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Odisha Part 7: The Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneshwar gets its name from the stone used to build it - the red and yellow sandstone used here is locally called Rajarani. This temple was once known as the Indreshwara temple, which is mentioned in the Ekamra Purana, which tells us about the temples of Bhubaneshwar, which was then known as Ekamra Kshetra. Today, the temple stands in a well-maintained lawn, and is the only ticketed monument within the city. The temple is built in the typical Kalinga style, with the tall curvilinear shikara over the garbagruha , and a jagamohana connected to it. The temple is believed to date back to the 11 th century, and is most well known for its sculptures. The entrance to the temple has two pillars with a Naga couple protecting the sanctum, holding garlands in their hands. The base of the pillar shows 3 lions standing over 3 elephants, a typical motif in temples of this region during this period. On the other side of the pillar is a horse and rider, and the two mo...
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A tea plantation walk in Dharamsala - a Photo Post for Skywatch Friday

This weekend promises to be a hectic one for me, and I am sure you have plans too. Therefore, instead of something for you to read, I have a photo post for you... These were clicked when we went for a walk in a Tea Estate in Dharamsala. The sight of greenery against the backdrop of the mountains, birds, butterflies and flowers never fails to inspire me, and I hope they will inspire you too! 

It was supposed to be a Tea Plantation walk, but the first thing we saw were roses!!! lots of them! 


And here is the Tea Plantation.


The play of light and shadows early in the morning is always a beautiful sight!

The tea plantations merge with the natural groves, and create a fascinating sight against the backdrop of the Dhauladhar Ranges


A Male Asian Paradise Flycatcher poses for us, pausing in its play with another male. 


This is a sight I can never have enough of.. and we were the only ones here, so we had it all to ourselves!

A pair of female Plum Headed Parakeets

A pair of Grey Hornbills were hard to spot, so well camouflaged were they,
but once we did, they kept us entertained for quite a while. 

These were just a pair of many hornbills around, but these were the only ones I managed to capture with any clarity

The tea plantation gave way to a wheat field and the golden sheaves were a pretty sight 



Among all the sheaves of wheat were these pretty butterflies, flying everywhere




And there were lots of flowers!


And of course, more birds, like this barn swallow

Our walk brought us to a river, a mountain stream, flowing from the snow clad Dhauladhars


and the clear, cold water glimmered in the morning light

a Black Drongo watched as we wound our way homewards, tired but exhilarated after our morning jaunt!

I hope the photos have been inspiring enough to have you smiling. If you need any more inspiration, head over to the Skywatch Page for more inspiring images from across the world! Have a great weekend, everyone!

This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.  

Related Posts:
  • The Himachal Series- 

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Location: Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India

Comments

  1. fredamansJune 26, 2015 at 11:34 PM

    I love the birds and butterflies you've captured!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Janice / Dancing with SunflowersJune 28, 2015 at 11:57 PM

    I enjoyed my walk around the tea plantation with you. Thank you! :)
    I love all the shots with the mountain range in the background, also the stones in the stream and the lovely one of the butterfly on the white thistle are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shrinidhi HandeJune 29, 2015 at 6:21 AM

    nice. Looks like you did a lot of exploration in Dharmashala..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJune 30, 2015 at 1:42 PM

      Thanks Shrinidhi! we did manage to get around a bit... and since we skipped the temples, we had lots of time to explore other places...

      Delete
  4. ZaryabJuly 1, 2015 at 12:30 AM

    Nice Captured of the natural wonder i like it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. theuntouristsJuly 13, 2015 at 6:48 AM

    So beautiful. One usually does not associate Himachal with tea estates

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 22, 2015 at 8:25 AM

      Yes, The Untourists.. thats true. we dont usually associate Himachal with tea estates, which s why this was a real surprise for us too.

      Delete
  6. UnknownJuly 13, 2015 at 9:43 PM

    Beautiful clicks! That blue flycatcher is gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  7. UshaJuly 20, 2015 at 7:31 PM

    Sounds like a good mountain day :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dharmsala Tea CompanyJuly 26, 2016 at 5:24 AM

    Anuradha, thanks for visiting our tea estates. Dharmsala Tea Company (www.dharmsala.com) owns the tea estates that you visited - Hoodle Tea Estate, Towa Tea Estate and Mann Tea Estate. Thanks for the lovely photos you've taken - and we're glad that you enjoyed bird watching as much as we do! Kangra is really well known for its bird watching - and also for its teas:) We look forward to hosting you again - you can come visit our tea factory as well. For more details about us, you can visit our website, www.dharmsala.com.

    ReplyDelete

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