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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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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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