy a cricket bat too, never mind that we already had two at home! It was a pity that we had to pry him away from the shop, though the kid would surely have loved a companion to play cricket with! 

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