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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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Spot That Bird! White Cheeked Barbet

Sitting on the balcony of my room at the Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley (Coorg), I heard this bird long before I saw it. From this pic, can you guess why?





This is a White Cheeked Barbet, a common bird in these parts, but nevertheless, a lifer for me.


The White Cheeked Barbet is endemic to the Western Ghats, and the hills around it. They are frugivorous, which means, they mostly eat fruits, though they also eat insects at times. Interestingly, Wikipedia tells me that they are arboreal, which means they live on the trees, and rarely visit the ground - not even to drink water, like some other birds. They get most of their water intake through their fruity diet! 


These birds play an important role in the forest as seed dispersal, and, at times, pollination agents. Thankfully, they still seem to be plentiful, and not endangered. 



Capturing one on camera, however, turned out to be a difficult task. I eventually managed to click these pics later in the day when I left my room and went wandering around, looking for it! 


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