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Odisha Part 4: Chilika – Experiencing the lake, in and out of season

My first visit to the Chilika Lake in Jan 2017 was for content for a resort. It was peak season, and I would have loved to stay near the lake, but the brief was to stay at Puri and cover areas that could be visited from Puri. And so, I did the usual touristy thing, taking a boat for half the day. Which is why, on my next visit to Odisha, if there was one thing I was clear about, it was that I wanted to stay near the lake, at least for a day, if not more. However, unlike my first visit, the second was in end of May, and the season was long ended. There would be no birds, I was warned by anyone and everyone I spoke to, including the people at the stays I was considering. But those who know me, know how stubborn I can be, and so I persisted. I eventually decided to stay at two of the Odisha eco-tourism resorts, at Mangalajodi and Rajhans, keen on experiencing the lake, even minus the birds. I had expected it to be hot, but as it turned out, the rains turned out to be even bigger spoilspo...
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Wayanad - A Forest Shrine

Returning from our encounter with the python, we chose a different path back, and came across this....




A stone idol of Ganesha, with a small stone container (probably a lamp), with a feather lying by the side - doesn’t it look like the feather might be a quill, and the container might hold ink, ready for the Lord to pick it up and write? As the one who penned down the Mahabharata as Vyasa dictated it, the sight was appropriate, don’t you think?



The idol was installed outside what we were told, was an ancient, tribal temple.



The temples were really shrines, built mostly with bamboo, and in one case, bricks, and they were old, though they didn’t really look ancient.



There wasn’t much to see or appreciate, especially since the temples were closed.



The Ganesha idol was surely the most interesting thing here, and that too by a quirk of nature, which caused the feather to fall where it did!!!! 

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Location: Wayanad, Kerala, India

Comments

  1. P.N. SubramanianJune 12, 2013 at 9:36 AM

    Excellent. The Ganesha must be some 1200 years old. Though there is an ink pot and a quill nearby, I wonder if any material like paper was available to write on during those times. The tribal s did not deem it necessary to place the idol inside their Shrine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJune 12, 2013 at 9:38 AM

      Thanks PNS, but i somehow felt that the Ganesha must have been a recent addition to the shrine, which is why it was placed outside.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJune 12, 2013 at 3:21 PM

    At which place is this temple located.

    translation ahmedabad
    interpretation ahmedabad

    ReplyDelete
  3. R Niranjan DasJune 12, 2013 at 11:03 PM

    Wow! Those temples look interesting. Have never seen such ones. Nice post Anu.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/06/amidst-sea-of-blue.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. RajeshJune 15, 2013 at 12:25 PM

    Wonderful place to explore. Very true Ganesha idol real eye catcher.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SudhageeJune 19, 2013 at 3:58 PM

    I wonder what deities are inside the forest shrines. I also find it very interesting that all the shrines are laid out in a row. And, old or new, I like the Ganesha :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. ErcotravelsJune 21, 2013 at 5:09 PM

    Temples looks weird but have a peaceful and clean atmosphere nearby.

    ReplyDelete

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