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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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Fort Kochi - Part 1: First Impressions

What do you do when you visit a place for the first time? Do extensive research, or go unprepared, ready to be surprised? I chose the latter on my visit to Fort Kochi this summer, and within a day, I was so enchanted, I wished I could spend more time there! My experiences were too varied to fit into one post, so this is going to be a series... and here is the first one….
We knew we would enjoy our stay at Fort Kochi, the moment we entered the quiet bylanes and saw the quaint houses, seemingly from another era. The peace and quiet was a welcome relief after the bustle of Ernakulam, and it was difficult to believe we were so near the city! The number of boards advertising homestays clearly proclaimed it to be a tourist hub, though we discovered that it was mostly foreigners who came here, not the average Indian tourists. Maybe it is this which has helped Fort Kochi retain so much of its colonial past.



The Silverweed Homestay, tucked away in a narrow lane, greeted us with a profusion of flowers, which brightened the cloudy day. With just two newly built rooms over the original house, it was homely and comfortable. Our hostess was out on a medical emergency, though our host, grappling with the domestic arrangements, welcomed us warmly, and made sure we had everything we needed, even making breakfast for us singlehandedly! Chatting with him about his family, and Kochi itself, over the years, was certainly one of the highlights of our stay here!



Flowers seemed to be a dominant part of our Fort Kochi experience. From the many flowers our hostess carefully tended to….





To the many rooftop and balcony gardens we saw as we walked around the town….





Flowered creepers growing over abandoned walls, adding an extra dash of colour to the graffiti….



Even the trees formed a flowered canopy for many of the small lanes we walked by, as we explored the town.




Kochi welcomed us with flowers, but also showed us so much over in the one short day we spent here. Look out for many more posts about Kochi and its attractions in the coming weeks! 
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Comments

  1. NatalieGJuly 20, 2014 at 7:06 AM

    Beautiful! Being surrounded by so much natural color and greenery is very relaxing and soothing. I liked the bird graffiti too! More like art to me! :) I'm looking forward to more pictures and commentary about Kochi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 22, 2014 at 3:20 PM

      Thank you, Natalie! I will post more pics of the bird grafitti soon. the place was full of grafitti but it rained so much i didnt click many of them.

      Delete
  2. R Niranjan DasJuly 20, 2014 at 10:21 AM

    Love Fort Kochi's quaint charm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 22, 2014 at 3:21 PM

      you have been there during the biennale right? it must have been great then! I completely enjoyed my time there!

      Delete

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